Is there any better/cheaper health insurance I can get?
August 6, 2013 11:56 AM Subscribe
I am fed up/freaked out about the cost of my health insurance...
Complicated scenario ahead: married couple with a college-age child. He is 65+ and on Medicare. She is 62.
Both of us are self-employed so no group health insurance was available that we liked ( Due to our ages we were not interested in freelancers' type insurance.) We also didn't want an HMO. We wanted to go to our doctors who know us. We also need various tests these days at various times (e.g. colonoscopies every five years and other 'scopies when symptoms pop up and varous awful ailments need to be ruled out).
So we set up an S-Corp merely for the purpose of buying group health insurance, which happens to be Oxford (now owned by United). We did a family plan.
At some point not that long ago he turned 65 and went on Medicare, so now I am the only "employee" of our two-person corporation who is actually buying the Oxford insurance (I'm buying Parent+One Child, which is cheaper than Family). He, on Medicare + AARP Secondary, is an "opt-out" of the "corporation's" insurance plan.
So -- we just got our new quote starting October 1st. I, ever the optimistic/progressive, was hoping that, due to the Affordable Care Act, maybe our rates would be going down (although I kind of knew that was an assanine thought). Nope. As usual, it's going up -- by about $100 a month.
So -- the Parent+Child is going to be $1700 a month.
His Medicare + Secondary is going to be a few hundred dollars a month.
Plus about $80 a month, prorating the accountant's fee for the tax return on the corp.
Plus I forget what the incorporation costs are every year ($800? something like that).
So -- we are paying a total of about $2000+ per month for health insurance premiums for three people.
Now -- I will be 65 in 26 months. Should I just leave things as they are until then, go on Medicare, and deal with my son's insurance at that time?
[*I am wondering if the new thing where a kid can stay on parents' insurance until they're 26 applies if both parents are on Medicare + AARP supplemental. My guess is: Of course not! If you have to be 65 to get that insurance, how can a person in his 20's get on there even if it's his parents' plan? Right? (seems like penalizing older parents, doesn't it? but then again, nobody is FORCING us to go on Medicare -- it's just an option. We could, if it were important to us, keep our corporation and pay thousands of dollars in premiums to keep our son insured. Well, that's the theory, anyway.]
Anyway, so the real question is: Are there any good insurance alternatives in New York State that will cost us less than $1800+ a month for my son and me? (I'm leaving my husband's Medicare+Supplementary out of that figure and just speaking about my son and me now. I believe my husband's is the best he can do.)
Thank you!
Complicated scenario ahead: married couple with a college-age child. He is 65+ and on Medicare. She is 62.
Both of us are self-employed so no group health insurance was available that we liked ( Due to our ages we were not interested in freelancers' type insurance.) We also didn't want an HMO. We wanted to go to our doctors who know us. We also need various tests these days at various times (e.g. colonoscopies every five years and other 'scopies when symptoms pop up and varous awful ailments need to be ruled out).
So we set up an S-Corp merely for the purpose of buying group health insurance, which happens to be Oxford (now owned by United). We did a family plan.
At some point not that long ago he turned 65 and went on Medicare, so now I am the only "employee" of our two-person corporation who is actually buying the Oxford insurance (I'm buying Parent+One Child, which is cheaper than Family). He, on Medicare + AARP Secondary, is an "opt-out" of the "corporation's" insurance plan.
So -- we just got our new quote starting October 1st. I, ever the optimistic/progressive, was hoping that, due to the Affordable Care Act, maybe our rates would be going down (although I kind of knew that was an assanine thought). Nope. As usual, it's going up -- by about $100 a month.
So -- the Parent+Child is going to be $1700 a month.
His Medicare + Secondary is going to be a few hundred dollars a month.
Plus about $80 a month, prorating the accountant's fee for the tax return on the corp.
Plus I forget what the incorporation costs are every year ($800? something like that).
So -- we are paying a total of about $2000+ per month for health insurance premiums for three people.
Now -- I will be 65 in 26 months. Should I just leave things as they are until then, go on Medicare, and deal with my son's insurance at that time?
[*I am wondering if the new thing where a kid can stay on parents' insurance until they're 26 applies if both parents are on Medicare + AARP supplemental. My guess is: Of course not! If you have to be 65 to get that insurance, how can a person in his 20's get on there even if it's his parents' plan? Right? (seems like penalizing older parents, doesn't it? but then again, nobody is FORCING us to go on Medicare -- it's just an option. We could, if it were important to us, keep our corporation and pay thousands of dollars in premiums to keep our son insured. Well, that's the theory, anyway.]
Anyway, so the real question is: Are there any good insurance alternatives in New York State that will cost us less than $1800+ a month for my son and me? (I'm leaving my husband's Medicare+Supplementary out of that figure and just speaking about my son and me now. I believe my husband's is the best he can do.)
Thank you!
