Author Topic: Health Insurance and Retirement?  (Read 11812 times)

Zooport

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Health Insurance and Retirement?
« on: February 14, 2018, 12:18:45 PM »
Health insurance concerns are keeping me from retiring at my current age of 60.  I've got enough investments and real estate that I could live pretty well off of it, except for health insurance costs which increase substantially as you age.  Anybody else in that same situation?

I think I understand that one can't qualify for Medicare until 66 1/2 now. Does anyone have any tips on health coverage?

I'm healthy and could keep my teaching job for 10 or 15 more years...I just don't want to. 
« Last Edit: February 14, 2018, 12:23:16 PM by Zooport »
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Dwight (DW)

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2018, 01:34:43 PM »
I’m in the same boat. My wife is working 2 days a week to get cheap coverage through her employer.

She will quit when Medicare kicks in.

Zooport

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2018, 04:09:43 PM »
Can I have your wife talk to my wife?  :)
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connector14

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2018, 04:36:23 PM »
I believe everyone becomes eligible for Medicare at age 65. But that doesn't mean you have to sign up for it if you already have coverage via an employer that provides coverage. (or if you have coverage via your spouse). If and when you sign up for Medicare you are going to find that you need supplemental insurance coverage to take care of what Medicare DOES NOT cover. I just had a hip replaced, and thanks to Medicare and my Supplemental coverage it has not cost me anything. (though I pay $134/mo and supplemental plan F costs me $212/mo)....so not anywhere near free. But it is what it is. The procedure without coverage would be around $13,500.
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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2018, 05:41:58 AM »
Yup...same exact boat. Just turned 60.....would pull the trigger but for health insurance.
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eastbound

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2018, 06:01:01 AM »
i wish i could buy medicare for myself and family--instead i pay 2350 per month out of pocket for coverage that is inferior to medicare

with our luck medicare will be neutered by the time we become elegible---hey, something's gotta give--cant hand the wealthy 1.3 trillion in free money tax cuts, and still pay for healthcare for the lazy elderly, now can we??

money drives our political system--you aint got none? get out of my face you lazy POS!
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PDLSFR

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2018, 06:35:10 AM »
Have you guys checked out the plans on the exchanges? Plans will range from cheap to stoopid expensive and from bronze extremely high deductible to platinum low deductible but coverage is out there, just depends on your medical needs (and prescription drugs) and what your willing to spend.

It’s a sad state in our country when illegals and people “working the system” have better coverage than most hard working tax paying americans but don’t get me started.

I’ve been in the health insurance industry for 21+ years, feel free to hit me up with questions.
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eastbound

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2018, 06:52:50 AM »
so you think that 65 yo retirees/or self-employeds on medicare are "working the system"?  why?

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Night Wing

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2018, 08:36:44 AM »
I started working part time when I was 16 years old. Started in high school and worked full time during the summer. Worked part time during the summer months when I was in college.

When I left college at the age of 22, I worked full time until I was the age of 60. At 60 years of age, I retired because all through my working years, I made good money, saved and made good investment choices which allowed me to retire at age 60.

About a month before I reached 65 years of age, I received a letter in the mail stating I was going to receive my Medicare card shortly. It came and I'm now on Medicare. But Medicare isn't enough medical coverage.

Since my wife was a federal civil service worker for 33 years, she was under Blue Cross/Blue Shield FEP so all that time I was under her BC/BS FEP coverage. Since my wife is now retired also, we both have Medicare as our primary medical insurance and Blue Cross/Blue Shield FEP as a secondary medical insurance.

My Medicare is $104 monthly. My wife's Medicare is $134 monthly. Our Blue Cross/Blue Shield FEP is $558 monthly. Add it all up and we pay $9552 "yearly" for medical coverage.

Sounds like a lot and it is, but if you ever have some major medical operations like I have (shoulders, gall bladder, intestinal, etc), the amount we pay for medical insurance yearly is a "bargain" since I've seen the bills for my surgical procedures and those costs are really.........SCARY.  :o

But with these two coverages, we never receive a bill where we pay out of pocket. Medicare and BC/BS FEP covers everything.
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PonoBill

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2018, 10:04:57 AM »
I love the notion of illegals "working the system". Because people who can barely speak English are so much better at making their way through the byzantine federal regulations and systems? maybe they're just better at sitting on hold with insurance companies to get them to cover something they should cover automatically but simply refused. Like, say, those frauds at Aetna.

