Community Chat

[hckynut]

On 7/17/2014 MadameL said:

For the last 20+ years, my DH has worked for a VERY lard software company (guess which one, lol!) and today they announced a large round of lay-offs We've talked about this more than once and tried to figure out if he'd accept the golden handshake if it were to be offered to him.

We haven't the numbers exactly but the only reason he'd want to stay on in insurance: He's eligible for Medicare but I won't be for another two years. It easy to think, what could happen in 2 years? Well, in my experience, plenty!

Has anyone else been in this situation? What criteria did you use to decide? Ultimately I think we'd sit down with our financial advisor and compare both scenarios to help us decide what would be best for us.

If anyone has any helpful advice, I'd like to hear from you. Right now I'm nervously sitting by the phone to hear whether or not they want him for another two years (18 months, really) or if we could live on him unemployment benefits for as long as possible or if he should look for something else till he's ready to call it quits for good,

WWYD? (What would you do?) TIA if you have honest but kind things to say!

If you are talking about a "company buyout" I took mine in 1991 when it was offered to me by AT&T. At the time I had close to 33 years with the company. By the time I threw in my remaining vacation days I retired on the exact month and day in which I started so I had exactly 33 years.

There were rumors about "buyouts" but nobody knew for sure what pay grade or what jobs they might be. I worked from 8am-4pm and one day my supervisor, who I used to work with as a blue collar worker for many years, came up to me at 3:30pm and asked me "do you want to take the company buyout. I said "you bet" and he said "don't come back tomorrow".

I replied, "Jim you are kidding right"? He said "no I am not if you take it you can't come back". Fortunately my knowing and working with him for years I got him to let me keep my company pass to get into the building and came to work the next day. I rounded up all my equipment I used over the years and said goodbye to many of my decade long co-workers.

Time to decide? At most half your. Some that worked the 4 to midnight shift were asked when they came to work. If they took the buyout they called security and marched them out the door. Many of these workers had over 30 years and what a nice way for the company to say "thank you and, "hey get out".

Not a day goes by where I don't know I did what was right for me. I retired at age 52 at 2 pay grades lower than when I started with the company in 1958. Lower pay grades after 33 years, think about that one for awhile!

[terrier3]

On 7/17/2014 ktlynam said:

On 7/17/2014 tansy said:

On 7/17/2014 ktlynam said:

On 7/17/2014 Skylands said:

Cobra prices are outrageously expensive. Not to worry, you're close to 65 will have Medicare available to you. Also the option of ACA.

Large companies are heartless. Don't expect much. Good luck.

ITA. COBRA will eat up a lot of your severance. Don't waste it on COBRA; try to get on ACA asap.

Yes, large companies can be heartless. If a mass layoff is in the offing, they won't negotiate with you on the severance unless you are top C-level. You get what everyone else gets.

COBRA for me was about $50 more expensive than an ACA plan for me. Again, worth checking out.

I didn't realize it (ACA) was THAT expensive. When I had to go on COBRA, it was a killer. I haven't had to go back on it for years now...guess it isn't as bad compared with ACA as I thought. Ugh.

ACA insurance (at least in my state) had plans ranging from $100/mo. to $500/mo. for individual coverage. Within each company there are also choices - at least 3 levels of coverage.

A $50 difference sounds like the employee sponsored plan had a high deductible or didn't cover everything.

The great thing about ACA is that they don't ask (or care) about pre-existing conditions. Everything is covered.

If you will be living on a severance package or unemployment for a while, you will probably get a lower rate.

[terrier3]

On 7/17/2014 esmeraldagooch said:

I posted about this 6,000 that ended up 18,000 this morning. These are real people hurting as you know. This is horrible since the economy is so horrible and getting worse daily. I hope he finds work again if that is what you want to do. I hope everything works out ((hugs))

Ezzy

Actually employment is on an upswing.

He may not have as much trouble landing a new job as he would have if he was laid off 2 or 3 years ago.

[terrier3]

On 7/17/2014 tansy said: The advantage of COBRA would be that she'd have the exact plan she has now and doctors. It's an option to check out.

You can have the same doctors with ACA plans.

ACA plans are from the same insurance companies that sell to businesses in your area. Just call your doctor's business office FIRST and ask what ACA plans they accept. Most accept BC/BS ACA plans (since they are already affiliated with BC/BS).

Then go to the BC/BS website and look up the exchange plans. You can also call the insurance company and someone will walk you through the options.

My hair stylist had BC/BS through a broker. She insures 4 people on staff. The broker told her she could SAVE money if she went with a BC/BS ACA plan. She checked it out and now has lower deductibles and saves $200/mo. on each employee's coverage.

I am just using BC/BS as an example. Since your DH works for a large company, he probably has insurance through a major provider. All the large providers in my state offer ACA plans.

[Cakers1]

On 7/17/2014 terrier3 said:

You can have the same doctors with ACA plans.

ACA plans are from the same insurance companies that sell to businesses in your area. Just call your doctor's business office and ask what ACA plans they accept. Most accept BC/BS ACA plans (since they are already affiliated with BC/BS).

