Wellness

[goldensrbest]

I was very pleased with Obama care, then i turned 65 last year, i have no dental coverage,no vision and no supplement.

[SilleeMee]

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@goldensrbest wrote:

I was very pleased with Obama care, then i turned 65 last year, i have no dental coverage,no vision and no supplement.

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I'm right behind you @goldensrbest. I will be in the same boat as you...no dental, in particular.

[Carmie]

My DH and I will lose our dental insurance in January.  I am picking up a dental plan through Delta Dental by being a member of COSTCO for $130 a year for the two of us combined.

There are other affordable plans available through Delta as well for non-members. Check out there website if you are interested.

[SeaMaiden]

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

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@Mint2 wrote:

Thats why my husband and I don't retire, the insurance. 

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@Mint2  Wouldn't your health coverage continue after you retire?  My Husbands retirement plan  covers his health care completely ..and My cost per year on his coverage as his spouse is about $350 a month.  

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@SeaMaiden - my husbands pension package includes health insurance for both of us until he reaches Medicare age.

He's 6 months older than me, so once that happens I'm on my own and will either have to go with Cobra or find my own for 6 months.

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@CelticCrafter  Thankyou for sharing. I asked my husband about our coverage again

 Once he reaches medicare age( in two years) he said his medical coverage in his retirement plan continues after the age for medicare for both of us...

medicare will be our primary, and his work retirement package health plan will continue to be our secondary.

  I pay now   for the  secondary coverage at about $350 a month .  I am already on Medicare and pay about $140 a month for that as well) my husband pays nothing for his medical except for a  dental package. ( it is $80 a year for both of us).

It really is all very confusing and upsetting for so many people. So hard to keep track of.  I put my health as one of the most important things to work on... keeping healthy. It helps me to make healthy choices and do more things that will keep me feeling my best.

[CelticCrafter]

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@kitcat51 wrote:

New taxes for Obamacare start Jan 2018, it's called the Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Care Plans, a 40% tax on Cadillac plans, you can look for the details online along with all the different taxes in effect & the hikes coming. UnitedHealth also is adding a 3% tax to all plans again in 2018, I'm still looking for info if that hike applies to all insurers. Good Grief, you will be paying an additional tax on plans you can't afford in the first place & can't use unless you meet the high deductibles. More & more people will opt out & pay the fine. Designed to fail & so it goes....

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Everything I'm reading says it's not going into effect until 2020.

[LilacTree]

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@Ditzydori wrote:

I agree. Each year the plans get worse and worse. My husband held the insurance. When he got sick three years ago I was forced to get insurance on my own. Hubby was eligible for Medicare at that time. It was expensive.  Yes a joke, but at least I was still able to go to the doctor I had for many years. 

This past year I was forced to leave my doctor of 30 plus years because all the plans turned hmo.  I am now not living in nys where my doctor was, so I had to choose a doctor from pa, where I live now. I'm close to the border of,pa and ny so I could have easily have kept my old doctor, but NOOO. I was forced to switch. Oh well. 

I was and still am very upset. The only bright side is that in 10 months I am eligible for Medicare. The only bright side of getting older. Lol.  Then I can go where I choose. Ahhh, but then I'll have to get the supplemental insurance. Well I'll see when the time comes about that.

But I feel your pain.  I hope all works out for you. 

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@Ditzydori

Before you automatically go out and buy supplemental insurance, be sure to analyze the monthly cost of that insurance against the 20% co-pay for your Medicare in a year.  In many cases, unless you are chronically ill or have a serious health calamity, the 20% you pay in a year will be less than the monthly cost of supplemental insurance.

I've been on Medicare for fourteen years now and have never had supplemental insurance.  And I have chronic illnesses . . . autoimmune diseases which cannot be cured and for which I do not take thousand-dollar meds. I don't go to doctors who cannot help me.

I am on low dose prednisone (very cheap . . . co-pay $2 to $5 per prescription) and use OTC painkillers when necessary. 

I do have a very high pain tolerance, and I realize that many people do not, so of course that has to be factored in if one is taking expensive meds.  A lot of that depends upon the Plan D Prescription Plan you will have.

[And of course all of this is going to change and we have no idea what the future holds.]

[LilacTree]

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@Carmie wrote:

My DH and I will lose our dental insurance in January.  I am picking up a dental plan through Delta Dental by being a member of COSTCO for $130 a year for the two of us combined.

There are other affordable plans available through Delta as well for non-members. Check out there website if you are interested.

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@Carmie

I have used a discounted plan for my daughter and me (1Dental).  It costs $129 a year for the two of us.  Of course you have to find a dentist who also participates in the plan.  I paid in cash the first time, the second time I used CareCredit at 0% finance charge and paid it off in under a year.

I don't know why more people do not take advantage of these discounted plans.  Glad to see you do.

[novamc1]

@Ditzydori

Do not assume that, once you are eligible for Medicare, that you can "go anywhere you want" for medical care.   Many  established general practitioners will not take new patients on Medicare, so it's hard to find a good one if you relocate and are new to the area,  and especially hard to  get a timely appointment if you're having a health problem. 

Medicare pays doctors a very small amount of what doctors (and many of their patients) feel they deserve, so no wonder that doctors aren't lining up to care for older people.

DH and I have excellent health insurance (or as good as one can expect  these days), but moving to another state has required some diligence to establish a new team of professionals for care. 

I also think there's a misconception among some folks that health care becomes mostly free once they go on  Medicare.   Hardly!

[LilacTree]

This thread has made me realize how lucky I am.  I worked for forty years and always paid into SS and Medicare (taken out of my paycheck).  So I get full benefits for both.  I also bought into the firm's Long Term Care Policy at age 55 and have been collecting benefits from them for almost ten years because of chronic autoimmune diseases, the worst of which is rheumatoid arthritis.  This is a lifetime policy and is considered "informal" (which doesn't exist anymore) in that family members can be my health care providers.  Once you start collecting, you stop paying premiums and the income is not taxed.  

Of course I'd rather be healthy, but this was probably going to happen to me no matter what . . . so I am grateful I had the foresight to buy into that plan.

Two of my daughters have good health care plans at their jobs right now.  That could change at any time, but for now they are fortunate.

My other two daughters have different circumstances.  My daughter who lives with me is not so lucky, and my oldest daughter . . . suffice it to say I have no idea about her life situation.  She isn't poor though.

[Carmie]

I saw my youngest son this morning.  He is on Obamacare.  His new rate will be $1200 a  month for one person or $14,400 a year. He is dropping out and going to go without insurance.  He has been on Obamacare for the past three years and has never used it.

His employer is supposed to get healthcare for his employees. I pray that he does....soon.