Spouse retiring and I'll be without Health Insurance--what did you do? (dump, retiree)

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by Beach Sportsfan

One question to ask is if you can stay in his old jobs spousal insurance after retirement. I plan to retire at 62 and my partner is under my insurance. Once I retire the amount we pay for both increases but the spouse can stay on even after I reach Medicare age.

The other option is of course ACA plans but I understand that those are in the air right now. At worst case you need to find a plan that protects you from a catastrophic illness that puts you in a hospital.

Good luck

Catestrophic plans no longer exist, unfortunately. They were banned as part of Obamacare. In most states, the maximum deductible is $5500-6500, which is one of the two techniques of reducing your premiums with an ACA plan. The other is accepting a limited network of doctors. "If you like your doctor, you can keep them" my a$$.

Same goes for "if you like your plan, you can keep it." My individual policy was grandfathered when the ACA started, so I was able to keep it. Unfortunately, on December 31, 2017 it WILL be discontinued. I'll be forced to go on the ACA. At 61 years old, my premium with a $5500 deductible will be $1250-1350 PER MONTH. No, I am NOT kidding.

To add insult to injury, I am only able to deduct 10% of my premiums. Not 100%, like we do with interest on our mortgage. If I were a corporation or sole proprietor, I could deduct 100% of them. Where's the fairness in that?

[newcomputer]

Originally Posted by CindyRoos

I appreciate all of your input everyone.
No, I am not going to get a divorce over this. That's silly.
Yes, I am going to look into my options and if I can't afford to pay the insurance on my own then I will stop paying our cell phone bill. It's 160 a month.
And no, I don't believe we have a "serious marriage problem".
My spouse, however, has a serious short memory on all I have done to let my spouse "be who they really are".
That's all I am going to say on that. Ha!

I think you are smart. Quit paying something he will miss and use the money towards your insurance. I have quit reading this thread. Yes your husband is being an a$$ but he is yours and marriage is more than having the perfect mate.


My husband did something similar. He changed jobs and would have had to pay more for me to be on the insurance so he dropped me. He was too embarrassed to tell me until I asked him one day if I needed a card. haha


You appear to have a good relationship with your son's father. That tells me something about the kind of person you are. I don't blame you for being irritated with your old curmudgeon but I have no doubt that you will figure things out.


good luck!

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Wow, can't imagine you need to WAIT for that explanation, but apparently you do not volunteer in 'community services' or rub shoulders with the 'un-insured'.. Maybe you have lived a 'sheltered' life under the care of the feds or state gov. NO ONE in all my previous generations have done so, so that thought or one of 'pensions' has never been on my radar. Totally a foreign concept to the likes of my social class (farmers).

Very simple
1) In an emergency you PAY... $100 at an urgency care clinic 1-2x / yr is pretty small potatoes compared to a $2200 monthly premium with $15k annual OOP (when you don't have the dough)
2) You self-medicate (as we have for generations. I think my grandfather saw a DR once. (we use COW SALVE often! and have decent 'veterinarians'! (Of course we have lots of experience nursing sick / mangled livestock!) My horse was all torn up by a bear when I was age 10, and we patched her up pretty well! She went on to get a few more blue ribbons.
3) You die (3 of my 'No longer insured / un-insured' friends (outsourced in their 50's) died due to limited access to HC in USA, or catastrophic illnesses that were covered (BEFORE A(?)CA (as were mine). But AFTYER A(?)CA you either pay or die. 2 of their spouses were impoverished due to HC (House / Farm / Assets taken by the hospitals, DR, Lawyers...)
4) You do like 15m others in the world who go international for HC, including the Europeans (on national HC) who have been doing this for 50 yrs. What is so hard about booking a $300 flight to MEX or a $500 Flight to Bangkok? It is very unlikely you will die in the next 24 hrs (but possible). Since living in Asia during the 1980's I always have my procedures quoted there. 30 yrs ago...Countries in Europe and Asia that offer subsidized and nationalized care were recommending clients go to Thailand / Malaysia / Philippines for procedures that were more economical to have done somewhere else than the crowded and expensive hospitals of their home country. Yes... i=t is VERY common! Note that BKK has rows of "Clinic Kiosks" at the airport just like USA has Rental car kiosks.
5) It is no secret that USA 'general' medical care is nothing special anymore. Some specialties may have premium science available in USA, and sometimes you may need it. Then... you can deal with it in many ways.
6) My medical sharing network negotiates care prices vastly lower than what the 'insured' are invoiced (but seldom paid).

