What to do for health coverage after loss of a job

cowgal

The company that I have been with for almost 25 years is closing down part of the company due to economics and there is a good chance that I will be out of a job in a few months as they wind a division down. My husband and I get our health insurance through my job and his job does not offer health insurance so we are having to look at alternatives since we are in our mid 50s. Obviously, if I find another job that provides insurance, I can do COBRA for any health insurance gap before going on a new employers plan. We are trying to figure out what other options are out there if I do not get another job. We do farm and ranch on the side and I am trying to see if any trade organizations related to that would have plans that we might be able to join. I realize that I can do COBRA for 18 months but would still need a plan after that time period is up. Does it make sense to purchase two different health insurance plans for my husband and I since I have the higher health insurance needs at this point and have him on a different plan or is it better to purchase a couple's plan? Are Affordable Care Act plans the place to look or should we talk to private providers? Any advice would be appreciated.

Moderators

cowgirl, we're really sorry to hear this. You may want to listen to this podcast (or read transcript) from Joanna Morales, a cancer rights attorney, author, speaker, and CEO of Triage Cancer. In general, Triage Cancer really has some helpful resources that you may want to check out, or give them a call. https://triagecancer.org/animatedvideos

Keep us posted!

farmerlucy

My husband and I get “group” coverage through our two member group via our LLC. He sells real estate and we have rentals. It it through Blue Cross Blue Shield and it is ridiculously expensive. Luckily he goes on Medicare this year. We both have the same health coverage. The only place we varied coverage was for dental, because I generally have more dental expense I buy the better plan.

gb2115

The ACA plans....they have really high out of pocket maximums though, from what I have seen. But I guess it's better than nothing??

Trishyla

It depends on where you live and what your income level is. I live in California, which has fully embraced the Affordable Care Act.

I had reason to be extremely grateful for that in 2016. Just 6 weeks after being diagnosed with breast cancer the Film Production company that my husband and I both worked for closed it's doors with absolutely no notice. I was sitting in a chair getting chemo when the head of Human Resources called to say we had one week to find new insurance.

I made a couple of phone calls and was able to get a policy through Covered California that turned out to be the best insurance I've ever had. Because we were both unemployed, our premiums were low ($400.00 per month) and out of pocket was basically zero. I estimated that the ACA saved me over $90,000 in copays and premiums over the two years we had it.

If you live in a Republican state your options are probably a lot more limited. That being said, it' should be more affordable than COBRA, which is prohibitively expensive.

You may want to call your state's insurance commissioner or ACA exchange to see if they have an option that's right for you.

Good luck. I'm sorry you have to deal with this on top of everything else.

Trish

cowgal

Thank you everyone for your responses.