by TheAmazingQuack » Sat Apr 16, 2011 04:40 pm
I hope this is the right forum and avenue for my question.
My father is 72 years old and is currently collecting Social Security and working 40 hours a week. My mother is 62 years old, married to Dad, and out of work. She is currently not collecting Social Security and has severe back problems that have precluded her from the possibility of working. She had previously worked full-time until 2009. After July of 2009, she stopped working and concurrently her health began to wane.
Dad is nearing an inability to work due to his age and the demands of his job; he is double-covered in health insurance by Medicare via his SSA benefits and the Blue Cross Blue Shield policy from his place of employment, but Mom is only covered by the BCBS policy. Upon Dad's actual retirement, she would lose health insurance coverage after 18 months. That 18 month period would be COBRA insurance for $1000 a month. (I'm not sure where this $1000 comes from, but that was the price paid during a change in Dad's place of employment 4 years ago.)
I am pretty unfamiliar with the health insurance industry, only knowing what I learned in some of my Econ courses in college. In beginning my mother's SSA Disability application I noticed that Disability's Medicare is only available after two years of receiving Disability benefits. My fear is that Dad will not be able to work for two more years (assuming Mom is approved for Disability) or three years until Medicare eligibility would come to her anyway?
What options are there for my mom in terms of health insurance? Where should I turn to find an affordable option to hold her over?
My father is 72 years old and is currently collecting Social Security and working 40 hours a week. My mother is 62 years old, married to Dad, and out of work. She is currently not collecting Social Security and has severe back problems that have precluded her from the possibility of working. She had previously worked full-time until 2009. After July of 2009, she stopped working and concurrently her health began to wane.
Dad is nearing an inability to work due to his age and the demands of his job; he is double-covered in health insurance by Medicare via his SSA benefits and the Blue Cross Blue Shield policy from his place of employment, but Mom is only covered by the BCBS policy. Upon Dad's actual retirement, she would lose health insurance coverage after 18 months. That 18 month period would be COBRA insurance for $1000 a month. (I'm not sure where this $1000 comes from, but that was the price paid during a change in Dad's place of employment 4 years ago.)
I am pretty unfamiliar with the health insurance industry, only knowing what I learned in some of my Econ courses in college. In beginning my mother's SSA Disability application I noticed that Disability's Medicare is only available after two years of receiving Disability benefits. My fear is that Dad will not be able to work for two more years (assuming Mom is approved for Disability) or three years until Medicare eligibility would come to her anyway?
What options are there for my mom in terms of health insurance? Where should I turn to find an affordable option to hold her over?
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 01:55 pm Post Subject:
Unfortunately, the economics of health care (something you probably did NOT learn in college) have been thrown out the window by Obamacare. Insurance companies are now on the hook for lifetime medical expenses in an unlimited amount (either per year or per lifetime). And by 2014, they will not be able to deny coverage to anyone with any preexisting conditions.
That 18 month period would be COBRA insurance for $1000 a month. (I'm not sure where this $1000 comes from
andIn beginning my mother's SSA Disability application I noticed that Disability's Medicare is only available after two years of receiving Disability benefits.
You understand those programs fairly well. The "$1000" under COBRA did not come magically out of thin air. It was the actual cost of "Family" or "Employee + Dependent/Spouse" coverage at the time Dad changed jobs. It was the FULL COST of his former employer's health plan. People sometimes think their employer is lying when they say, "The cost of the health insurance is $1000 per month. We can't afford to pay all of that, so you (the employees) will have to pay $500 per month."
So here's the reality. If Dad works another 6 months, let's say, and then retires, Mom will have up to 18 months of continuation under COBRA. But there is a separate provision under OBRA (a year or two later) that permits a person who is totally disabled at the time of a COBRA qualifying event (termination of employment or reduction in hours) to continue under COBRA for a total of 29 months. 29+6 = 35 . . . Mom should be age 65, or within a whisker of it.
