Has anyone Gone on the open Market for Health Insurance?

[soccerluvof4]

I am just curious if anyone has shopped the open market for Health Insurance besides going through ACA? The reason I ask is we Retired a year ago April and I worked a deal that I am insured through April 2017 but after that I am on my own. For the Year of 2016 I will not have been employed but because it was an April thing from what I hear on discussions its hard to prove you wages blah blah blah so I am just trying to see what other options I might have until end of 2017 if ACA is still around.

So I am really curious of just those that had to pick up the phone and shop around and what they found etc..

Thanks in advance

[protostache]

We did. I'm constrained by wanting to stick with one particular doctor for follow-up treatment, so I started by looking at the list of individual ACA plans my hospital group accepted, then went down the list and got quotes for all of them in the deductible/copay tier we wanted, then purchased.

So far we haven't had to switch but I'm going to shop it again in November.

[thedayisbrave]

Yes.  I'm self-employed (1099 contractor).  I buy my healthcare on the open market.  I'm 26, healthy, and single, so by those standards it's pretty cheap... about $280/mo.  It's an HDHP so I get access to an HSA which I max out every year, and will continue to do.

[soccerluvof4]

^ Both of those are good to hear. Were a family of 6 so wondering if I should go for a High Deductable plan or? but I guess that will decide on the cost overall.

[protostache]

^ Both of those are good to hear. Were a family of 6 so wondering if I should go for a High Deductable plan or? but I guess that will decide on the cost overall.

You're going to either do a lot of shopping or you can contact a broker and have them shop it for you.

[elaine amj]

We did - it was crazy confusing with so many plans to choose from. We considered max out of pocket costs, deductibles, costs to visit GPs, costs to visit specialists, and most importantly - which one was in network for the hospital of our preference. (although this felt like a crapshoot - do we choose the hospital DH used to work for, the hospital closest to us, or the one best known for possible medical issues we could encounter?) Really hate the whole in-network/out-of-network thing. Ended up choosing a Silver plan for a variety of reasons. Did our best - but know that we still don't understand everything.

[geekette]

Even if you don't want to deal with verifying your income (but think your income will be low enough to qualify for subsidies), it still seems like a better idea to buy a plan from the ACA marketplace, pay full price, then settle up when you do your taxes.

This web page offers some scenarios where shopping outside the ACA marketplace would make sense - Private Health Plans Outside the Marketplace

[protostache]

Even if you don't want to deal with verifying your income (but think your income will be low enough to qualify for subsidies), it still seems like a better idea to buy a plan from the ACA marketplace, pay full price, then settle up when you do your taxes.

This web page offers some scenarios where shopping outside the ACA marketplace would make sense - Private Health Plans Outside the Marketplace

At the time we were buying a plan we weren't able to find one we liked on the exchange. I just checked and now it is, so probably buying from the exchange is a better plan.

[forummm]

Healthcare.gov isn't perfect, but it's fine. I don't recommend going outside it to find plans because 1) you will likely pay more (lack of competition, possible broker fees/kickback), 2) you might get tricked into buying a plan that doesn't qualify as minimum essential coverage, 3) there really isn't much different between plans on healthcare.gov and those offered outside the marketplace (they have to meet almost the same standards).

[BTDretire]

Even if you don't want to deal with verifying your income (but think your income will be low enough to qualify for subsidies), it still seems like a better idea to buy a plan from the ACA marketplace, pay full price, then settle up when you do your taxes.

This web page offers some scenarios where shopping outside the ACA marketplace would make sense - Private Health Plans Outside the Marketplace

 I suggest you check out the ACA, with a family of 6 you should get a huge subsidy, unless, you have a huge income. Yes, you may need to pay up front and get it back when you do your taxes.
   You do need to figure out what doctors will accept the ACA plan and if they meet your needs.
My doc doesn't except it.
I'm still on a grandfathered plan at $8,700 (hmm, I think it just went higher) for a family of  4 with a $10,000 deductible.
I don't recall exact numbers, the ACA was about $15,000 but I would  get about $10,000 as a subsidy.
It's not hard to poke it into the Healthcare.gov website, but you will need to sniff around to find the button that  allows you to just check the price without signing up. It's inside one of the dropdown boxes.

[soccerluvof4]

Overall census is to go the ACA route. Having Insurance through March of 2017 can I still apply for it after the first of the year? i thought you had to Start like in November So your set for January. I find this whole thing confusing. With family of 6 I am find waiting to get reimbursed end of year I just dont want to screw up and next spring not have insurance. Do appreciate everyones info , already has helped alot. I am in WI if anyone has any personal experience there.

[protostache]

Overall census is to go the ACA route. Having Insurance through March of 2017 can I still apply for it after the first of the year? i thought you had to Start like in November So your set for January. I find this whole thing confusing. With family of 6 I am find waiting to get reimbursed end of year I just dont want to screw up and next spring not have insurance. Do appreciate everyones info , already has helped alot. I am in WI if anyone has any personal experience there.

Open enrollment is November 1 through December 15 for a plan that starts on January 1. You have until January 31 2017 to enroll for 2017, but coverage will start February 1 (or maybe March 1 if you don't get in early enough in January).

If you have health insurance and then lose it, that qualifies you for a "special enrollment". Basically, you have time to enroll in a plan after certain life events (birth, death, marriage, divorce, lost coverage for any reason, moved, adopted, etc, use the screener tool to see all of them). Certain events, like losing coverage, give you 60 days before AND after the event to apply. That means you can start the process of applying for coverage on February 1st for a plan that starts on April 1st and have no gap in coverage.

[soccerluvof4]

Overall census is to go the ACA route. Having Insurance through March of 2017 can I still apply for it after the first of the year? i thought you had to Start like in November So your set for January. I find this whole thing confusing. With family of 6 I am find waiting to get reimbursed end of year I just dont want to screw up and next spring not have insurance. Do appreciate everyones info , already has helped alot. I am in WI if anyone has any personal experience there.

ok..Good to know! thanks!

Open enrollment is November 1 through December 15 for a plan that starts on January 1. You have until January 31 2017 to enroll for 2017, but coverage will start February 1 (or maybe March 1 if you don't get in early enough in January).

If you have health insurance and then lose it, that qualifies you for a "special enrollment". Basically, you have time to enroll in a plan after certain life events (birth, death, marriage, divorce, lost coverage for any reason, moved, adopted, etc, use the screener tool to see all of them). Certain events, like losing coverage, give you 60 days before AND after the event to apply. That means you can start the process of applying for coverage on February 1st for a plan that starts on April 1st and have no gap in coverage.