First of all, your college aged child should be able to get some VERY affordable insurance all on his own. He's in a much younger/healthier group so the rates should be lower.
If you are 65, yes, I'd wait to go on Medicare, or you can hunt around for something more affordable for the time being.
Take your son's info and price an individual policy for him. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Insurance is regional, so it really depends where you are, where your son is (if he's going away to school, he may have more options where he is.)
Another option for you is High Deductible Health Plan for the few months before Medicare kicks in. You'll have a large deductible, but you can put away tax free money to cover any foreseeable health expenses, or the entire deductible. I have this through my job through United Healthcare. It's not as great as it was when I had a PPO, but it's not terrible.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:13 PM on August 6, 2013
If you are 65, yes, I'd wait to go on Medicare, or you can hunt around for something more affordable for the time being.
Take your son's info and price an individual policy for him. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Insurance is regional, so it really depends where you are, where your son is (if he's going away to school, he may have more options where he is.)
Another option for you is High Deductible Health Plan for the few months before Medicare kicks in. You'll have a large deductible, but you can put away tax free money to cover any foreseeable health expenses, or the entire deductible. I have this through my job through United Healthcare. It's not as great as it was when I had a PPO, but it's not terrible.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:13 PM on August 6, 2013
Is the college-age kid enrolled in college? Universities sometimes have health care plans available for students.
posted by juliplease at 12:14 PM on August 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by juliplease at 12:14 PM on August 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
First, the way health costs keep going up is pretty horrible, so you have my sympathy.
The basic economics of it are that as you get older it becomes more likely that you will need expensive medical services, and the options that you have picked mean that those services will be more expensive for the payer. They are going to pass the extra expense onto you.
Can your son buy insurance through his college? That may be cheaper than the extra cost of your parent+child plan. It will also probably not provide the same level of coverage.
posted by grouse at 12:14 PM on August 6, 2013
The basic economics of it are that as you get older it becomes more likely that you will need expensive medical services, and the options that you have picked mean that those services will be more expensive for the payer. They are going to pass the extra expense onto you.
Can your son buy insurance through his college? That may be cheaper than the extra cost of your parent+child plan. It will also probably not provide the same level of coverage.
posted by grouse at 12:14 PM on August 6, 2013
If you have not looked through it yet, check out the info on NY's health exchange that will open in October (under the ACA). This is the website (but a lot of the links to healthcare.gov are broken).
Your son should be able to get a relatively cheap HDHP in the market, or coverage through his college.
Also, in NY an unmarried child can stay on the parent's plan until age 29 (subject to conditions). This does not apply to Medicare.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:34 PM on August 6, 2013
Your son should be able to get a relatively cheap HDHP in the market, or coverage through his college.
Also, in NY an unmarried child can stay on the parent's plan until age 29 (subject to conditions). This does not apply to Medicare.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:34 PM on August 6, 2013
As a datapoint for your son's insurance: I'm in my mid-late 20's and it costs me about $130 a month to get pretty reasonable healthcare.
posted by gregr at 2:14 PM on August 6, 2013
posted by gregr at 2:14 PM on August 6, 2013
Between today and Dec. 31, rates are going to be INSANE because the insurance companies are trying to milk every dollar they can before the ACA takes effect. Starting Jan. 1, you'll be protected by the ACA and rates will drop precipitously. Just hang in there until Jan. 1, go to your state's exchange, and then send a thank-you letter to President Obama for his hard work on the ACA.
And the other posters are correct that you and your son may do better getting separate coverage vs. joint coverage.
posted by Capri at 10:46 PM on August 6, 2013
And the other posters are correct that you and your son may do better getting separate coverage vs. joint coverage.
posted by Capri at 10:46 PM on August 6, 2013
Jan 1? I thought HIX's were starting Oct 1?
posted by victory_laser at 11:28 PM on August 6, 2013
posted by victory_laser at 11:28 PM on August 6, 2013
Enrollment begins Oct 1 for coverage that begins Jan 1. [src]
posted by dhartung at 12:47 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by dhartung at 12:47 AM on August 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
I recommend checking out Enroll America for more information on the exchange offerings that will become available in New York.
New York was also successful in funding the Community Health Advocates (CAP) program to help people and small businesses navigate finding affordable health insurance.
I had to buy my own health insurance after I graduated from college, and my rates were around $115 a month for decent coverage with a personal policy I got from searching around on esurance.com. I was also able to get dental through them very reasonably.
posted by forkisbetter at 11:54 AM on August 7, 2013
New York was also successful in funding the Community Health Advocates (CAP) program to help people and small businesses navigate finding affordable health insurance.
I had to buy my own health insurance after I graduated from college, and my rates were around $115 a month for decent coverage with a personal policy I got from searching around on esurance.com. I was also able to get dental through them very reasonably.
posted by forkisbetter at 11:54 AM on August 7, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Schielisque at 12:11 PM on August 6, 2013