It's possible to make a mathematical case that Obamacare makes it feasible for states to cover uncompensated emergency care--which is the only medical benefit available to illegal immigrants--but it's a stretch. More importantly, the numbers extracted with that reasoning are dwarfed by the taxes and uncollected "entitlements" they pay into. They don't collect Medicaid or Medicare, or social security despite paying into those systems, but if the pay taxes--and more than 50% of employed illegal immigrants do--then they pay for benefits they can never receive, to the tune of $14 billion per year according to the general accounting office.

My total bill for medical insurance per year is about $20,000. $13,000 for my wife, who is 15 years younger than me but who has type 1 diabetes and has had kidney cancer (fortunately caught accidentally by an alert ultrasound tech extremely early and cured), and $7,000 for me, on Medicare with blue cross supplemental. Our out of pocket expenses are probably another $5K. If I'm gaming that system I must really suck at it. I paid the maximum for social security for most of my working life. Maybe I should hire one of those genius illegals to do it for me.

Zooport, the answer to your question is, don't do it. Keep your job and keep your insurance until you can get Medicare--assuming it's still somewhat intact after Trump. My rough guess is that any coverage you could get at your age, assuming you're willing to spend a few weeks wading through all the crap or hire a really good broker to do it for you, will be lesser coverage for something like $1,000+ per month.
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eastbound

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2018, 10:36:18 AM »
true all that, pb--and prolly good advice for zoo

at our age, zoo, just about anything that could go wrong medically has potential to be labelled pre-existing, and coverage for pre-existing conditions is at risk, given current politics

if youre on your own, seeking insurance, and obamacare's been gutted, you may find yourself "retired" paying 5000 per month for coverage, and high deductible coverage at that

if they gut medicare, as many want to do, all bets are off---even the most reasonable, disciplined savers will have bankruptcy looming thru their golden years--unless they die quick and cheap!

i am a saver--but i am not ready to say those those without retirement savings are just undisciplined over-spenders--and most americans' savings for retirement are non-existent to laughably inadequate

re illegals and health costs, some make case that chroically ill mexicans dont cross the desert too handily..............
i concede that might warrant a bs call, as those with expensive health issues may be incented to fly in, head to the nearest er, and then overstay, whilw getting free care
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PonoBill

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #11 on: February 15, 2018, 10:58:42 AM »
They'd be a lot better off flying to a country with free healthcare. Our buddy Shep was telling me recently that a friend of his got into a horrific mountain bike accident and broke a lot of bonnes in New Zealand. Spent more than a week in the hospital, and when he checked out realized that he hadn't paid. He asked what he owed and they said nothing. "But I'm a tourist." "Doesn't matter. We have free healthcare".

The guy in question can afford good care. He went to an orthopedist to get the work checked out. The doc said it was fine. "They put in fewer screws than we would have, but that doesn't mean it isn't good work. We put the extra screws in to keep from getting sued."
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Tom

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #12 on: February 15, 2018, 11:06:14 AM »
Right on PB, I'm  currently  sitting  in  New Zealand  meeting  a lot if healthy  happy  people who don't  have  to  worry  about  if  they  can  live  through  retirement .

Zooport

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #13 on: February 15, 2018, 11:10:47 AM »
Spent more than a week in the hospital, and when he checked out realized that he hadn't paid. He asked what he owed and they said nothing. "But I'm a tourist." "Doesn't matter. We have free healthcare".

Holy cow!  I'll bet the taxes are high.  Sill, I'm tempted to start practicing phrases like "No worries, mate" and looking at Kiwi immigration policies for Yanks.
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Tom

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Re: Health Insurance and Retirement?
« Reply #14 on: February 15, 2018, 11:20:27 AM »
Don't  have facts and figures  but seems  like  they pay  a lot  but get a lot for their  money. Taxes are very high for the rich and not so for the lower incomes One hell of a concept .

 


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