Assuming one is not retired and on Medicare or other type of retirement benefit insurance...

what do you do for health insurance and what types of costs do you run into?

This is the biggy for me. I reach full retirement in a bit less than four years. Right now, full retirement brings paid (mostly) insurance. I fall into the "age 67 for Medicare" group. Paying insurance premiums for 8 years would take a huge bite out of my monthly income. Rather than do that, I'd keep working

Interesting topic, hope members respond.

I met a couple last week that full timed in a 5th wheel. They were a bit young to retire, and were not eligable for retirement type benefits. When they sold thier house, they plopped the money in the bank and pay for thier extensive insurance with the interest from that account.

Health insurance is a biggie even for us on Medicare since the supplement policies are very expensive, and the Medicare Advantage plans are usually specific to a geographic area. They will cover emegency care outside of the home base area, but as I understand it, we would need to have our annual care provided by our primary doctor to get prescription refills.

Will be very interested in the experience and avice of others.

Fortunately for me, retirement from being a Corporate Cubicle Convict included a good deal on health insurance, with me paying a large supplement but nothing like paying from scratch. BTW, I am one of those people who believe insurance is for the big $$ stuf, like cancer, and not for the piddling run-of-the-mill stuf.

What I found was that an HMO was unworkable for me, traveling around as I did, however, it would work for the kind of FullTimer who basically moves back and forth between two places (aka SnowBirding between the old home town and a sunny clime). For out-of-state, non-emergency needs, one had to shift plans to a state where one intended to be for 3-6 months and find a new Primary Care Physician (PCP). So I switched to a fee-for-service plan (aka Preferred Provider O, PPO), where after an annual deductible, I pay 20% and the plan pays 80%.

I believe the HMO problem was that each plan is licensed to operate in a state and maybe not outside the state, as evidenced by the state name in the legal name for the plan.

Then I found out that there was a trend amongst practitioners that they would not prescribe renewals without an actual office visit where someone saw me and took my BP and pulse. I also discovered that many practitioners were not accepting new patients, esp short-term ones, further complicated by difficulties getting past the 'staff barrier' to explain things.

Even seeming networks, like the VA, are actually a chain of loosely linked providers. Had I not come off the road, I was going to try using the emergency rooms of the VA (per advice from several VA hospitals) to get my prescriptions.

Unfortunately I think for full timers the system is only setup for healthy retirees. I don't think it was setup that way but that is the results of the way it is. When we moved from Va to Fla my supplemental ins was going to double so I had to go from the "I plan" in Va to the "F plan" in Fl. My wife (7 years younger) had quit work so her insurance comes out of pocket as does my supplemental to the tune 520.00 a month. We had thought about stopping the supplemental butttt. We are very blessed to have good health to this point. and have not had to use any non local medical facilities. Does all this have any answers in a registered domicile and would GoodSam membership have any answers???? I know they insure about everything else for full timers. Lets not mention the stock market

Since I retired from the Navy Reserves, and not the regular Navy, I am not elligible for Tricare Insurance, or being seen at a Military Hospital, such as Balboa Naval Regional Medical Center, here in San Diego. My primary care physician is with the VA. I qualified for that under the law signed in 1996 that expanded VA elligibility to those veterans without service connected disabilities. I fall under category 8, and my co-payment is $50 per appointment. Each of my prescriptions are $8 per month supply.

I also carry Blue Shield PPO insurance, premiums presently 100% reimbursed by my employer. The VA bills Blue Shield and accepts whatever Blus Shield pays, and writes off the balance.

A few years ago, I was a victim of an assault with a painball gun fired point-blank at my left temple and eye. The ambulance dispached by 911 refused to transport to the VA hospital. I was seen at the nearest city hospital, and was left with $3000 out-of-pocket expense.

Hmm, I would be inclined to look into Small Claims Court over that one. You might get reimbursement from either the ambulance company or whoever they have the contract with.

I'm going to be looking further into it when I get to 65 and the MediCare Mess

I am on MediCare and finding there are big holes in what it covers. My supplement plan only covers the balance of what MediCare covers. So if MediCare doesn’t cover something, you’re out of luck.

