Employer coverage ends at 65. What should I do for spouse?

[Frwinkley]

DH and I are both retired and we’ve been covered under my prior employers’ health plan (school district) for the last few years.

My coverage will end when I turn 65 (April of next year) and I will go on Medicare and purchase a supplement as well. My DH however, will not turn 65 until June of next year. At most, we are looking at getting coverage for him for 2 months. Where should I begin to look? We might only need it for 1 month if my thinking is correct:

Employer coverage ends 4/30. I apply for Medicare during the month of April, so that my effective date is May 1st, DH applies 3 months prior to his birthday in June, so that his effective date for Medicare is June 1st. We might only be looking at additional coverage for 1 month.

I’m not entirely comfortable with going without coverage for him, even if it’s for such a short period of time.

 

[easyas123]

Cobra or State sponsored healthcare (aka ObamaCare) if available since it's a qualifying life event? I'm guessing COBRA may be easier but health insurance isn't my insurance specialty!
I'm betting you aren't the first to face this, have you asked your HR dept? They will probably be familiar with this situation and can also help direct you to the correct marketplace product.

 

[Frwinkley]

Cobra or State sponsored healthcare (aka ObamaCare) if available since it's a qualifying life event? I'm guessing COBRA may be easier but health insurance isn't my insurance specialty!
I'm betting you aren't the first to face this, have you asked your HR dept? They will probably be familiar with this situation and can also help direct you to the correct marketplace product.

Yes they’re suggestions at first as COBRA, but it is outrageous. Good thing is that it would only be for a short period of time.

 

[AstroBlasters]

DH and I are both retired and we’ve been covered under my prior employers’ health plan (school district) for the last few years.

My coverage will end when I turn 65 (April of next year) and I will go on Medicare and purchase a supplement as well. My DH however, will not turn 65 until June of next year. At most, we are looking at getting coverage for him for 2 months. Where should I begin to look? We might only need it for 1 month if my thinking is correct:

Employer coverage ends 4/30. I apply for Medicare during the month of April, so that my effective date is May 1st, DH applies 3 months prior to his birthday in June, so that his effective date for Medicare is June 1st. We might only be looking at additional coverage for 1 month.

I’m not entirely comfortable with going without coverage for him, even if it’s for such a short period of time.

https://www.healthcare.gov/

 

[kdonnel]

Yes they’re suggestions at first as COBRA, but it is outrageous. Good thing is that it would only be for a short period of time.

Since it is only 2 months you might be able to get by with nothing. If needed you can always retroactively pay for cobra. You don’t have to sign up for cobra until you need it.

 

[Pooh2]

My son was only uninsured for one month of his entire life while he was waiting to start a new job.
Ayup, that is when he needed stitches..
He paid cash at a walk-in to get sewed up, his wife took out the stitches for him.
Obviously if a hospitalization was needed, paying out of pocket might be an issue.

 

[disneychrista]

Sounds like you will have to go through the health care exchange or Cobra. Cobra is outrageously expensive because employers generally have very good health coverage which is expensive. You will likely pay as much or more for comparable coverage on the marketplace. For a month or two, assuming no ongoing health issues, I would go with a catastrophic or high deductible plan.

 

[barkley]

Since it is only 2 months you might be able to get by with nothing. If needed you can always retroactively pay for cobra. You don’t have to sign up for cobra until you need it.

I kinda of thought of this too. you have 60 days AFTER the day you get the official cobra notification to do the paperwork and the benefits are retro so.....if the op's dh's coverage ends 4/30 but will be mediCARE eligible 6/1 they could just sit on the paperwork.

THAT SAID-if the dh gets any regular meds I would start eyeballing the calendar to pre-plan refills to time out with none needed to be filled in 5/26.

 

[Frwinkley]

I kinda of thought of this too. you have 60 days AFTER the day you get the official cobra notification to do the paperwork and the benefits are retro so.....if the op's dh's coverage ends 4/30 but will be mediCARE eligible 6/1 they could just sit on the paperwork.

THAT SAID-if the dh gets any regular meds I would start eyeballing the calendar to pre-plan refills to time out with none needed to be filled in 5/26.

Oh I forgot that about COBRA!!

Yea, I've already mapped out the prescription situation. He gets a few that are refilled 3 months at a time, so we should be good there.

 

[Mrs.Milo]

Don’t worry, you’ll be getting plenty of info thru the mail

 

[Frwinkley]

Don’t worry, you’ll be getting plenty of info thru the mail

That's exactly what I'm afraid of.....

 

[Grand Koalafornian]

I don't know what state you live in, but https://www.healthcare.gov/get-coverage/ or your state's equivalent is a great place to start. When I lost my employer-sponsored coverage a few years ago, Covered California was much more affordable than COBRA and having a central place to see my options was so helpful. I could even keep my same Kaiser plan (I know some people hate Kaiser, but I love them, especially after dealing with my wife's Aetna and Cigna plans in the last few years).

 

[Ning Ning]

Since it's only for a month or, at most two, I would go with COBRA. Yes, it will be more expensive than going out on the exchange, but it's a lot less complicated than starting a new policy. He can just keep everything the same (providers, meds, etc.) until he's Medicare eligible.

 

[Frwinkley]

I don't know what state you live in, but https://www.healthcare.gov/get-coverage/ or your state's equivalent is a great place to start. When I lost my employer-sponsored coverage a few years ago, Covered California was much more affordable than COBRA and having a central place to see my options was so helpful. I could even keep my same Kaiser plan (I know some people hate Kaiser, but I love them, especially after dealing with my wife's Aetna and Cigna plans in the last few years).

I actually just looked and it is significantly cheaper than Cobra.

 

[Frwinkley]

Since it's only for a month or, at most two, I would go with COBRA. Yes, it will be more expensive than going out on the exchange, but it's a lot less complicated than starting a new policy. He can just keep everything the same (providers, meds, etc.) until he's Medicare eligible.

Since we have 60 days to sign up for Cobra and can do so retrospectively, I might just roll the dice and let the paperwork sit.

 

[tvguy]

Yes they’re suggestions at first as COBRA, but it is outrageous. Good thing is that it would only be for a short period of time.

Well, depending on where you live, Obamacare may be even more outrageous if your income is too high for subsidies.
With my wife's employer COBRA was $600 a month each. Affordable Healthcare Act coverage.....Covered California since we are in California.....would have been $1,500 a month, each.

EDIT: I just saw you answered that. That is odd. But here school districts provide lifetime health benefits. Teachers have a strong union here.