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mrschwarz

mrschwarz

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I am looking towards retirement before I turn 65. One of the things I need to do is get health insurance. It appears that having a heart attack a couple of years ago is proving to be a challenge. The first broker we spoke with said that all of the insurance companies he spoke with declined to quote on a policy and said that they wouldn't review this in the future.

The only way I can get coverage, that I am aware of, is through my state's high risk pool, which is very expensive. Has anyone else encountered this problem? What have you done to get covered? The only alternative is the federal insurance pool, but the only way to get in that is to not have insurance for at least 6 months. I am not will to go without for that long.

Thanks for any comments.
 
Welcome to the best health care system in the world brought to you by the idea of twice the cost for half the coverage - or better known as for profit medical care.

We are facing the same issues you are seeing and it is definitely a hot button for me. Talk all you want to about how other countries have people lined up for healthcare, the facts are the rest of the first world provides healthcare for 1/2 the price we pay and the results are twice as good.

I hate politicians...

Frank
 
Frank,

Please, let's not turn this political.

[quote author=FrankNSharon].... the facts are the rest of the first world provides healthcare for 1/2 the price we pay and the results are twice as good.[/quote]

As someone who lived over 30 years in one of those "first world" countries and another 30 years here in the USA, I'd have to disagree with what you believe are "facts". The UK National Health system is badly broken, and has been for a long time. This despite the fact that Brits pay dearly for the dubious privilege. In addition to high income taxes, high gas tax that results in $8.50/gallon* at the pump, and 20% sales tax (VAT).

In addition to myself, I have a number of relatives who are living proof of how badly the system is broken and how poor the healthcare is.

I'm not happy with what we pay for health insurance or medications, but I've seen the alternative first hand, both in terms of costs and quality of healthcare.

* Fuel price based on today's Automobile Association reported price of 135.8 pence per litre for unleaded, 1 litre = 0.264 US gallons, and Yahoo Finance conversion rate of 1 British pound (100 pence) = $1.6515.
 
Tom,

I don't know about England, but every report I have read shows what I said: try this -

http://www.cfr.org/health-science-and-technology/healthcare-costs-us-competitiveness/p13325

I should not have mentioned politicians in my first post, I apologize. This is not really a political issue, it is a moral issue and what we as a nation want to leave as a legacy for our children. I believe that the purpose of having a society is not to get what you can before you die, but to share a social contract to better the lives of all our citizens, not just the greedy climbers.

Frank
 
Frank, I don't dispute that we here in the US spend a ton of money on healthcare, and that the costs are out of control. But my first hand experience, and that of a number of relatives who still live in the UK, says that their healthcare is, at best, poor. Suffice to say, be careful what you wish for.

I think that, if you talk to the average Brit who lives in a social country, you'll find that most couldn't envision what you're suggesting.
 
I have been without health care for the last 20 years. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs or drive fast. Works for me. I have seen a doctor once in the last ten years for a prescription for some prostate pills and they didn't work.
 
I could have gotten political with this post, but my real goal is to get coverage. I appreciate that some people choose to go without coverage, but that's not really an option for me. If I didn't have insurance when my 'event' occurred, my retirement picture (or lack thereof) would have been totally different. I saw the bills and the amounts were sobering.

In my experience, the best way to start a flame war is to have an online conversation about religion or politics. That's not what I am trying to do. We have a mess of a system that will be changing. I don't know if it's for better or worse. I am only trying to figure out the best way for me.
 
hey Guys

The NHS is not all bad here in the UK, it is free, and can be quick at times.
You can call your doctor first thing in the morning, and see him/her within an hour.  You can be referred to a specialist within a few weeks.
If you need any medication your doc gives you a script and you pay ?7.40 per item
 
Michael,
Can you extend your current company coverage via the COBRA provisions? I'm not sure if they apply to regular retirement, but they would apply to disability retirement. That could tide you over to Medicare time at 65.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/cobra.htm
 
Good suggestion by Gary to check into COBRA. It won't be cheap - you'll be paying the full premium, not just the employee part of the premium. COBRA was good for 18 months when we retired early.