Also, with MediCare you don’t have an agent or someone to deal with.

It is a long story, too long to go into here.
Suffice it to say that the $3000 was the gap that my Blue Shield ($2000 annual Deductible, 80% coverage of approved charges) Policy did not pay. The total cost of transportation, treatment, and follow-up for that one incident was in excess of $9000.

I decided to see what the professional Fulltimers do. So I went over to Escapee - Health Insurance FT -looking for those who have it to read a little.

Thank you Mike!

I read a single line in one of those post about RISK POOLS for the uninsurable. (I pretty much fall into that category if looking for private insurance.. tho in another 6 mos.. no HMO can deny me for one of my pre existings... YAY!)

Anyway, this is an option I did not know even existed. If I understand it correctly, certain States (Oregon being one) will provide insurance options to those that are uninsurable by private providers for pre existing serious conditions, such as Cancer etc. If anyone here has experience with this, you know the door will get slammed in your face instantly when the "C" word is even whispered. Regardless of "cured" status.

In Oregon, I am instantly eligible due to 2 pre existing conditions in their list of auto qualifying conditions. (Rheumatoid Arthritis and Cancer) I don't even need to bother with a denial letter from a private application.. they know I will automatically be denied.

You PAY for this insurance, it isn't a government run health program for low income at government facilities (In Oregon, the actual coverage is thru Blue Cross, for example) but looking thru the rates, they don't seem all that bad EX: At first glance, my rate would be 237 a month. The devil is in the details tho, I need to look closer. There are things about COBRA and lifetime caps that I need to learn about. What about being out of state when care is needed etc...

It's learning about things like this that make me have faith that the middle class working stiff DOES get a break sometimes.

It's interesting that this discussion is all about 'insurance' rather than health care. If I'm not careful here Ill get on my soap box.

We've searched and searched for insurance too and fortunately, so far we're both healthy enough not to need much health care. We decided years ago to buy only catastrophe insurance and pay everything else out of pocket. Still it costs us $300+ per month for coverage by Golden Rule that will only pay for major medical expenses. We've never used it so I can't say how well it actually covers but from my reading it seems reasonable.

We don't go to doctors routinely except that we do our dental check-ups and eye exams. Of course, we have to pay for those. We're the people that insurance companies want to insure. No claims, pay the premiums.

At our age, (early 60s) we're prime meat for providers, too. If we had the usual insurance, we'd likely be going regularly to GPs, Internists, Urologists, Orthopedists, Chiropodists, Chiropractors, Ophthalmologists, etc. etc. Not to mention the supporting organizations like radiologists, chemistry labs, pharmacies, etc. It's impossible to say but I'll bet we're depriving some otherwise fiscally responsible MD from making his Mercedes payment. I mean that if we had a routine physical, I'm sure the health care system could find something to bill somebody for. Oops, soap box again.

Our experience is similar to Bill and Karen's. The premiums for the "Blues" have really gone up in the last few years, over $500 per month in CA for those who retire before 65 and have to pay their own premiums. I went on Medicare this year, so my premiums dropped to about $200 per month (AARP). Peggy's are still $500 (Blue Shield). Medical insurance is a big factor in the decision to retire early.

Don't get me started on utilizing the "system". It is very, very arbitrary and unfair. Don't be passive and speak up for what you want and need! The new movie called "Sicko" is not all fantasy. The problem with choosing medical insurance is, you only know what you needed in the past, not what you will need in the future! My philosophy for insurance is to try to cover the biggies, like surgeries, hospitalizations, cancer, etc. I considered going bare (no insurance) when I first retired, which would have worked out because I've been healthy. But....(a b-i-g financial risk).
Peggy wouldn't let me do it!

BTW, you go on Medicare when you turn 65 (if not in another gov system or you get on earlier because of some condition like renal dialysis). IOW, you don't have to wait until your full SS benefits retirement date.

What can I say. I hate insurance and love it. It has saved me so many times I really can’t complain too loudly.

I just need to do what I need to do and try to be smart about it.

