Survive on $600 living out of vehicle??

[mayble]

In my case, Cobra was not cheap! I went without for a while.

John

Maybe not cheap, but certainly cheaper than many I'm seeing here!
Mine would be $350/mo for one person, $750 deductible, 20% coinsurance with $1500 max.

 

[WriterMs]

I guess a lot can vary by state if your state is doing its own version. For last year, I had no insurance because SD was trying to be obstructionist and did not set up any plan.

This year, going through the federal website (healthcare.gov), I did get insurance at a very low cost. The website asks me to estimate the amount of money I would be making for 2016 -- it reminds you to adjust your policy if your incomes changes substantially from what you predict. There was never a question about the past year's income.

And the federal tax form for the end of the year where you show if you are using the subsidy properly does go month by month in case you have large differences per month.

 

[akrvbob]

I wish Bob would do a blog post about healthcare, especially Medicaid for van dwellers. Maybe a video. So many people are still without healthcare coverage without knowing what is available. They say there are still 10 million people eligible for free Medicaid yet they show up in ER with no insurance.

Actually I've done a blog post on health insurance:
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/got-healthy-insurance-open-enrollment-healthcare-gov/

And I'll be doing a video on it soon. My drivers license expires in June so I'm in Pahrump, NV right now to renew it and while I'm here I've got an appointment with my Doctor (GP). So I'll do a series of videos about how to chose a state, why I chose NV and how you get the drivers license, car insurance and inspections, etc.. I'll walk out of the door of the DMV, turn on the video camera and tell you how it went.

Then a video on health insurance. I'll walk out of the door to the doctors office, turn on the video camera and tell you how it went. I'll tell you about the exchange, nationwide coverage, Expanded Medicaid, etc.

Finally, I'll do a video interview with my Mail Forwarder here and we'll learn the ins and outs of how that works and how I get mail from her when I'm traveling and what I'm doing for a physical address.

I'm no expert, but I'm doing it and I can tell people how I'm doing it. I'm also a person who knows how dumb I really am so I've dedicated myself to learning something from everyone I can. I've been lucky and know some pretty smart people!
Bob

 

[planet-beaver]

Awesome, thanks Bob.

 

[rvpopeye]

Thx Bob !
I was thinking about changing my domicile state to Texas but the more you post about Nevada , the more I'm leaning in that direction !
I do love Pahrump , such a cool little town , I went there many times the winter I spent in Death Valley !

 

[planet-beaver]

This May will be our last TAG renewal in Pennsylvania. Next year in May we will be switching to IN or NV.

Both have Medicaid.

Indiana has better medical system with thousands of doctors taking Medicaid (HIP 2.0) and has no vehicle inspections, low auto insurance (46th out of 50 states), low plate registration based on vehicle value ($26 for our van). Unfortunately it does have income tax but not from 401K money which will be our income.

Nevada is better located for us as we plan on spending most times on the west coast. Washington and Oregon in summer, Arizona and Cali in winter. But I hear the medical system is broken. Impossible to see a good doctor on Medicaid.

 

[Goshawk]

Correction from my posting about medical insurance while on obamacare. My girlfriend had a $350 premium. But because she made over $11000 a year she was able to get that subsidized for $250. Effectively she only needed to pay $100.

If she needed just catistrophic because she had no income it would be $250 a month. Or she could just have no insurance and that is legal because she has no income.

Unfortunately the state she lives in has no Medicaid subsidy if you have no income. So she would not get Medicaid either it seems. Or at least would not have insurance officially. Though no hospital can turn you away if you are seeking medical care.

 

[SoulRaven]

I keep hearing Washington state is a really good one for medicaid. It's completely free for those on it, though finding a doctor who takes it can be difficult sot hat's the rub. You can't pick which doctor you want to see and then ask if they take medicaid, because the answer has always been no. But, if you see a GP within the system and need to see a specialist, they refer you to a specialist within the system (I've had to wait as long as a month) and that specialist will refer you to other specialists within the system as needed.

It's far from hassle-free if you've got unusual medical problems like m, but ER visits, office visits, and pretty much all prescriptions are covered and totally free. I don't take undue advantage of this, trying to be mindful of taxpayer dollars, but the fact that I don't have to pay anything has given me hope that perhaps I can get on top of this beast of medical complexity after all. Otherwise I wouldn't have even tried. When I have to call an ambulance or stop into urgent care it's a relief to know I don't have to worry about finances.

I don't know how it compares to other states, but my case managers tell me people from nearby do move to Washington state specifically for the medical benefits. I know my boyfriend, who works full time and earns minimum wage, still qualifies for the same medicaid coverage as I do. I would personally recommend Molina, a lot more places take it around here than the other medicaid groups and they cover compounded medications too. I switched to them based on the recommendations of several different people and haven't regretted it since.

 

[planet-beaver]

I think Nomadic Fanatic made some video on Youtube about frustrations with WA Medicaid (end up paying for private doctor) as the wait was 2 months.

This is the problem with FREE medicaid. This is why Midwestern states Medicaid charge per procedure which means one visit could cost $5 to $50 depending how many tests were run. Because of that people think twice about going to a doctor with runny nose.

In Indiana a doctors get paid $46 per visit from Medicare (65 older crowd) and $61 from Medicaid so they all signed up. There are more docs taking Medicaid then Medicare. But the Medicaid will cost you and every visit will cost you. But you can see specialist sometimes the same day.

 

[Yogidog]

Bob wrote
"And I'll be doing a video on it soon. My drivers license expires in June so I'm in Pahrump, NV"
That would be excellant, anything u could find out about Medicare also would be much appreciated. They take a hundred out of my nine hundred and it makes it tight after car insurance. Was comfortable before they took the hundred. Daughter is in Reno and primary reason to head out there. Would be easy to switch residence there. This is a God send! Thanks for helping us all! 

Is anyone able to save money up on fixed income, like stay boondocking for a.month? I was able to do it in Florida. Thanks

 

[IGBT]

I think Nomadic Fanatic made some video on Youtube about frustrations with WA Medicaid (end up paying for private doctor) as the wait was 2 months.

This is the problem with FREE medicaid. This is why Midwestern states Medicaid charge per procedure which means one visit could cost $5 to $50 depending how many tests were run. Because of that people think twice about going to a doctor with runny nose.

In Indiana a doctors get paid $46 per visit from Medicare (65 older crowd) and $61 from Medicaid so they all signed up. There are more docs taking Medicaid then Medicare. But the Medicaid will cost you and every visit will cost you. But you can see specialist sometimes the same day.

Wait for what?   When I was having nerve problems in my hands, I had to wait over two months to see a specialist with UW Physicians and I had the best insurance you could get (one of those caddy plans they tax now)

Sometimes there is just too much demand for services and you have to wait.

Now if you mean you had a broken arm and they said "We can look at that in a month or so" then yeah.

 

[Annie W]

I basically eat 1 big meal a day, buy loss-leader/reduced food, do ALL my own repairs, shop at thrift stores/flea markets, don't eat at restaurants and do my own cooking from scratch, avoid (expensive) junk food, and never camp where I must pay. Lot's of other stuff, much of it a minor saving per individual case, but all adding up to major savings. Wal-Mart, Amazon, Craigslist and Ebay are my friends. ..Willy.

Thank you.