The cost of her COBRA continuation will probably NOT be $1000 per month as an individual, but it could be $600, and could be expected to increase annually. If she qualifies for SS Disability and remains continuously disabled while receiving those benefits for 24 consecutive months, then sometime before her 29 months of COBRA continuation would expire, she would probably become eligible and covered by Medicare, at which time the continuation coverage under COBRA would be terminated.
In lieu of all that, the states all have some sort of Major Risk Medical Insurance programs in place. Many of the states already had these in place before Obamacare, so the need for some of the provisions of Obamacare in some states was a non-issue. But when you look at the cost of the MRMIP insurance, it is generally no bargain. And there are some downsides, too.
Most plans (as required by Obamacare) require that COBRA continuation be exhausted (not voluntarily dropped early). Then . . . and here's the really hard part . . . a person must have been UNINSURED for a minimum of 6 months before becoming eligible for coverage under the MRMIP. And here's the hardest part of all. For seniors, the cost is generally HIGHER than it would be for a person who has to pay a premium for Medicare Part A (not your mother) and the premium for Medicare Part B (all Medicare beneficiaries).
So, aside from COBRA, your mother at age 62-65, has no real options. Before 1-1-2014, the vast majority of health insurers will decline her due to her preexisting conditions. By the time Obamacare fully kicks in, she will be (or nearly be) 65, and the issue will be moot. MRMIP will not work, for the same reason: 29 + 6 = 35. Even if Dad retires today, and Mom continues the BCBS plan for 29 more months, her 6 months of uninsured status will put her nearly at or just beyond age 65, so the issue is essentially moot.
Continuation of the existing employer-sponsored plan under COBRA is likely to be the most affordable solution. The government does not supply any of the funding for premiums (they did for a short while just before and after Obama became president), and it is unlikely that they will do so in the future, now that all eyes are -- finally -- on the fiscal irresponsibility of Congress that has accumulated over the past 40-50 years, of which Social Security and Medicare are no small part. So Mom will have to figure out where the money to pay premiums will come from.
You and your siblings, if you have any, could DO THE RIGHT THING, and pay Mom's premium for her. Consider what Mom and Dad paid out while you were growing up, and consider this a bargain -- $7000 per year for 3 years . . . nowhere close to what they spent over 18-20 years. If you are an only-child, well, you might not be in a position to fully do that, but you could probably spare $100-$300 per month by trimming expenses in some other aspect of your life.
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Remember . . . this is America. Land of the free. Home of the brave. And governed by the irresponsible.
The only potential solution for that problem is to stop reelecting incumbents. Two-terms-(if that much)-and-out. And don't elect local/state politicians to national office either. That just perpetuates the cycle of inferiority. There is no need to elect persons with "experience" as a politician, there is only a need to elect persons with enough COMMON SENSE to know that if you only have $1 you cannot spend $2 or $3 or $1,000,000,000,000 you don't have.
If there were more people with common sense elected to office, we would have simple, effective legislation running 10-15 pages that gets things accomplished, not 2000-3000 pages that no one has the ability to read, understand, or implement successfully.
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 03:40 pm Post Subject: insurance
I am in the same situation. I am 62 with no insurance. My husband is on disability. I have exhausted every avenue for insurance. We are just crossing our fingers in the hope that my health holds out until I'm 65.
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 07:52 pm Post Subject:
We are just crossing our fingers in the hope that my health holds out until I'm 65.
No need to do that! In just three weeks, you'll be able to apply for health insurance through your state's Health Benefits Exchange, effective 1-1-2014. If your income is sufficiently low, you will be enrolled in Medicaid, and that coverage could begin sooner than January 1. Find a local insurance agent now who is qualified to submit applications through the Exchange, and you can find out in advance what you may be eligible for come October 1.Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 09:14 pm Post Subject: Health insurance
Female- 62- wealthy- married. Husbands business is going to Obama care- he is going on Medicare.. Any good plans? I am healthy.
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 03:18 am Post Subject:
Of what state are you a resident? Healthy has nothing to do with health insurance anymore. You pay a premium based on your age and the level of benefits you choose. All plans are "good" but your coverage needs will determine which plan is best.
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