Another alternative that some folks here use is to join an organization such as NASE and take advantage of group insurance. I don't know what qualifies as "self employed" (e.g. if you have a small side business), and you may still run into the pre-existing condition issue.

Anthem Blue Cross was a reasonably priced option for my wife when others either turned her down or were outrageously expensive. But, since them, they've raised their rates, although they're still far less than what she was paying with a prior carrier.
 
I thought with the new healthcare laws the insurance companies were not allowed to disqualify for pre-existing conditions? Or has that part not gone into affect yet?

Frank
 
FrankNSharon said:
I thought with the new healthcare laws the insurance companies were not allowed to disqualify for pre-existing conditions? Or has that part not gone into affect yet?

Frank
Click to expand...

That was exactly what I was thinking!  I've had cancer and luckily we've always had coverage through my DH's union, which will cover us until we reach 65.  We were thinking of changing ours so that we could move out of state and not have our insurance be the determining factor, we thought that we'd be able to do that.  But, now I'm not sure!  I know friends of mine recently retired and they've gone with Kaiser and Senior Advantage will kick in at 65.  Not sure but is Kaiser possibly an option for you?  I know that it's only available in a few states; CA, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and somewhere on the East Coast.  Just a thought....
 
Frank, I honestly don't know the current status of the pre-existing condition provision.
 
[quote author=Anthony4]The NHS is not all bad here in the UK, it is free ...[/quote]

It's never been free per se, although it may appear that way when you visit the doctor or get a prescription filled; Someone foots the bill, and you pay for it along with other  UK government expenditures through ridiculously high taxes.
 
Are you still working? Do you currently have coverage at work? If the health care insurance is going to astronomical, you may have to continue to work to 65. Or, is it possible to retire on social security diability in which case you'd qualify for Medicare.

Wendy
 
Tom,
It's never been free per se, although it may appear that way when you visit the doctor or get a prescription filled; Someone foots the bill, and you pay for it along with other  UK government expenditures through ridiculously high taxes.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the point! We all pay for everyones health care costs in any moral system - in our for profit system with optional healthcare all the people that can least afford it simply don't get it and end up in the emergency room when things get bad enough. The emergency room is 10's to 100s of times more expensive than any other way of providing care and preventing disease. And you and I pay for that coverage for everyone that has no insurance. The option is to make everyone have coverage (public or private) with no options to not have it, or to make healthcare optional, and NOT pay for coverage of people that don't pay for their own. Can we as a society allow children to die on the doorstep to the hospital because they don't have health insurance? Do we check for insurance before we transport people from the scene of an accident? Of course not...

Frank
 
Hi Gary

The taxes are nit that bad, basic tax is 20%, but that's only payable after the threshold of about ?4970, and National Insurance is 12%, again there is a threshold before you start paying the 12%, you can google PAYE and this site will advise you on how much tax and NI you will pay on your salary.  Its not as bad as people make out, also as you should know people who live in Scotland and Wales do not have to pay for their prescription, so that get there medicines free (apart from paying the above taxes).  Certainly not as bad as having to pay for costly insurance cover, especially if you have a pre existing condition.

Cheers
 
I agree with Anthony. The UK NHS is not perfect but it seems better than the USA system. I have used both and the Drs here are no better. The premiums are very high unless your employer pays them and that is getting rarer. One example is if you get a serous illness here even with insurance the copays ect will financially destroy you and when the insurance company wants to stop paying out they will let you die. Under the NHS they will treat you without you having to pay for everything yourself and if one hospital won't give you the treatment you need you can appeal just the same as appealing against the judgment of an insurance company here.
  I love the USA and one of the  few things I think that could be vastly improved is the health care system.  Just my opinion really but having been on both sides on the pond I think it is valid
Steve
 
True there is no free lunch. The way the NHS is supposed to work is everybody pays in and then when you need it you get all the treatment you need.  It has been abused since day one in 1947 but it is still better than letting people die through lack of money.  If they could control the abuses of the NHS it could be a great service but as it is it is just OK.

Steve
 
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