Near retirement - health insurance

This is the only time we used the insurance, it was in network. BCBS has a good nationwide network. She is fine, we were back on the road in a few days with her just taking it real easy for the first couple of weeks. No lifting, etc. Two months later all claims have been paid, great service from BCBS Arizona.

lbrjet wrote:
We have a BCBS individual plan in Arizona that covers both of us. It is a PPO plan. Her operation was in New York State on an east coast trip. No, we are not full timers as we own a Park model in Arizona and that is our domicile. We travel about 5 months out of the year.

Since you buy your own health insurance from BCBS, how is the coverage for in and out of network when you travel and its related cost? This is our biggest concern when we go fulltime. We want to make sure that we have a large network of in network coverage and access to doctors. This could/will save us money if we run into some sort of health situation. Hope DW recovered from her operation okay and is up and about travelling again.

At this point its looking like BCBS PPO is our best choice, but it will depend on the state that we call home when we retire.

-paul

We have a BCBS individual plan in Arizona that covers both of us. It is a PPO plan. Her operation was in New York State on an east coast trip. No, we are not full timers as we own a Park model in Arizona and that is our domicile. We travel about 5 months out of the year.

lbrjet wrote:
The problem with not having insurance is the bills are much higher. My wife had to have an appendectomy and was in the hospital for only one night. Bill was 18K and the insurance company 'negotiated rate' came out to 5.7K. Without insurance you are on the hook for the entire 18K bill. It's crazy but that is the way it works.

What type of insurance do you have? Are you paying for your own policy? Are you fulltimers, and if so, where is your domicile?

-paul

The problem with not having insurance is the bills are much higher. My wife had to have an appendectomy and was in the hospital for only one night. Bill was 18K and the insurance company 'negotiated rate' came out to 5.7K. Without insurance you are on the hook for the entire 18K bill. It's crazy but that is the way it works.

MelB52 wrote:

But, you've made me think that we might need to look into Florida as our domicile. I really worry about getting health insurance coverage for myself that we can afford. I have hypertension, but it is well controlled with medication. Don't go to the doctor real often, but often enough -- maybe 4 times a year.

The great thing about health insurance now is that it doesn't matter if you have hypertension. Both DH and I have pre-existing conditions. Until the ACA, I could not get health insurance unless it was group health through work. Now, the only thing they want to know is how old I am and if I smoke. Premiums will vary depending on your age. But, companies can no longer base it on your previous health issues (you don't get a 'good driver discount).

If your gross income is below about $63K for a couple, you are probably eligible for subsidies. There is a lot more paperwork to go with it, but for many people, it is worth the time.

In Texas, you could use the Escapees for your address and mail service. You don't have to return once per year (I think it is eery couple of years or so) but check their website for better information. A lot of people really love Texas for their home base and many spend winters there.

4x4ord wrote:
When premiums are so high do any of you opt to live without health insurance? What would it take, about 1 typical 4 day hospital stay per year on average to break even?

For the most part if you file any type of state or federal tax I believe you'll have to show proof of health insurance. I know in Massachusetts you MUST show proof of this.

-paul

When premiums are so high do any of you opt to live without health insurance? What would it take, about 1 typical 4 day hospital stay per year on average to break even?

dahkota wrote:

Flanz wrote:

So, at this point you pay $600/month or $7200/year for health insurance? This is a silver plan form BCBS? For us, we're planning on $700/per month for a Bronze plan. We need to look around at SD, Texas, and FLA for completive plans and cost over the next few months. Out of pocket plus deductibles will also play a roll in the decision, but keeping an emergency fund for this will help.

$552 per month for 2 to be exact. We went direct through BCBS (got our quote off their website) rather than through any of the exchanges. To shop rates, try ehealthinsurance.com. Use the zip code of any mail service you are considering.

If you want a national network, you have to be careful with which plan you select. For BCBS, you must choose a PPO plan - I have been unable to find an HMO plan that has a nationwide network.

In the example above, with the aneurism, deductibles mean nothing - the entire bill was probably significantly more than the max out of pocket. Regardless of what the deductibles are, if one has a significant medical event, one will have to pay at least the max out of pocket. (It is also important to check out of network coverage - some plans will not even cover you outside of network). You aren't saving any money by having low deductibles if you have a high max out of pocket.

In South Dakota, there was one insurance company that may cover fulltimers but they had a very limited national network and it was more than three times what our current premiums are (for us).

It took me months of research (and lots of spreadsheets) to work through all the cost/benefit analyses of various states for domicile. Health insurance was a huge factor in our decision. Ease of setting up residency was second. Texas and Florida came out on top for all the factors involved, with Florida the winner because of health care costs.

I wish you the best. There are many things to work through and in the end, only you can make the decision that is best for your family.

I'm doing research right now in preparation for our launch into full-timing in early 2016. It sometimes seems overwhelming; there is a lot of preparation necessary with regard to health insurance (DW will have Medicare, but I am 4 years away at this point), mail, banking, internet and phone, domicile, and on and on! You have certainly shared some good info here.

We currently reside in Texas. We expect to sell our home (own it outright, so no mortgage), but we have close relatives who just may let us use their address for domicile purposes. (Is that advisable?) We would park the MH at their place whenever we need to return to the state for family reasons, vehicle inspection (I guess you have to continue to get that if TX is your domicile?), and whatever else might come up. (Although, we REALLY don't want to have to return to TX for at least one year after we hit the road.)

But, you've made me think that we might need to look into Florida as our domicile. I really worry about getting health insurance coverage for myself that we can afford. I have hypertension, but it is well controlled with medication. Don't go to the doctor real often, but often enough -- maybe 4 times a year.

Thanks so much for being willing to share the things you've found out through many hours of research. It helps me have a little peace of mind to know that others have "gone before" and have found ways to make it all work out.

Much obliged,

Mel

mchero wrote:
Paul
Deb & I looking into the same, fulltime by next summer! Thanks for the post.

RM

Good luck with your search and going fulltime. This thread has help us and I hope it helps all that are in search for health insurance prior to Medicare. If you have anything that you found while searching, please share. I know over the next few months we'll have gained more knowledge on this subject and will post what we have found. As I mentioned, we do want to do anything that we'll regret later.

-paul