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I'm leaving my job as a software engineer and don't have another job lined up. I'm planning on taking 6-12 months off to work on some personal projects before finding another job. What are my options for health insurance over that time period? From the research I've done, it appears I have 3 options:
I'm a relatively healthy 30 year old. My only consistent medical cost is a non-generic asthma inhaler that I should refill every 3-6 months. Most likely way I'd incur an unexpected medical cost would be some sort of sports related bone, ligament or tendon injury from hockey, skiing or casual football. In other words, my costs will most likely be low. I'd obviously like to keep my monthly premium as low as possible. At the same time I'd like to avoid a plan with a huge deductible, so if something unexpected does happen I won't see the funds I have set aside for this sabbatical rapidly evaporate. Any recommendations or thoughts on which option I should go with and/or what sort of plan would be ideal for my situation?
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Sep 15, 2016 23:58
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 03:16 |
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COBRA rates are usually insanely high, personally I would just get an Obamacare plan. In Indiana, the most republican of anti Obama states IU health has a plan that is insanely cheap and IU doctors are fairly competent. Even if you miss the window open enrollment is only a couple months away. Can't you get unemployment after so many weeks?
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Sep 16, 2016 14:33
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It blows my loving mind that young healthy person is supposed to pay $300 a month for health insurance. And that's usually for a plan with a not great deductible. Just so much loving money being incinerated every day.
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Sep 16, 2016 14:40
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Elephanthead posted:COBRA rates are usually insanely high, personally I would just get an Obamacare plan. In Indiana, the most republican of anti Obama states IU health has a plan that is insanely cheap and IU doctors are fairly competent. Even if you miss the window open enrollment is only a couple months away. I don't think I'm eligible for unemployment if I voluntarily leave my job (at least in California). Heard back from HR, COBRA would cost ~$410 for a $0 deductible 'platinum' copay plan. Cheaper than similar Obamacare options, but still a lot of money. It looks like once 2017 open enrollment comes along, I can estimate my 2017 income to be very low, which would give me a low, subsidized premium. If I end up getting a job earlier in the year and therefore making more than my estimated income, I believe I'd have to repay the subsidized amount come tax time (when I have a steady income again). Looks like this would allow me to defer most of the premium until after I find another job. Pryor on Fire posted:It blows my loving mind that young healthy person is supposed to pay $300 a month for health insurance. And that's usually for a plan with a not great deductible.
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Sep 16, 2016 22:06
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That cobra plan is a steal. I just switched jobs and they wanted three times that amount for something that could barely qualify as insurance.
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Sep 20, 2016 04:56
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Piggybacking on this- I'm leaving in December, and if I could go without health insurance without paying a penalty, I would. Or if I'm reading the website correctly, that's a max of $695 I would have to pay?
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Sep 20, 2016 13:52
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Pryor on Fire posted:It blows my loving mind that young healthy person is supposed to pay $300 a month for health insurance. And that's usually for a plan with a not great deductible. Just so much loving money being incinerated every day. Porsches don't buy themselves.
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Sep 20, 2016 16:49
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Medicine has become this bizarre experiment that defies traditional economics, it defies common sense, it defies any attempt at actually providing good care first, it's more like this experimental vacuum prototype to see how much money it can suck out of every person possible. It's like that gigantic vacuum hovering in space over a planet to suck atmosphere away like in Space Balls. Nothing matters aside from increasing the size and scope and speed of the suction, and every law of economics is bending/breaking to accommodate the increased rate of sucking.
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Sep 20, 2016 17:03
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Moneyball posted:Piggybacking on this- I'm leaving in December, and if I could go without health insurance without paying a penalty, I would. Or if I'm reading the website correctly, that's a max of $695 I would have to pay? Here's my understanding: if you have zero income for the entire year, I don't think you have to pay any penalty. The penalty is waived if the cheapest plan is more than 8% of your income. There's also no penalty if your gap in coverage is less than 3 months. There are other exemptions that get the penalty waived as well. If you don't qualify for any exceptions $695 is the minimum penalty you'd pay for a full year of no coverage in 2016 (this may got up a bit in 2017). After your income is above a certain threshold, you pay a percentage of your income up to the national average for an Obamacare bronze plan ($2085 in 2016). The penalty is assessed on a per month basis. So if you are only without insurance for 6 months, you'd only pay half of the penalty. Your yearly income is used to determine the per month penalty, so even if you have no income the months you don't have insurance, if you end up making decent money the rest of the year your per month penalty could be higher than $57.92 minimum (1/12 of $695). The max monthly penalty is $173.75 (1/12 of $2085).
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Sep 20, 2016 20:00
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oRenj9 posted:That cobra plan is a steal. I just switched jobs and they wanted three times that amount for something that could barely qualify as insurance. Agreed. My last COBRA offer was $2700+ per month for a family of two. $410 for a zero-deductible plat plan is phenomenal, even on open market. Edit: gently caress, last post was five days ago. Sorry.
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Sep 25, 2016 20:53
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Pryor on Fire posted:It blows my loving mind that young healthy person is supposed to pay $300 a month for health insurance. And that's usually for a plan with a not great deductible. Just so much loving money being incinerated every day. The thing there is that under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies can't charge more for being less than healthy, and only a limited amount extra for being old. Which we desperately needed - During the Bush administration, I had heard stories of people being turned down for individual health insurance (or at least being charged obscene prices) over trivial health issues.
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Sep 26, 2016 03:38
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Huh? So everyone is paying the same for health insurance now? That sure would be news to me.
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Sep 26, 2016 22:08
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I believe the ACA limited them to a 3x range based on age, so if a 20 year old pays $100 a 60 year old would pay at most $300.
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Sep 26, 2016 22:21
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This doesn't directly answer your question but might be worth reading: an early retirement blogger got super detailed in how to maximize ACA subsidies.
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Sep 28, 2016 05:11
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 03:16 |
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Cockmaster posted:The thing there is that under the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies can't charge more for being less than healthy, and only a limited amount extra for being old. Which we desperately needed - During the Bush administration, I had heard stories of people being turned down for individual health insurance (or at least being charged obscene prices) over trivial health issues. I needed individual health insurance for like 3 months during the Bush years. I have a diagnosed vague stomach issue so the best I could get was a carrier saying "we'll cover you but if anything happens that we can trace back to this vague issue then we won't cover it". Luckily my state had a plan for people with pre-existing conditions. My friend was denied because she had ADHD. That's separate than the "not paying more" thing. The above are examples of denials based on pre-existing conditions, which is also something ACA banned. Edit: ugh, I did a necro. OP, have you figured out a plan?
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Oct 6, 2016 04:47
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