Both my wife and I are on Medicare. I also pay $400 a month from my retirement check for coverage by my previous employer that pays 80% of what Medicare doesn't pay and the providers can not charge me more than Medicare allows.

This means that my recent back operation that costs $8,500 cost me less than $100 after all the doctors (3) and the hospital (overnight stay) submitted their bills.

The only downside is my lifetime benefit is limited to $2,000,000.



I am a Korean War veteran and when I went to apply for benefits at the VA hospital in Dallas, TX when I retired in 1999, I was told that without a service connected disability I didn't qualify for any services. I might like to use the VA if I ever use up my $2 million life time benefit.

That VA eligibility for non-service connected disability is tenuous, at best. The present administration has been trying to eliminate it, but the congress, so far, has been listening to their constituents. They may have closed it to new applicants, though.

A member of my sunday school class told me today to that since 2001 you had to receive either a Medal of Honor, Silver Star, or a combat wound to receive full medical benefits.

Unfortunately my 4 years, 4 Months, and 20 days of war time service counts for zero because I wasn't wounded or even shot at.

Yes, that is true. Only those persons mentioned above have no out-of-pocket expense.
I only have access. I still have to pay a hefty co payment myself, and they must be able to bill my regular health insurance plan. The big benefit for me is the prescription drug plan, and no residual billing beyond the co payment and the insurance recovery. That was not the case in my other incident. That time I was personally liable for whatever Blue Shield did not pay, because then I was treated outside the VA system.

One thing I forgot to mention is that our insurance rate is based on where we live. Our rate went down about $40/month when we moved from Pinellas County, Florida (St Pete-Clearwater) to Polk County, Florida (Lakeland-Winter Haven) ...

Also note that some policies cover only expenses incurred in a specific locality or with listed providers. Those policies are not useful if you travel a lot. Some will pay for expenses incurred outside of your area but you have to pay the bill and then submit a claim for reimbursement. Most policies won't cover you outside of the US either. I don't understand why since services outside the US are almost always cheaper ... I suppose it's the fraud thing.

We've explored health care a little outside the US ... very interesting. In the Bahamas (and most Caribbean Islands), specialists are almost unheard of. Almost all doctors are GPs and treat everything much like we used to do in the 50s and 60s before litigation for malpractice. Many doctors, for example, have their own x-ray machines and routinely set broken bones. No radiologist, no orthopedist, no anesthesiologist. While they might miss a subtle blood clot shadow or a small tumor, they can read the film good enough to set a bone by.

My wife visited a very good chiropractor in Georgetown a couple of years ago for $25 a visit. Some friends postpone dental work and have it done in the islands because it's cheaper.

You can argue about the quality of care or the sophistication of the treatment if you want but most of these island doctors went to the same med schools as the US guys and probably did their internships at US hospitals. They are also more familiar with diseases and injuries common to such places ... infected sting ray barbs, fire coral stings, or poison-wood rash for example not to mention more serious stuff like malaria.

Note too, that drugs in many places can be bought over the counter provided you know what you want or have an empty bottle to be refilled. I'm sure that hard narcotics are controlled better but we bought prescription sea-sickness pills just by asking for them. Drugs in many places are not tied to doctor's prescriptions.

If I was concerned about a serious health issue like a cancer treatment or diagnosis, there's no substitute for one of the premier US specialist hospitals or treatment centers but for routine health care needs, I would actually prefer an MD with a broader perspective especially if I have to pay out of pocket.

There are Medicare Supplement carriers that provide coverage in all fifty states.

We have our supplement through AARP and we can get medical care in any state.

Being a member of Army Reserve with a deployment to the "Sand Box" in 2004, I am eligible to use Tricare Reserve Select. (the same as Tricare for Active Duty Soldiers) At a cost of $253 a month for Ms "always" Right and I, we are very satisified----but I have to stay in to receive it. (38 years @ the end of this month) But, it will be free when I turn 60, and then kicks in as the supplemental when I am eligable for Medicare. So, we count ourselves lucky, as Blue Cross/Blue Shield type of coverage would be cost prohibitive for us. Larry