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-   -   Looking for health insurance (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/medical-health-discussion-94/looking-health-insurance-35784/)

champion6 02-02-2011 01:56 PM

Looking for health insurance
 
We’re still up north, but it’s time for us to begin looking for retirement medical coverage that will be suitable for living in TV until we qualify for Medicare. COBRA is the last option because my employer’s insurance company is a regional insurer. None of the providers in Florida is In Network so my premium will be high, the deductible will be $5000/year and then 50/50 coverage. It’s essentially only good as catastrophic medical coverage.

So, I have some questions:
What insurance carrier do you have until you enroll in Medicare?
What are your deductible/coverage and the premium?
What do you like about your carrier?
How did medical history and existing conditions affect your ability to get coverage?
Do you have any experience with a carrier to stay away from and why?

Thanks in advance for any/all replies.

JenAjd 02-02-2011 02:36 PM

Are you planning on living here fulltime? I would use what you already have until you get down here THEN schedule an app't (there will be no charge) with TV insurance office and they'll connect you with the best coverage. Some have their own preferred providers (doctor's) and you'll have to wade through all that as well. Doing it from long-distance really isn't a benefit IF you're going to live here as snowbirds or seasonally, you can get coverage in your home state that will apply to both there and FL.

champion6 02-02-2011 02:50 PM

When I retire, we will be leaving Illinois and living in TV full time.

aljetmet 02-02-2011 02:58 PM

Wake up call
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by champion6 (Post 327782)
We’re still up north, but it’s time for us to begin looking for retirement medical coverage that will be suitable for living in TV until we qualify for Medicare. COBRA is the last option because my employer’s insurance company is a regional insurer. None of the providers in Florida is In Network so my premium will be high, the deductible will be $5000/year and then 50/50 coverage. It’s essentially only good as catastrophic medical coverage.

So, I have some questions:
What insurance carrier do you have until you enroll in Medicare?
What are your deductible/coverage and the premium?
What do you like about your carrier?
How did medical history and existing conditions affect your ability to get coverage?
Do you have any experience with a carrier to stay away from and why?

Thanks in advance for any/all replies.


Can't really help you much cause I'm in the same boat as you. If you have a pre-existing condition, then it will be very tough. That's the problem I have.
I just checked my company's plan. It covers the entire country. So for a mere $7,800 per year I can buy Cobra.

I expect to use Cobra the full 1 and years prior to going on Medicare.

I just checked for hospitals and found

Villages Regional Hospital
Leesburg regional hospital

General question:

Are these two hospitals the only two close to TV?

Also a few in Ocala

rjm1cc 02-02-2011 04:20 PM

Do not drop your current insurance until you have a new plan.
I am not sure but I do not think preexisting conditions should be a problem since you currently have insurance. I think you can get a letter from the current company that you are covered and you give that to your new carrier. I would check with your HR department. You could also call your current company and tell them you are moving and want to get a personnel plan similar to what you have for that location. They might be able to help you.

Ohiogirl 02-02-2011 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjm1cc (Post 327829)
Do not drop your current insurance until you have a new plan.
I am not sure but I do not think preexisting conditions should be a problem since you currently have insurance. I think you can get a letter from the current company that you are covered and you give that to your new carrier. I would check with your HR department. You could also call your current company and tell them you are moving and want to get a personnel plan similar to what you have for that location. They might be able to help you.

Pre-existing conditions ARE a problem - yes, you can get health insurance if you have had continuous coverage, but you may have to pay a bunch (and I mean a BUNCH) for it if you have a pre-existing condition. Some conditions (prior cancer, diabetes, heart conditions) put you more at risk for future healthcare costs than others.

Insurers are also looking at your age as a health risk. For instance, cost to insure a healthy 30 yr old are much less than for a healthy 60 yr old.

Am currently saving up and hoping I stay relatively healthy until my COBRA runs out on July 1st. I was lucky enough to have switched to a high deductible policy while still working so my current COBRA premiums are not exhorbitant. Consider this during your open enrollment this fall if you plan to retire in 2012 and use COBRA as a bridge to Medicare or a private healthcare policy. This is if you are lucky enough to not need extensive treatment, of course, and who can predict that?

pklein9747 02-02-2011 06:35 PM

I am quite a few years away from Medicare but will be moving down to TV in a month or two as hubby is already retired. I contacted the Village Insurance Office in Lake Sumter Landing and the woman who handles health insurance for them was very informative and helpful. She provided me with several quotes, which because I am healthy, are going to be less expensive than going with Cobra coverage for next 18 months.