Very simple (and very USUAL) for the millions of us who live in this un-sheltered / uninsured life. (I can count over 20 in my rural neighborhood who are uninsured)

What a bunch of gibberish.

1. An urgent care facility is good for a cut, a sprained wrist, or something similar. If it is something more serious such as a heart attack, they'll stabilize you and then send you off to a hospital where you'll be SOL without health insurance.

2. How do you self-medicate a stroke or a heart attack? What about something like cancer?

3. Your #3 is too stupid to reply to.

4. How do you arrange a $500 flight to Bangkok if you're having a medical emergency? Or let's just say you have received a diagnosis of cancer. Are you going to fly to Bangkok for chemotherapy?

Again, what gibberish. But then again, given your posting history here, I'm really not surprised.

[lluvia]

Ditch the $160 per month phone bill and go with something low cost like Tracfone.
My wife and I have the bare bones plan. Works out to about $7 per line.
Minutes, messages and data carry over.
Note: We don't use much data. Always on WiFi or hotspots around the city.
If you are a gabber or data hog, it might not be good for you but you can always top up and buy whatever extras you need.

[selhars]

The OP knew her husband was jerk before she married him, I believe. She's said she has hoped he would change. Seems he's been a jerk all along. Yet after all these years she says she would hope he'd sit and they could work this out together. Uh, why on earth would she expect that? She should her own insurance. AND get some therapy to explore why she's accepted being disrespected the way she has.

But, hey, for all I know maybe she's made the conscious decision to trade her self respect for security for herself and her son. I have no doubt that plenty of people make that trade. If they do that they shouldn't complain when they're not respected.

[Bette]

Originally Posted by CindyRoos

Very Helpful!!! Thank you soooooo much!!

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.

[nicet4]

Originally Posted by Clemencia53

What is he going to do for insurance? Medicare? Or will he still be carried by his former employer? If so, why can't they keep you on it also?

And why is he being such a butt-hole!!!!!!!!

I couldn't sleep if my wife went one second without health insurance. I would buy a policy regardless of the cost or, if I didn't want to pay or couldn't I would continue to work. What if the love of you life developed breast cancer? Going without is not an option.

[DaveinMtAiry]

My apologies if that has already been said in the 15 pages but sorry, given your opening post your husband is an A-hole. Who would ever say that to a spouse?

[StillRoaming]

Originally Posted by selhars

The OP knew her husband was jerk before she married him, I believe. She's said she has hoped he would change. Seems he's been a jerk all along. Yet after all these years she says she would hope he'd sit and they could work this out together. Uh, why on earth would she expect that? She should her own insurance. AND get some therapy to explore why she's accepted being disrespected the way she has.

But, hey, for all I know maybe she's made the conscious decision to trade her self respect for security for herself and her son. I have no doubt that plenty of people make that trade. If they do that they shouldn't complain when they're not respected.

In a few posts above, the OP and her husband discussed this last night. From her description, it sounds like he was receptive enough to listen to her concerns and she believes it will get worked out. A real jerk would not have listened to her. Great job, Cindyroos!

None of us know what goes on in anyone else's marriage. It's easy to judge, but we are only reading one side of the story likely written when the OP was upset. Who knows, maybe the husband came across as a jerk because he was worried the OP might want him to delay his retirement. Some people I know will avoid or verbally strike back in a seemingly jerkish manner when they feel you're coming between them and their plans. We don't know this couple's background, but we know he's a good provider because he pays most of the household bills.

Most of the time there's no designated good guy or bad guy in a marriage. Each has a degree of both good and bad. It's learning to work around your own and your spouse's good and bad that makes for a good marriage. Good communication is key, and the OP and her spouse are finally getting to the nitty gritty of the problem. Hope it works out for you, Cindyroos.

[SierraCountyMtnBiker]

Originally Posted by maciesmom

So you expect him to work until he's 75 so you can stay with the job you like?

I wondered if there was something wrong with me in thinking this.
Except I assumed she wanted him to work until she was medicare age. Glad you chimed in