Health Insurance costs before medicare

[Dennis K]

I am 63 and still working and have health insurance with my company.

If I retired today I would have to buy health insurance for my wife and I.

I looked at the costs of 3 options I have.

1. I took a pension buyout from my first career after 31 years. This excluded me from getting subsidized health insurance from them. However, each year I receive paper work where I can enroll in the same insurance with no questions asked, but of course pay the total cost of the insurance.

2. I can take Cobra from my current company, but again paying the full amount of the cost.

3. Then there is Obamacare. I went on line and ran the calculated cost for the Silver plan. Even after retirement, my income would not get me partial payment of the costs, so again would have to pay full amount.

Comparing the cost for each, the differences were within +/- $50 of each other.

The amount that I would have paid for this year would have been around $1300 a month for both of us.

So, Obamacare does not help unless your income is low enough to get subsidized.

And I was wondering about how the $1300 dollars matches up to the cost for others who are currently paying the total cost for their health insurance this year.

I have looked at these numbers before, and it seems it goes up at least $100 every year.

 

[Carla]

Dennis,
I am not an expert, in any way. What I do know is everyone's situation is different. Obamacare does not work for everyone, that's a fact. You are saying, if you retire today. At 65, you will be eligible for Medicare. Then, you will need a secondary insurance to pick up what Medicare does not pay. That should help bring down the cost of your premiums. However, you will still need to satisfy both deductibles plus out of pocket expenses. I think there is going to be an increase in costs with BC as they have announced that already. My secondary is currently from my former employer but they have recently gave us notice we will have to select from the "market" beginning this month. We will still be in group plans. I think the price you quote is reasonable for two people, it is less than what we would be paying for secondary. It's all expensive, and very confusing!

 

[Dennis K]

I have just started studying medicare. And from here I heard of the increased premium payment based on income from the previous two years.
And aren't I lucky.
This is the year that my income will be used to determine my part B costs in 2018 when I turn 65. Income is up this year so I will be paying more when I go on.
And in 2018 they are adjusting the income brackets which will also increase what I have to pay.
Confusing, absolutely. Just trying to figure most of it out ahead of time so I do not get too many surprises.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[Don M.]

Just trying to figure most of it out ahead of time so I do not get too many surprises.

I think October, when the 2017 premiums start being announced, is going to be a month of "Sticker Shock" for much of the nation. Virtually every one of the private insurance companies are rumored to be asking for increases ranging anywhere from 10%...to as high as 50%. Several of the State exchanges set up under the ACA have bailed out, or are planning to. The subsidies for those enrolling in the ACA will probably have to be raised to ridiculous levels to keep millions of the poor in some sort of plan. Many people who have some form of insurance cannot afford to seek medical care, because their co-pays are so high. The young and healthy people....which were "supposed" to get health insurance and prop up the ACA...are still staying out of the market, because the penalties are still far less than the cost of buying insurance.

When all the factors affecting our Health Care System are considered, it is becoming increasingly clear that we are headed for disaster. We, as a nation, are already seeing health care costs consuming nearly 19% of this nations GDP, and that is going to rise to unsustainable levels. Perhaps, then, our leaders will look at the experiences of most other developed nations, and begin the move towards a sensible SP-UHC plan, which costs most other nations only about half of what we are stuck with.

I'll go out on a limb and predict that Health Care Costs are going to play a significant role in this years elections. I think when people see what awaits them in 2017, things like "illegal immigration" will be taking a back seat in the final weeks of this years elections.

 

[Bobw235]

I retired this year (a few months shy of my 61st birthday) and have the benefit of keeping my former employer's insurance for my wife and I through the age of 65. I pay the full cost (similar to COBRA, but without the 2% surcharge). I'm older than my wife so she can stay on the insurance until she is eligible for Medicare. It's a nice benefit. In terms of cost, we're right around $1,500/month (dental is another $95/month). I may look at alternatives next year, but for now this was a good option for us in that we have an excellent (albeit expensive) plan that allowed us to keep our present doctors. That was important to us. The co-pays are reasonable.

I think Don is right in his earlier post that health care costs are going to be a big factor in upcoming elections. The cost of healthcare in this country is not sustainable. It's a rigged system where the only winners are healthcare providers and big pharma, and again, I think much of this comes back to the influence of lobbying (money) in our political system.