DARN! No 50 to 65 AARP health insurance

[wjswitzer]

To the AARP Hive Mind:

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I joined AARP hoping to benefit similarly to a retired friend's use of their health insurance. BUMMER - turns out we currently (hey, 'we' are all AARP, right) offer members Medicare supplement insurance but not really a good product for those of us not yet retired (ahem, let's just say born in the 1960's and not lucky enough to retire- yet).

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WHAT'S YOUR RECOMMENDATION for self - employed health insurance? Diabetes Type II is my most expensive chronic condition; plus a couple others that I treat every day.

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LOVE the help from other members I see in Community. Bring it! (please)

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[GailL1 · Accepted solution]

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@wjswitzer wrote:

To the AARP Hive Mind:

WHAT'S YOUR RECOMMENDATION for self - employed health insurance? Diabetes Type II is my most expensive chronic condition; plus a couple others that I treat every day.

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Two ways to get to a result - 

1.  Contact a LOCAL independent health insurance broker in your area that writes for an assortment of different companies and they can give you some options. They can also tell you if you qualify for any tax credit subsidy on the exchange.  An exchange is a health insurance marketplace, i.e. Obamacare.  They can make the process easier as long as they know what they are doings.

2.  Go to Healthcare.gov and do the search for yourself by inputting various info - a list will come up for you to evaluate your needs/wants.  But bear in mind that these are only plans for which you might qualify for a tax credit subsidy based on your income and family make up.  If the tax credit subsidy is not in the cards for your based on your income and family make up - then there are other plans available OFF the exchange.

Don't forget to look at things that are important to you like who is on the network - hospitals / docs, etc., how vast or small is the network, your money - premiums, deductibles, co-pays and when they come into play, any special needs or considerations.

If you think this is fun - then just wait until you hit 65 and try to pick your options with all the rules of do's and don't, can'ts and cans . . . .

[wjswitzer]

AWESOME. Just what I needed to know - basically confirmation, and there are not shortcuts, avoid the nonsense and do the research. Thanks @GailL1