Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, no I have not been on the spouse's insurance for "years". Maybe 4.
I am not trying to get sympathy or get out of a responsibility. I am simply asking what others have done with this problem.
My shock was that my spouse didn't try to say that we would figure out a solution TOGETHER. Instead, I was just told I was "on my own with it.....so sad, to bad". That is not right.
So true.
If you are a Christian, you can do the Christian Healthcare Sharing Ministry which is generally cheaper than health insurance. My eyes are too tired to read all pages if this was suggested already
If you are willing to lower your work hours, you may fair much better. It is possible you may be making so little after healthcare that lowering hours is best. My short, past experience in Social Services has become beneficial regarding this topic. I also have much of the ACA memorized pertaining to exchanges. I am Native American so though my insurance covers it, there are still benefits I receive.You sound like a sweet person, btw
I'm thinking maybe your husband used his initial tactics to try to propel and activate you into looking for a different job which provides health insurance. Maybe he thought his tactics would be the only way you might get motivated to change jobs, if possible and if necessary to change jobs, because you seemed complacent and kind of strong in not wanting to job hunt.
He also maybe used his initial tactics to get you to take more responsibility for yourself in seeking insurance for yourself and to be action-oriented in seeking insurance.
Last edited by matisse12; 10-01-2017 at 03:48 PM..
I am going to answer your original question, which was what did you do in this situation.
When my husband retired due to health issues, he went on Medicare and a supplement plan, I was 63 at the time so did not qualify for medicare yet.
I went online to the Marketplace and signed up for a plan, it cost me about $600 a month the first year, the second year the cost of my plan went to $1700 a month so I changed to one that was about $1300. but this time I qualified for a subsidy of $554. per month.
Then finally this past June I turned 65 and signed up for Medicare and a supplemental plan F so I am paying $134 for Part B and $147. for the Plan F through AARP.
Good luck finding something reasonable and sorry you have so many years you have to cover before Medicare kicks in.
I am almost 56. We do not have kids together. My son's father carries him on his policy.
My spouse will be 66 in May so will be going on Medicare.
and yeah, I am not happy about this either. Although it is no surprise that my spouse is this selfish.....after being together for 15 years now and married for 11 of those years I keep hoping that that part would change but that is just me being an optimist.
In my opinion, it's not only your spouse being selfish. Your unstated expectation here is that your 66 year old spouse should work another 9 years until you're eligible for Medicare. Do you intend to work until you're 75, if you were in a position to retire sooner? Why is your current job more important than his retirement?
My sister loves Samaritan Ministries. You help others; they help you. Her husband went through years of illness (Parkinson's, hospital care, etc) and it was covered.
They were both under 65.
The following is for anyone who comes across this thread in the future:
I'm glad that your sister and husband have found Samaritan Ministries works for them. Unfortunately, the requirements for joining are not universal. https://samaritanministries.org/help/guidelines
The plan also has pre-existing condition exclusions, no sex before marriage, and limited prescription coverage.
My initial thought when I read the original post was that this belongs in the relationship forum, not the retirement forum. As many before me have pointed out, the OP's real issue is that she's married to someone who apparently doesn't care much about her well-being.
OP, I retired at 56, four years ago. At the time my company agreed to provide retiree health care. After a year, they cancelled the plan. My husband was still working at the time and the ACA had not yet begun its slow decline. I was able to find a great policy for $450/month. Now, most of the insurance companies have pulled out and I'm paying more than double for a crappy plan with a $7,000 deductible.
I strongly suggest you sit down with your spouse and go over your finances. Are you in a solid enough financial position for him to retire? I seem to remember you mentioned having some debt. You should be debt free with a decent amount of dough in your retirement accounts before you considerr retirement.
My advice: time to visit the marriage counselor again and perhaps seek out a therapist for yourself only.
Best of luck to you. And remember, there are worse things than being alone at 56. You are still young, my dear.
Oh for heaven's sake, no, I don't expect my spouse to work until 75. Don't believe I said that or hinted towards it ()
What I did expect was my spouse to say that together we would find out what private health insurance costs and we how much my spouse could contribute towards that. Instead I get the "Well, I guess you'll have to go without health insurance " attitude.
Cindy, I'm sorry your spouse is being so short-sighted about your lack of health insurance coverage when he retires, I don't know your situation so won't speculate on motives, or reasons he is acting that way. But trying to figure out what I would do if I were faced with that situation, I'd probably:
Assume he's thinking of the cheapest way to go and not thinking of the realities of your being without health insurance in the event you have health problems, or he's playing russian roulette and figuring that you won't get sick before you get on Medicare and won't miss thar health insurance. He's got his head in the proverbial sand in either case.
Hopefully he wouldn't just dump you in the event you did get sick, or just leave you to figure out how you would pay for it yourself out of your own funds in that case. Meaning that hopefully he would realize that your medical expenses would come out of his pocket as well as yours, and affect your common assets in the event you had a catastrophic illness or accident.
To that end, I'd get some figures together to compare the expenses involved in the various options you have. See what the cost of Cobra-ing your husband's health insurance after he retires. The only downside to this, besides it's being pricey, is I don't know how long you can continue Cobra coverage, I seem to think it was no longer than 18 months, but that may have changed. If you're just turning 56 (spring chicken!!), you'll need insurance coverage for 9 yrs till you reach Medicare age.
I'd probably call several independent health insurance agents, or look online, to see about the costs of individual health policies, as well as their coverage. The availability of these plans will depend on your location ( I'd look at locations where you are now, and also in Florida, where IIRC you were planning to move), your age, health history. You might also consider seeing if you might be able to get a plan that covers catastrophic events, or hospitalizations only, these would likely cost less and provide coverage in the event of serious illnesses, but not more routine stuff. I know these were not considered credible coverage under Obamacare, and would have made the insured subject to an IRS fine, but with this Obamacare business in the state of flux under the current administration, you may be able to get waiver with your catastrophic insurance plan and not have to pay that penalty (I think the IRS was directed by the Trump administration not to enforce that penalty anyway.)
And finally, you can find the costs of hospital visits and procedures to people without insurance, and compare those with the costs of insurance and what you'd have to pay with insurance coverage ( copays and deductibles)The high costs of those visits and procedures without insurance, even with discounts, is enougn to give anyone serious sticker shock!.
Maybe, just maybe this information might knock some sense into your husband's head and make him consider what he's really losing by his spouse being uninsured.
The following is for anyone who comes across this thread in the future:
I'm glad that your sister and husband have found Samaritan Ministries works for them. Unfortunately, the requirements for joining are not universal. https://samaritanministries.org/help/guidelines
The plan also has pre-existing condition exclusions, no sex before marriage, and limited prescription coverage.
Now, just how do they know their prospective clients have had premarital sex if the clients deny it? Do they ask to see the sheets from the nuptual bed?
I also said "I have been thinking about nothing but your happiness since I met you, and I gave up allot of my happiness to make sure you are ok with yourself and you know that so we need to do the right thing by each other"
Wow, just wow.
The heck with MARRIAGE counseling; I think YOU need some counseling.
No one should feel like they've given up a lot of their happiness for another person; nor should they feel compelled to say that to their partner...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.