How many of you in this health insurance boat?

I am 53.5 years old.
Homeowner.
A modest inherited "nest-egg" and savings.
Coming up on 20 years at my work where the retirement benefit makes it possible for me to retire at 55.

Now the bad news.
No retirement health insurance plan where I work.
My potential job and other retirement plans I have in no way would cover the $1200 per month for my wife and I...even if we didn't have "pre-existing" conditions.

What does this mean?
I guess it means I work until 65 when Medicare kicks in.
This is going to be rough since my job is labor intensive.

Others I talk with, in other careers, are in a similar situation.

What do we do?
Risk everything and go without health insurance?
Move to another country?
Suck it up and work until 65? (shutter)


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Yes there is a plan but it costs too much. So I am in the same boat more or less.

for me it is a bit different. Recently Arkansas enacted a state insurance program. Depending on your income, the cost ranges from $25 to $250. Since the health insurance overhaul, states are becoming more proactive about their citizens. If a cold hearted state like AR institutes something like this, maybe your state has something coming on line as well. Oh, BTW, I'll be working until I die.

And to be honest it might take ten years to accomplish that. Might not help you at all in this situation. But doing the right thing for our next generation is what counts. If more of our our parents had thought about this when they could have perhaps so many people wouldn't be in your position you find yourself in now?

But keep one thing in mind. That next generation, regardless of whether we have kids of our own or not, are going to be the ones taking care care of us as we get old. So its probably best to make things as good as we can for them right now.

Just my take on this.

Good luck with whatever you decide. And if you need help unionizing I will be glad to help all I can.

Don

Teamsters

Sad part is that about 10 years ago our group had a choice at the bargaining table to put in place a retirement health plan or take a small wage increase. Being a younger workforce they opted for the latter.
Dummies.


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People died fighting for these kinds of benefits and someone comes along and just gives it back.

I have seen it happen too.

I have been saying all along we can either stand together or get hanged one at a time.

Don

We have been getting back some of what we gave back a little at a time. This tuition aid is not going to directly help me any more. But I hope it helps the next generation of workers in some way. Sure happy we got it for them.

Small steps I guess?

Got to keep fighting. If you guys need to go on strike I guarantee I will be on your side.

Solidarity.

Don

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http://www.detnews.com/article/20100514/AUTO01/5140348/1148/Ford-to-restore-tuition-aid-for-workers

Last Updated: May 14. 2010 12:22PM

Ford to restore tuition aid for workers

Bryce G. Hoffman and David Shepardson / The Detroit News

Wilmington, Del. -- Ford Motor Co. is close to an agreement that would restore tuition assistance benefits to its U.S. hourly work force, according to a Ford source familiar with the discussions.

The firm's recent success has prompted the United Auto Workers to renew demands that Ford reinstate some benefits UAW members gave up to help make the automaker more competitive.

When the automaker restored similar benefits to white-collar workers earlier this year, the union filed a grievance, accusing the company of violating its contract with the UAW.

after working in heavy industry my body paid the price. my wife now picks up my insurance but at 65 they won`t. so i`ll have to find a part time job to pay for the medicare supplement. keep working as long as you can and save as much as you can because you`ll need it when you retire.

How about working in your present job until you're able to retire at age 55, then go to work in a job that's less strenuous and that provides healthcare benefits. Unless I'm sadly mistaken, the 'preexisting conditions' clause was changed & signed into law several years ago, making it possible for workers to take different jobs without losing coverage. It's my understanding that the 'preexisting conditions' applies only when someone has gone without any health care coverage whatsoever for a certain amount of time - I'm thinking three months for some reason. Don't take my word for it, however; I could be completely wrong.

One thing I'm certain of, however, is that I will never again work under conditions that make the rest of my life miserable. I worked a rotating shift that kept me in a constant state of sleep deprivation and feeling horrible for more years than I care to mention. The best thing I ever did was to quit that job and find work that I found much more fulfilling and didn't require shuffling my entire life into a different pattern every few days. There's much more to life than work, and I don't want to be carried out of my last job feet-first on a stretcher. That, to me, epitomizes the term 'wasted life' more than just about any scenario I can imagine.

I am 53.75 years old. Homeowner. Modest investment portfolio.

I've researched living abroad and it IS preferable to living in the US. Fortunately for me, my health is good for now, but before the time comes that I will have to buy "insurance" that may or may not cover a potential illness, I will be moving to a country on the north coast of the Mediterranean.

And, yes, I plan to work until 70, to maintain my employer's health plan. I also have a cancer history!

Have you looked at the high deductible plans? That might get the price down enough. I am paying my own insurance too, and to avoid a huge increase last year we raised our deductible from $500 to $2500. I figured if we all got sick, our out-of-pocket would then equal the amount we saved. If we didn't get sick then we were ahead by thousands.
The other thing is when you have a lot to pay your Doctor or hospital, they will discount your charges and give you payment plan options if you ask them. This will not affect your credit.
One last thing you can do is game the system. Dump your insurance, pay the fine and buy it when you get sick. This is the option millions will choose in the coming years. Unfortunately, it will cause the entire system to collapse in short order.