Health Insurance for 2022

[OrangeSnapDragon]

Hello All!  I was able to leave my job back in June of 2020.  Now my husband and I are looking at the possibility of him leaving his job as well.  The biggest hurdle we are going to start to look at is health insurance.  Anyone have advice or best places to start? 

Background if anyone is interested is we have 7 rental units across 3 buildings.  Our budget is pretty low and I have tracked spending for years so we really know what we spend.

Thanks in advance!

[Chris @ Saturday Financial]

You can use the following site to see how much an ACA plan would cost in your area:

https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/

The site will show you an estimated amount of subsidy that you could be eligible for. It will also let you search each plan to see if specific healthcare providers are covered.

[terran]

Agreed, the federal exchange, which may lead you to your state's exchange, is the place to find a plan. If you're only starting to look at feasibility and costs then you might find https://www.kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/ useful for some initial estimates and to see the effect of different income levels on premiums. Note that in 2022 everyone can get subsidies, but unless the law is changed, in 2023 and beyond anyone with income over 400% of the Federal Poverty Level will be ineligible for subsidies. The subsidies will also be a little lower for everyone in future years under current law (ie go back to the pre-Covid adjusted levels).

[Mrs. Burning Bush]

We switched from traditional health insurance to Sedera last year and love it!  It is affordable, simple, and from experience - does exactly what they say it will do (unlike traditional Insurance).  If you are reasonably healthy and do not have complicated pre-existing conditions (I have A-Fib, but have it mostly under control), you might want to take a look at them or Zion (or, if you are religious, Christian Health ministires).  Switching my family of three to Sedera has saved us over $1,000/month.

Good luck.

[Sibley]

We switched from traditional health insurance to Sedera last year and love it!  It is affordable, simple, and from experience - does exactly what they say it will do (unlike traditional Insurance).  If you are reasonably healthy and do not have complicated pre-existing conditions (I have A-Fib, but have it mostly under control), you might want to take a look at them or Zion (or, if you are religious, Christian Health ministires).  Switching my family of three to Sedera has saved us over $1,000/month.

Good luck.

I'm glad that it's working for you - but it's not insurance. It's health sharing. There is a BIG difference. As much as insurance sucks, there are also a lot of laws and regulations in place to at least partially protect people. Under any of the health sharing or other insurance alternatives, your protections are a lot weaker.

Also, note that there's pretty widespread disagreement with MMM on this topic, so please don't pull out his posts about this. We think he's often wrong about insurance, at least for people who don't have millions in net worth.

OP - assuming you won't qualify for Medicaid (probably not), then ACA is really your best option.

[Mrs. Burning Bush]

Of course there are differences between Health Sharing and Insurance.  All those laws and regulations (and bureaucrats) that come with traditional health insurance come with a very steep cost - and even then there is no gurantee that the insurance company is going to cover your costs.

What I can tell you about health sharing is this:  Our family went with Sedera in May of 2021.  In early July 2021, I had a mountain bike accident and broke three ribs and punctured a lung.  We had elected to have a $2,500 out of pocket "deductible."  We paid this, and Sedera covered the rest (another $25K +/-), and it was simple and no hassel.  And we pay about $600/mo. for our family of three.

Navigating health care coverage is scary stuff, no doubt.  I clearly remember being in the ER thinking, "welp, here goes.  We are going to find out real quick if this works. . . "  Compared to our old BC/BS plan, Sedera was easy, helpful, responsive and ethical.  And we don't have to worry about being in this state or that provider network - it works the same everywhere.

YMMV.

Good luck to everyone.

 

[stoaX]

We switched from traditional health insurance to Sedera last year and love it!  It is affordable, simple, and from experience - does exactly what they say it will do (unlike traditional Insurance).  If you are reasonably healthy and do not have complicated pre-existing conditions (I have A-Fib, but have it mostly under control), you might want to take a look at them or Zion (or, if you are religious, Christian Health ministires).  Switching my family of three to Sedera has saved us over $1,000/month.

Good luck.

The limits on covering pre-existing conditions is a huge factor when deciding whether to go with ACA coverage or a health share like Sedera.

[Mrs. Burning Bush]

We switched from traditional health insurance to Sedera last year and love it!  It is affordable, simple, and from experience - does exactly what they say it will do (unlike traditional Insurance).  If you are reasonably healthy and do not have complicated pre-existing conditions (I have A-Fib, but have it mostly under control), you might want to take a look at them or Zion (or, if you are religious, Christian Health ministires).  Switching my family of three to Sedera has saved us over $1,000/month.

Good luck.

The limits on covering pre-existing conditions is a huge factor when deciding whether to go with ACA coverage or a health share like Sedera.

Definitely have to factor in the limits on pre-existing conditions - but as I recall, they are on a sliding scale - no coverage the first year for the PEC, 2nd year some coverage, etc. until after 4th year the PEC are covered, if I recall correctly.   Plus I like the fact that health sharing is proactive on its members to take care of our own health and thus avoiding the "medical industry" as much as possible.

Not saying it is for everyone, but for those of in reasonably good health, Health Sharing can be a good alternative to traditional health insurance.

[jim555]

I don't see the point of a coverage that has no legal obligation to pay.  It defeats the whole purpose of why you have insurance to begin with.

[Mrs. Burning Bush]

[quoteutio author=jim555 link=topic=126790.msg2992956#msg2992956 date=1647887560]
I don't see the point of a coverage that has no legal obligation to pay.  It defeats the whole purpose of why you have insurance to begin with.
[/quote]

I am guessing you have never had to argue with an insurance company about a bill you thought they should have paid, or had an out of network issue, or any other of the myriad issues that arise with conventional health insurance - but stay with them long enough and you will, rest assured.  What I can tell you is I had made exactly two months premium payments (share contributions) when I had a $25,000+ need arise.  Sedera paid like clockwork, just as promised.  I took photos of the bills with my phone, uploaded them to the Sedera site, and it was done.  Simple.

If we ever have an issue with Sedera NOT Paying as promised, I will post it here.  And I would sure like to know if ANYONE has had an experience with Sedera that was not what was expected.

As far as what insurance is for, we are taking the extra grand/month and banking it.  To be used to partially "self insure" for things like routine tests and minor medical needs.

Again, Health Sharing is not for everyone - but at this point I am glad to have learned about it from MMM.

[jim555]

In my county the Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan is about $600, that is without subsidy and good for any age up to 65.  If you are fatfire I don't see how this is an undue burden at all, and they are legally obliged to pay the claims because it is real insurance.

Anyone who deals with insurance will probably run into some issue eventually, it doesn't make the case for a Health Share, who could even more easily deny a claim.  But you have no legal comeback if they do.  Just a terrible product from a risk standpoint.

[ixtap]

How much of your existing health insurance will you use before he leaves his job? We are planning to pay for COBRA through 2022 because we will be close to the deductible and even the reduced income means we would have little to no ACA subsidy. For 2023, we will be looking at ACA options. Our real problem is the amount of travel we want to do in 2023 and health insurance becoming more and more local.