That is not true. And I hope you are not peddling that info when you go out and sell insurance. Not all doctors are accepting ACA plans even if they accept insurance from those companies. So a person who was paying out of pocket to one doctor may very well find him/her self looking for one who does accept an ACA plan. Just because BC/BS, e.g., is accepted by a doctor doesn't mean said doctor will take ACA BC/BS. The current has even said so (now) that some may not be able to keep their original doctor.

[terrier3]

On 7/17/2014 Cakers1 said:

On 7/17/2014 terrier3 said:

You can have the same doctors with ACA plans.

ACA plans are from the same insurance companies that sell to businesses in your area. Just call your doctor's business office and ask what ACA plans they accept. Most accept BC/BS ACA plans (since they are already affiliated with BC/BS).

That is not true. And I hope you are not peddling that info when you go out and sell insurance. Not all doctors are accepting ACA plans even if they accept insurance from those companies. So a person who was paying out of pocket to one doctor may very well find him/her self looking for one who does accept an ACA plan. Just because BC/BS, e.g., is accepted by a doctor doesn't mean said doctor will take ACA BC/BS. The current has even said so (now) that some may not be able to keep their original doctor.

I guess I am lucky to be living in a state with it's own exchange and where all the major insurers "bought in" to the ACA program.

I advised that she call her doctor's business office FIRST and find out what ACA plans the office accepts.

I think she will be pleasantly surprised.

An ACA plan is NOT Medicaid. It has the same reimbursement rates for the doctor's as any other private plan through an employer. It utilizes PRIVATE insurance companies - it is not gvt. insurance.

[kittymomNC]

Several of the ACA BCBS plans in my state had more limited provider networks, which meant that fewer doctors took coverage from those plans. My son was advised to take a higher level plan because most of the doctors in our area take that plan--it has the largest provider network plus more features that the others did not have--such as being able to go to a specialist without a referral from a primary doctor. And with that plan, he could pay a co-pay for a doctor's visit immediately - he did not have to meet his deductible first. We looked up through the exchange online to make sure his doctor was a provider before he made a decision. He still got it for an extremely reasonable price.

[151949]

On 7/17/2014 terrier3 said:

On 7/17/2014 Cakers1 said:

On 7/17/2014 terrier3 said:

You can have the same doctors with ACA plans.

ACA plans are from the same insurance companies that sell to businesses in your area. Just call your doctor's business office and ask what ACA plans they accept. Most accept BC/BS ACA plans (since they are already affiliated with BC/BS).

That is not true. And I hope you are not peddling that info when you go out and sell insurance. Not all doctors are accepting ACA plans even if they accept insurance from those companies. So a person who was paying out of pocket to one doctor may very well find him/her self looking for one who does accept an ACA plan. Just because BC/BS, e.g., is accepted by a doctor doesn't mean said doctor will take ACA BC/BS. The current has even said so (now) that some may not be able to keep their original doctor.

I guess I am lucky to be living in a state with it's own exchange and where all the major insurers "bought in" to the ACA program.

I advised that she call her doctor's business office FIRST and find out what ACA plans the office accepts.

I think she will be pleasantly surprised.

An ACA plan is NOT Medicaid. It has the same reimbursement rates for the doctor's as any other private plan through an employer. It utilizes PRIVATE insurance companies - it is not gvt. insurance.

It is a shame that so many people are vehemently against the ACA and yet they don't even know anything about it. they just repeat political rhetoric that they hear God only knows where.If they would take same time and effort to find out what it is really about they would probably change their minds about it.

[kittymomNC]

On 7/17/2014 happy housewife said:

On 7/17/2014 terrier3 said:

On 7/17/2014 Cakers1 said:

On 7/17/2014 terrier3 said:

You can have the same doctors with ACA plans.

ACA plans are from the same insurance companies that sell to businesses in your area. Just call your doctor's business office and ask what ACA plans they accept. Most accept BC/BS ACA plans (since they are already affiliated with BC/BS).

That is not true. And I hope you are not peddling that info when you go out and sell insurance. Not all doctors are accepting ACA plans even if they accept insurance from those companies. So a person who was paying out of pocket to one doctor may very well find him/her self looking for one who does accept an ACA plan. Just because BC/BS, e.g., is accepted by a doctor doesn't mean said doctor will take ACA BC/BS. The current has even said so (now) that some may not be able to keep their original doctor.

I guess I am lucky to be living in a state with it's own exchange and where all the major insurers "bought in" to the ACA program.

I advised that she call her doctor's business office FIRST and find out what ACA plans the office accepts.

I think she will be pleasantly surprised.

An ACA plan is NOT Medicaid. It has the same reimbursement rates for the doctor's as any other private plan through an employer. It utilizes PRIVATE insurance companies - it is not gvt. insurance.

It is a shame that so many people are vehemently against the ACA and yet they don't even know anything about it. they just repeat political rhetoric that they hear God only knows where.If they would take same time and effort to find out what it is really about they would probably change their minds about it.

ITA. It's a sad state of affairs when people interviewed on the street profess to really like the ACA, but they hate O'care! They're so uninformed that they don't even know they're the same thing!

[151949]

kittymom - I saw that on TV too - out of all the people they interviewed only a small % knew the ACA and O care were the same thing.

I liked when O---- said he liked that they dubbed it O care because I do care. That set them back I bet.