Health Insurance choice for Mustachian

[NewJourney]

So I know that MMM wrote on health insurance.  How its not necessary to pay over the top prices for extra coverage, when you have enough savings to easily pay all of the costs in the case of an emergency with very little impact on your stache.

But for me, I only have $3,000 in savings and am paying off $17,000 in debt. I'm not sure what the best choice would be.

Currently I have medicaid through the state.  I pay $20 per month and i don't pay for dental, check ups, etc.  Customer service is absolutely horrible though (of course), but I can choose my doctors and I've been happy.  But with my new job I have a few options and they include a HSA.

I attached a photo of the prices.  It would be associate only and the amount would be taken from my paycheck each week.  They will contribute cash to a HSA each year, that always rolls over, for doing things like check ups, health assessments, etc.  There are no flat fees/co payments, and preventative is 100% covered on all options

Gold up to $500 (only one that will not let you make may stub contributions) - Will cover costs after $1,000
Silver up to $750 - Will cover costs after $2,500
Bronze up to $750 - Will cover costs after $3225
Safety Net up to $250  - Will cover costs after $6,450

I'm really new to this and I'm so frustrated.  Basically, would you guys suggest keeping Medicaid? Would I be ok with the safety net choice of $3.46 per week?

*Dental and vision are $7 per week extra with new job.  The $20 flat rate from Medicaid includes dental and vision.

[Altons Bobs]

What is the "up to $250" on Safety Net? What does that mean?

If I were in your position, I'd keep Medicaid.

[rubybeth]

Do you know if you can stay on Medicaid if your employer offers coverage? You will likely need to ask, as I think this varies by state.

Also, you don't mention what kind of health care usage you have--it really matters how much you will use your coverage. If you typically don't have regular prescriptions or see the doctor more than once or twice per year, you could be okay going with the lower level of coverage since you'd be unlikely to reach the deductible.

[chubbybunny]

If you still qualify for Medicaid even with your new job, then you are better off keeping it.  If you start making more money and no longer qualify, then you'll want to look at choosing a plan.  I picked Anthem because it's the cheapest option, but you have to first make sure doctors in your area accept that insurance.

Once you've chosen a company, the next question is two-fold.  How much do you think you will use your healthcare, and how much can you afford if something happens.   I wouldn't go with the safety-net option unless I actually had $6450 in the bank.  My personal choice in your situation would be a toss-up between bronze and silver.  Bronze if I am young and healthy, silver if I knew I would have some health issues.

Here's a chart. I assumed your payday is every two weeks and came up with the following numbers:

Anthem Plan: annual premiums + out of pocket = max possible expenses.
Gold: 868.66+1000=$1868.66
Silver: 538.46+2500=$3038.46
Bronze: 305.24+3225=$3530.24
safety net: 89.96+6450=$6539.96

[NewJourney]

What is the "up to $250" on Safety Net? What does that mean?

If I were in your position, I'd keep Medicaid.

The "up to 250" is the max they will put into your HSA

[NewJourney]

I'm probably just going to stick with Medicaid for now, then reasses next year? I figure I might as well take advantage of being able to have Medicaid while I'm still "poor" lol

[NewJourney]

You really need to make sure that you are still eligible for Medicaid since you have the option of insurance through your employer.  If you fail to elect a plan during your initial signup period and then get kicked off of Medicaid, you won't be able to sign up for coverage on the exchanges until the next signup period for 2017 unless you have some other kind of "qualifying event"

FWIW we had Cigna insurance for over a decade as expats and it ROCKED! Not sure what their US based programs are like, but they had excellent customer service and you can easily submit claims online with their international programs.

You're right..ill do that.  I know Medicaid said that if I get insurance through my work I can keep it. I'll just check if it's the other way around too.

[NewJourney]

Ok. So I researched Medicaid. I can keep it even if I have insurance options through work. I can also keep it if I get insurance from work and have both.

However, they said throughout the year if there are any changes to my financial situation, etc. I can loose coverage.

Should I take that risk? It also get the the cheapest coverage through work "in case". It's about $3.50 per week. Plus $7 for dental and vision.

[rubybeth]

Ok. So I researched Medicaid. I can keep it even if I have insurance options through work. I can also keep it if I get insurance from work and have both.

However, they said throughout the year if there are any changes to my financial situation, etc. I can loose coverage.

Should I take that risk? It also get the the cheapest coverage through work "in case". It's about $3.50 per week. Plus $7 for dental and vision.

What kind of changes to your financial situation would result in losing the coverage? Like, if you got to a certain income bracket? You need to find out what that situation is, and plan for it. I'm guessing you'd be able to figure out if that would be likely to happen during the year.