Health Care Options for Retiring at 62?

[Tbear]

My wife tried the special enrollment on the ACA to get an estimate of what health care costs would look like until medicare kicks in at age 65 (if she takes social security now at 62 or 63). She was bombarded with calls and she can't do that while working.

We are wondering what kind things similar DU'ers have found for healthcare when trying to retire before 65.

[Tomconroy]

1. I think the ACA established a non profit advisory organization for each state

That should be able to give good advice. What state are you in?

This might help

https://www.healthcare.gov/apply-and-enroll/get-help-applying/

[Tbear]

6. Good Link!

For my state of Michigan I was able to get an estimate of the credit and several examples of plans with costs in three levels.
It's a little tricky but you can do it without creating an account and logging in.

In our case, I am on my wife's work plan. If she retires before 65 she will need coverage. My plan is to go to the VA.

[Freethinker65]

2. Bookmarking. This will be me soon.

Hope you get some good info!

I have up to 36 months of Cobra which I will probably take, but have been considering checking out the exchange and will need it as Cobra will end before I reach Medicare age.

[gab13by13]

3. I retired at 63 back in 2010,

I was lucky to belong in a union that provided insurance until I turned 65 and then it became my secondary insurance.

I think you are on the right track. My consideration was my health, I was healthy and was only looking for a plan that covered me in case something serious were to happen to me. Another thing to think about, I never thought about dental insurance which I lost when I retired. I had a lot of dental issues and probably paid $11,000 out of my pocket until I got straightened out. So when looking for a plan check to see if you can keep it as a secondary insurance at 65 years old. Cobra always seemed too expensive. I know I didn't help with who to get, just some considerations to think about.

[comradebillyboy]

4. I retired at 62 and went on my wife's health insurance

until I got on Medicare at 65.

[catbyte]

5. If your wife doesn't have retiree health insurance from the place she's retiring from,

the ACA is her only option. I retired in 2015 at the age of 59 and wasn't thrilled wth the retiree healthcare options available to me through my workplace, so I chose one of the Healthcare Marketplace plans. I did everything online and I don't recall getting any calls. I decided to take my Social Security benefits at age 62 and was happy with my Marketplace plan until Medicare kicked in when I turned 65.

Be prepared to be bombarded with mail, though, because everybody is going to try to get your wife's business. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but my only advice is to do everything online to avoid being flooded with phone calls.

[Tbear]

7. Good Stuff TY

[luvs2sing]

8. My experience..

I was on Hubster’s insurance. He planned to work till age 70 (early 2023) to get full social security benefits. I would have been 65 by then. As it turned out, he got laid off in October 2020, when I just turned 63. Because of the pandemic, his company gave him seven months severance and eighteen months COBRA for me at a reduced rate. It was a sweet deal, and instead of looking for another position in the company, which they wanted him to do, he decided to retire at almost 67 and immediately got on Medicare. His severance made it possible for us to easily make the COBRA payments, but that only lasted till April 2022, and I didn’t turn 65 for another six months.

We went on the healthcare.gov site and got a ballpark of how much premiums would be. No one called us or sent us anything. A year ago, I signed up for insurance through the ACA. It was pretty easy, and where we had difficulties, it was easy to call and get help. My biggest complaint was the lack of choices of policies. I really only had one choice for the health network I belong to, and it only covered the specialists I see, but not my primary care doc. The other two policies offered in my area were with another health network, and I would have had to get all new docs. So much for getting to keep your doctor, eh?

I was really worried what would happen if I needed to see my PCP, but I didn’t need to. Instead, a month after my insurance started, I fractured my shoulder and detached my bicep and had to have surgery to put me together again. I’m still in physical therapy, seven months later. Luckily, that “crappy” insurance was there because once this is over, my bill would have been over $100k without it. Right now, I’m looking at less than $5k for everything.

In October, I turned 65 and started Medicare. Hubster and I worked with a guy several friends recommended to get the best plans. My other insurance was quickly cancelled with a call to healthcare.gov 30 days before I started on Medicare. All in all, this was a very good experience.

[Tbear]

9. Great story! and lesson on keeping insurance always.ty

[Trailrider1951]

10. I retired the first time at 62 because my workplace was a toxic hell and my boss was a

psycho asshole. My income dropped a lot, so I was able to find a decent plan on the ACA marketplace that cost me $0 per month, $25 for a doctor visit, and $5 a month for my blood pressure meds. It did have a $6,000 deductible for hospital visits, but I was relatively healthy and never needed to go to the hospital. Check it out, but read all the fine print. If you don't do a log-in, you can still check what is available at what price. Hope this helps!

[Tbear]

11. It does thank you