Health Insurance for Early Retirement

[jennipurrr]

I thought at some point there was a sticky with resources related to this, but I couldn't find it...maybe I am imagining things.

Someone IRL was asking me about insurance for early-ish retirement. She would be able to get the group/retirement insurance at age 62, about 7 years from now. Does anyone know the best options for people like that?

I was reading about the new "Health Insurance Marketplace" through the new Obama healthcare, but we are in a state who has been protesting this act, so I don't even see AL on the list. I did find a place on the Affordable Care Act page where you can search for current insurance providers and it seemed to be only expensive, high deductible plans. Does anyone know what changes the act will have when it goes into effect in 2014?

TIA!

[dado potato]

I gather your friend is now about 57 and covered by an employer health insurance plan, and that at age 62 she would be eligible for a retiree group health plan.

It would be important to clarify what is the nature of the retiree plan. (And in 7 years there can be changes beyond the employee's control.) For example, are the maximum benefits paid for care within a PPO network? (If so, how would that fit with lifestyle plans of the retiree? A PPO limited to Wisconsin and Minnesota might not quite do it for a retiree who intends to be a snowbird or to relocate in the South.)

Does the retiree plan cover spouse/dependents? Does the plan contain cost escalation by subsidizing premiums at a dollar amount fixed at the time of retirement? (If so, it may be necessary to incorporate assumptions about the annual increase in the cost of premiums paid by the retiree.)

Does your friend (and any family members covered on the same policy) plan on needing a lot of doctoring? (Or are there risk factors or predispositions to illness?) Sometimes, if there is a healthy family member, who has had very little need for doctoring, it may be most economical to cover that person with a high-deductible policy and a Health Savings Account... compared to including the person in family coverage in the group plan. If good health continues, it may be age 65 (and Medicare) will arrive without the H S A being spent on deductibles, and the funds can be used for premiums on Supplemental Insurance. The devil is in the details.

[Spartana]

You generally have to buy your own insurance plan and, depending on your age and pre-existing conditions, it can be expensive. I have friends who have used einsurance.com to check out plans. Most who don't have employer health insurance or who are unemployed opt for a high deductable ($4000 or more) PPO plan. One friend who is 53 just got one through HealthNet via E-insurance and pays approx. $300/month for a $4000 deductble PPO plan. That plan comes with generic meds benefits, $100 ER and 4 $50 dr visits/year. After the $4000 deductible is met then there is no other out of pocket expenses. Since Obamacare doesn't kick in until 2014 that seems to be all that is out there.

[awakenedsoul]

I'm covered through Aetna. I found them on ehealthinsurance.com. Suze Orman recommends this website for low rates. I pay $120.00 a month for catastrophic. I have a $6,000. deductible. It includes a lot of other things that I don't use. I'm 48, and retired last year...I had Anthem, but they raised their rates, so I switched companies.

[Spartana]

Also, and I may be wrong about this, there seems to be some restrictions to getting Obamacare (ACA) paid for if you voluntarily quit your job and are lower income enough to qualify for full or partial funding of your monthly premiums. So a person who quits a job that has health insurance coverage should still be able to get healthcare via the Obamacare plan starting in 2014 (can't be denied for pre-existing conditions, etc...), but may not qualify for the finacial assistance to pay premiums if they quit their jobs rather than got laid off. But I am VERY unimformed about Obamacare and all the things it does and doesn't do so maybe someone else knows about this. To me it makes sense that government (taxpayers) would not fund those who voluntarily left employment that had an employee healthcare coverage benefit while working and choose to quit work.