What are health insurance options for people who retire early? Wealthy folks who no longer need to work.

Farm bureau. Various Healthcare ministries. Obamacare.

Obamacare probably gonna be your best bet. There are some decent plans out there, just steer clear of health insurance agents whatever you do.

Best part if you aren't drawing much income from retirement is you may get a fully subsidized $0 premium or at least very reduced cost on your monthly premium.

I didn't go too far into it but Obamacare is expensive as hell at first blush. It was going to cost us close to $1,500 per month as late 40s early retirees.

I ended up taking a job at a startup and paying about $500 per month instead.

YouBet said:

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I didn't go too far into it but Obamacare is expensive as hell at first blush. It was going to cost us close to $1,500 per month as late 40s early retirees.

I ended up taking a job at a startup and paying about $500 per month instead.

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$1500 for 2 people?

Tscra.org. Insurance division. Similar to Tx farm bureau, you don't have to be in the industry to buy a membership and insurance. Bcbs PPO health insurance is what we have had for 8 or so years with the policy set up thru our family owned LLC.
They have a small office staff and actually answer the phone and voicemails/emails.

jamey said:

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YouBet said:

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I didn't go too far into it but Obamacare is expensive as hell at first blush. It was going to cost us close to $1,500 per month as late 40s early retirees.

I ended up taking a job at a startup and paying about $500 per month instead.

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$1500 for 2 people?

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Yes, it was dumb. Again though this was just an initial quote. I did not look beyond just that. Not sure if there are ways to cut that.

Looking for insurance for FIVE. Mom, Dad, two teen boys, and a teen girl. Might take advantage of COBRA for 18 months.

Depending on where you live Obamacare is poor with few options for in network providers. Research that before signing up.

We've been on an indemnity plan for a few years now and like it a lot. The asterisk here is that we're relatively healthy with our visits being routine other than my 8 weeks of PT for a separated shoulder a couple of years ago. Indemnity plans are non-standard meaning if the 2018 tax cuts expire and the individual mandate returns we could see them disappear but for now they're a great option if you aren't always at the doctor's office.

When searching for options, Look at what self-employed and small business owners are using. Its a larger pool than early retirees that have the same problem.

Also as mentioned, A deep dive into tax strategies can really help your numbers if you look into ACA, but ACA in Texas isn't the best.

I am self-employed (just me in my business). It would have been $1500/month for me and my wife with a huge deductible. I use Medishare (Christian health sharing program). You can choose your deductible. We choose to go the catastrophic way ($12K deductible). For me and my wife, we pay $358/month. This does not cover pre-existing conditions.

Good luck!

Wes '87

Obamacare is a big NO.

assuming you're FIRE'd, what kinds of numbers are required to be considered low income for zero premiums, do you have to selectively withdraw from investments any differently than you normally would(to min taxation etc)

I won't claim to have looked into exact figures too deeply, but for my family I have been told that anything up to around 50K per year shouldn't change the fact that I am getting a full subsidy. Beyond that it can reduce the subsidy, but even then, I would still be paying less per month than an employer +employee pay on monthly premiums.

flashplayer said:

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I won't claim to have looked into exact figures too deeply, but for my family of 6 have been told that anything up to around 50K per year shouldn't change the fact that I am getting a full subsidy.

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assume that's earned income, as in not including cap gains / distributions etc that most early retirees are living off

The Lost said:

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YouBet said:

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I didn't go too far into it but Obamacare is expensive as hell at first blush. It was going to cost us close to $1,500 per month as late 40s early retirees.

I ended up taking a job at a startup and paying about $500 per month instead.

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Companies subsidize insurance way more than the avg person realizes

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Historically a lot of small businesses have done the minimum 50% of the employee only portion of the premium but I'm hearing from brokers I know that that is changing as a means to compete for employees which makes sense. As the labor market tightens in the coming years companies will have to get creative in how they recruit and retain talent.

Look at Oscar Insurance. They do on-line first, then in office unless emergency of course. Not available in all locations.

Also Medi-share if you are Christian. Very reasonable, but they arent insurance and have some differences that may be no big deal for your family.

my startup med device company is paying 100% premiums single/family top level PPO, too bad I'm single and trying to call it quits as soon as we're bought out

I would say Obamacare but it is hell expensive. I might be going for it when I'm retiring (which I am soon). My older folks has Obamacare health insurance so I know their service is great

Correct me if I'm wrong, but based on experience, if you or your family have any sort of pre-existing condition, ACA plans might be the only remotely reasonable option.

So even if you currently have coverage, you won't be covered by, say BCBS through TSCRS, if you have a "pre-existing condition"?

For example, I have Hashimoto's disease (autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid) but my thyroid functions normally. My endocrinologist monitors the condition. Also, I get regular ultrasounds and sometimes biopsies of my thyroid because of cysts. But everything's been benign. But I'll likely continue having these.

The one time we shopped outside of the marketplace, we were turned down stuff like my wife having a benign cyst a few years ago. The broker/sales/whatever guy that was helping us look coached us on the applications like we were going into a deposition, telling us to only give yes/no answers, never go into detail, etc.

Based on what I remember, something like Hashimotos would have been a no-go.

My wife has since had breast cancer (unrelated to the previously mentioned cyst) and has been clear for four years but we've been told it's a waste of time to look outside of ACA.

All anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt.

High blood pressure well controlled on medication is a disqualification for most insurance. Basically, unless you lie and they can't find your medical records OR you fall into the <1% of people with no medical history whatsoever, you aren't getting affordable coverage outside the marketplace unless it's through your job.

To emphasize that, we didn't even tell them about the cyst. Not because we were trying to lie but because it was such a minor thing (the doctors said it was 100% benign, the removal was cosmetic) that we didn't even remember it. They found it in her medical records and were quite clear they wanted nothing to do with somebody with any sort of medical history.

I want to call them a-holes for it, but I understand where they're coming from.....and frankly, by dumb luck, they saved a couple hundred grand in the long run.

Thinking of getting health insurance through Texas Farm Bureau. Anyone have any personal experience with them you can share?

Withdrawal from 401k is income. It would count. I assume the poster had a large some of cash at retirement and just delay withdrawals. That would keep income low…. This is the first I have heard about this method and am very glad I did. Going to plan for it accordingly. I am 45 and have a cash stock account outside of retirement. I will contribute to that to avoid having to withdrawal from 401k.