[SteveFromNY]

I'm working now and expect to retire in 10 months or so (and be part of TV). My health care is thru my employer, and I have check ehealthcare for rates, which were not as scarey as I thought they'd be.
My question: I have some existing conditions that possibly make me a higher risk than "normal". Will the health care insurance providers turn me down? Will they charge me so much I can't afford it? ehealthinsurance quoted rates without asking about existing conditions, but I'm still skeptical.
I'd appraciate insight from folks with similar experience. Thanks.

[jjdees]

You are protected if you switch from a group policy to another group policy. This was the change during Clinton's administration. The problem they didn't address was if you switch from group to individual. Then the pre-existing conditions are applied.

[villager99]

i retired with a disability and pre-existing conditions prior to medicare eligibility and used the villages insurance company to find me the best individual health insurance policy for a florida resident in my situation. they did the research presented me with choices and then left the decision up to me.

[SteveFromNY]

Thanks for the input.....
I have 2 more questions that maybe someone can help with:
1) Are there group plans that will let me join even as a retired (technically unemployed) person? I have not been at my current job long enough to retire, and I left my last job before I was eligible. So when I retire, I really quit. Does AARP have health insurance plan?
2) Realizing that everything depends (what kind of shape I'm in, what kind of coverage I want, etc), what can I expect to pay for either an individual or group plan with "decent" coverage and a choice of doctors? eHealthinsuranc.com quotes something around $7K per year. I'm trying to develop a decent budget for my fixed income...

Thanks Again,
Steve

[DickY]

If you go to the AARP site they have several health insurance options. Try this link: http://www.aarphealthcare.com/prodsv...4/default.aspx

[SteveFromNY]

Thanks Dick! It looks like I'll be able to get into a group plan with them, based on initial browsing. I'll research it further.
Steve

[Barefoot]

I welcome Steve/NY's raising this issue. I know that affordable health care is an important concern to all retirees. Especially those of us with "pre-existing conditions", and I bet there are lots of us. So comments from anyone who can share health care information and costs would be most appreciated.

[travelstiles]

Below are links to the Health Insurance Guide for Consumers provided by the Florida Department of Financial Services:
http://www.fldfs.com/consumers/liter...hGuide2006.pdf
and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation:
http://www.floir.com/
They have contact info on the sites to answer specific questions.
I've been actively involved in financial education throughout my career (I am retiring this Thursday, moving to TV next month - !), and know from experience that government agencies such as the Social Security Administration are more than willing to provide professional speakers to address groups who are interested. It's a thought...

[gonzy]

We had a similar problem and after an exhaustive search and multiple companies turning us down due to pre existing conditions we ended up with United American Ins. Co. we haven't used them yet but we saved about $500/mo from our previous blue cross insurer which we had up in New England. Higher deductibles and co pays of course but figured we could set aside some each month to compensate. Watch out when you make out applications as they like to deduct the money before they approve you and as you can imagine they take their sweet time with the refund. We waited 3 months for one company to send refund. We had 2 guys come to the house and they assured us we would be accepted as they left with the check. not!

[Hyacinth Bucket]

Hi SteveFromNY,

We have Mutual of Omaha which so far has been good. For prescriptions - that is another question. Bush signed bill that allows insurance companies to change the policy without notifying the consumer, the only thing they can not change is what you are being charged for a certain period of time.

We paid nearly twice as much to get excellent RX coverage - turned out it was a waste of money.

As of now, my husband, has researched over 50 companies. If you want to know what he is looking at, so that he can compare apples to apples, please let me know.

HB