She also mentioned that this is the time to get private insurance, while I'm healthy...what if I go with the Cobra and then develop a health condition in the next year and a half? It would be much more expensive and more difficult to get private insurance then.

JenAjd 02-02-2011 09:46 PM

All speculation and what if's....you should speak to an insurance (yours?) to get their counsel on this. We did that before we 1st came down as first snowbirds...then again when we were deciding to become fulltime. Then spoke to one in TV as they know the "ins and outs" of how to go about it. Don't think you can really do much til you're down here. What someone already said...don't drop what you have until you move here.

Ohiogirl 02-03-2011 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pklein9747 (Post 327867)
I am quite a few years away from Medicare but will be moving down to TV in a month or two as hubby is already retired. I contacted the Village Insurance Office in Lake Sumter Landing and the woman who handles health insurance for them was very informative and helpful. She provided me with several quotes, which because I am healthy, are going to be less expensive than going with Cobra coverage for next 18 months.

She also mentioned that this is the time to get private insurance, while I'm healthy...what if I go with the Cobra and then develop a health condition in the next year and a half? It would be much more expensive and more difficult to get private insurance then.

I believe this is true - for the first year. If you develop a condition while on private insurance, I think they will jack up the premium for the next year and beyond. And I think asking these questions when shopping won't always get you the straight answer, unfortunately (kind of like Direct TV - "we're sorry you were misinformed)." Can anyone with experience in this answer directly?

Barefoot 02-03-2011 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by champion6 (Post 327782)

So, I have some questions:
What insurance carrier do you have until you enroll in Medicare?
What are your deductible/coverage and the premium?
What do you like about your carrier?
How did medical history and existing conditions affect your ability to get coverage?
Do you have any experience with a carrier to stay away from and why?

I would also be interested to hear the answers to Champion's questions.

For example, assuming someone in their 60s had no health care insurance whatsoever, how much would it cost to obtain the insurance? (Obviously it would be more expensive for those with pre-existing conditions). I'm just trying to understand what the approximate range would be.

champion6 02-04-2011 01:08 PM

Thanks for all the advice and comments. i really appreciate them. I'm surprised that no one had any response to these questions:
What insurance carrier do you have until you enroll in Medicare?
What are your deductible/coverage and the premium?
What do you like about your carrier?
Do you have any experience with a carrier to stay away from and why?

Becky 02-04-2011 01:37 PM

My Cobra runs out at the end of this month. Am currently going through the "getting insurance thing". To keep what I have now would be $1700/month, so that's out! As it stands now, I have applied for a Health Savings Account with Golden Rule United Health One. I do have pre-existing condition. So far the underwriters have contacted me 2 times with extra questions. They said I would hear in about a week. So I wait! Feel free to PM me with any other questions.

Becky

TrudyM 02-04-2011 03:31 PM

Don't forget new laws going in:
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by champion6 (Post 328268)
Thanks for all the advice and comments. i really appreciate them. I'm surprised that no one had any response to these questions:
What insurance carrier do you have until you enroll in Medicare?
What are your deductible/coverage and the premium?
What do you like about your carrier?
Do you have any experience with a carrier to stay away from and why?

I am not much help either as I will be in the same boat from 2013-2017 covered under my husband untill he turns 65 then I can continue under that cobra plan or switch.

The out of network thing is a pain but I have done it before when we were on temp assignment in Gerogia mostly paperwork hassel unless you're current policy charges a big out of network and includes areas that they don't cover. Our out of network higher cost did not include areas were they were not set up and no participating provider was available. Every policy is different.

To make the research more confusing there is the new health care laws that come into play over the next few years.
http://www.aarp.org/health/health-care-reform/ has an overview. But I have been reading that some plans currently available will no longer be soon and that all will change drastically as the full effect comes to bear.

Not much help
Trudy


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