Do I need healthcare insurance for 20 months?

[Beetle]

This is a personal decision but I am curious about your experiences and feedback.

I am retiring and will be eligible for Medicare in 20 months. Good health but the risk is in the unknown, especially unforeseen hospitalization.

I have very good auto insurance which covers accident-related injuries.  Since I will be on the road more so will the risk of an accident.

What say you?

 

[Weight]

You will pay more for some medicare related insurance if you have a period of time with no coverage. You will have to research that as I don't have direct experience. I remember reading something when I signed on many years ago.

 

[RoamerRV428]

crapshoot literally. aren't we penalized on taxes from having no healthcare? heck I can't remember cause I have it but don't you have to pay a penalty on taxes if you have none at all?

one of those, if great health and you know the consequences like Weight said above and possible penalities etc. from our govt.....I say pick a choice and go for it. whatever floats your boat on this one after a bit of research.

 

[Blanch]

I was uninsured for 18 months and though I’d be fine. I had a heart attacking during that period. I had a $40,000 hospital bill. I didn’t get cardiac rehab. I ended up in bankruptcy court. It is a very real risk to your financial future.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Matlock]

Beetle,

Your "good health" comment is todays assessment. Family health history plays a part in your decision as well as those that will be affected should you find yourself in need of medical assistance over that uninsured 20 months.

That said, I was self insured (out of pocket) for a while and even with good health, no meds, no issues and a long blood line of old age, I was relieved to be lucky enough to hit 65 and finally buy personal insurance tied to medicare.

Medicare as you know goes back to each state. Start by talking with local insurance companys. I ended up with auto/home/health from State Farm for all insurance including medicare A&B supplements.

just my 2¢

 

[Weight]

Medicare it self doesn't go back to each state. If op for a medi-gap coverage, they base the charges partly on where you live. Also if you get part C Advantage coverage, that is network and tied to your home area.

 

[MrNoodly]

I rolled the dice without health insurance for eight years. I won. So sometimes it's the smart bet and sometimes it isn't.

As for the penalty for not being insured, it only applies if you have income above a certain level.

 

[Firtree]

I would not go without, stuff happens, home or on the road. The price of even an office visit is huge if you have no insurance. I think it’s a scam but it’s the system today.
If you have a large reserve fund for vehicle repair, replace and another $5-6000, I’d look at possibly of Cobra insurance (might still need another 2-3 months after Cobra) and your state’s Blue Cross Blue Shield high deductible plans and if they will cover you if you are in another state “visiting”.
Certain other threads on this topic will explain costs of no insurance vs insurance with co pay.

 

[Beetle]

Thank you all so far for sharing your experiences and thoughts.

I am inclined to select the high deductible plan offered to retirees. FYI COBRA is not available to retirees.

In planning for my retirement, I spoke with my primary care provider about her self-pay patients.  She emphasized the importance of hospitalization insurance. As for routine check ups, her practice has a sliding scale as to the length of a visit.  She would charge me for a short visit regardless.  So sweet!

 

[MrNoodly]

...The price of even an office visit is huge if you have no insurance.

One of the reasons I dropped insurance was I realized, "So I'm paying thousands a year so I didn't need to pay $350 twice a year out of pocket for an office visit and lab work and so the MD will renew my prescriptions?"

 

[WanderingRose]

Why risk it, unless you want to risk beginning your retirement life with a catastrophic financial expense that could change the course of your retirement plans?

I have never had an accident related injury in my 70 years of life, but have had some mind boggling medical expenses, thankfully all covered by health insurance.

Once you are eligible for Medicare, medical providers taking that rate means anything major is less in terms of cost, but until then you will be on the hook for it all.

I had a life saving treatment in the ER a couple of years ago, which cost more than $66,000, all by itself, plus a few days in the ICU.

Why play Russian roulette with your retirement plans.

 

[Weight]

Retirement before age 65 you do qualify for COBRA if you had a company plan at work. Mine would have been very expensive, so I waited to retire past 65.

 

[RoamerRV428]

COBRA is the f'ing most high cost you can do. Who the heck takes COBRA from their employer and can friggin' afford to do just that? not many I would think. hubby had great benefits with his job and our med costs were manageable due to high employee count from big company, the minute we left his COBRA was like $2,800 per month to continue our plan as is, and our monthly cost was like $400 for that plan with company...I mean come the heck on here! Search new coverage and find the best, the best for us was Christian Healthcare Ministries. $450 a month, best plan, covers all 3 of us and while unconventional, IF YOU RESEARCH it and feel secure in it (disclaimer, it works for us easily and we know the company and are fine with this!!!! everyone MUST learn it for themselves and make own decisions) but it is an alternative options. While alternative options are frightening for sure, I am just mentioning an option that is working well for us now. Thing is med in this country is unreal. Costs are thru the roof. problem for all? darn right it is and global problem at that.

 

[Firtree]

I did Cobra leaving my last job. Had had cancer surgery and wanted to keep current plan and Doctors. Had another plan I could have used but could not use the doctors I could with Cobra. It’s expensive since you are paying both the employee cost plus the businesses cost, but as I recall was cheaper than if I bought that plan on the open market. Other thing was it was easy to switch over to the Cobra and was assured there would be no gap in coverage, important at that time because of the pre-existing. Gave me time to look for other plans and learn if my backup plan would cover the way it might be needed.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

I am an RN. I once listened to the process of a man dying from a thoracic aneurysm. From no insurance. He may have died anyway, but there's a good possibility not. We were in a small town ER and so he couldn't be treated there. They could not verify his insurance, however. Though the ER doc kept calling other hospitals to where we could airlift the patient, every time they asked about insurance status, the doc told them the situation. One hospital after another, upon hearing that told our doc the they were "full".

The man walked into the ER, a walkie-talkie. He died six hours later in the same hospital after not being transferred. Did health insurance have anything to do with it? Legal? Don't know. I wouldn't do without some sort of insurance.
Ted

 

[mpruet]

All it takes to wipe you out is a unplanned surgery.

 

[Trebor English]

If you have an IRA with $100,000 of investments you could get $66,000 out of it after taxes.  Even with the ability to pay the ER bill they don't know you can pay.  They want insurance information.  If you are Bill Gates with sufficient resources to buy the hospital how do you convince them to treat you?  

If you come to the ER they want an insurance card with a group number and a phone number to call to verify your coverage.  If you come in not a "walkie talkie" it is up to the wallet biopsy to speak for you.