Health Insurance Options Besides the Marketplace?

[trippypea]

Are there any options for health insurance besides the Marketplace if you don't have a job?

DH lost his job in January. Premiums while employed were $440/mo. Cobra would be over $1800/mo, so too expensive. Went into the marketplace and was eligible for a subsidy based on what we knew we'd make for sure in 2020 (didn't include future unemployment payments or future jobs by the end of the year). With subsidy, premium was $850/mo. Told us to report immediately if there was an increase in income, i.e. filed for unemployment, got new job, etc.

DH still has no job. Applied for UC, but got stuck in limbo. We took a small amount out of a 401K to tide us over to year's end in case UC got denied. Shortly after, UC was finally released. 18 wks were paid all at once, in addition to 14 wks of the $600 stimulus. So I called to report the increase in income, and we are no longer eligible for a subsidy. Don't ask me how, but new projection for yearly salary is at least as much as previous year. New premium would be $2200+/mo which is well out of our reach with our only income being UC, and even with the highest amount of UC, it doesn't even cover the insurance premium much less any other bill.

Are there other options besides the Marketplace to look for a cheaper plan? I can't believe people are shelling out that much money for insurance if they don't have a traditional job because you'd have to make $300K/yr to make that seem reasonable.

[Deleted]

The short answer is no - welcome to America without employer-sponsored healthcare...

You can buy health insurance from agents if he's never had a medical problem and you can find something that's affordable. Probably some sort of high-deductible option.

Even with the exchange plans, the OOP deductibles are typically insane.

This is why we have so many citizens without coverage. You are either poor and get help, have a job that pays for most of it, or you are screwed. 

I'm hopeful the pandemic/economy might change how health care coverage is obtained in the US eventually. But, while old dudes with Cadillac coverage for life are in charge - probably not.

[resolution]

There are insurance brokers like ehealthinsurance.com that will sell less expensive short term plans that don't provide as much coverage as the exchange. If you go for something like that, be careful to find out in advance what all the exculsions are, since they may exclude care that you need. That type of plan has gotten a bad reputation for being deceptive about the lack of coverage.

There are also non-insurance options like christian healthshare organizations, where you pay a monthly premium and then if you need medical care, they will help cover the bills. Some examples are samaritan healthshare and christian healthcare ministries.


I believe some universities also offer student health insurance, if you have any family members that are students.

[jerseygirl]

There are various Christian health care plans that seem to be much cheaper, don’t know anything about them however
Daughter once got cheap health insurance by taking a community college course. Don’t know if these are available now with ACA care
That’s the problem with government focus on health insurance and not the costs of health care
Some progress in costs - ERs are not allowed (don’t know when this is effective) to charge out of plan costs, i.e., if ER takes your insurance plan, radiologist not allowed to charge out of plan costs (usually more$$),
Drug costs will be based on other country costs not one cost for US and (usually) lower costs for other countries such as EU and Canada - not sure of details and timing on these All pushed by Trump
Trump also tried to require cost of drug in ads , probably drug companies might have decreased advertising, unfortunately courts ruled against this
US medical system is so freaking convoluted and expensive . Sorry you have this problem

[trippypea]

Ugh. Even going with the CHEAPEST plan in the marketplace will cost over $1500/mo and that's with a $16000 deductible. Crazy.

[Deleted]

Sept 13, 2020 16:33:21 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

There are various Christian health care plans that seem to be much cheaper, don’t know anything about them however
Daughter once got cheap health insurance by taking a community college course. Don’t know if these are available now with ACA care.

Yes, they are. Just last year our Diocesan Treasurer mentioned that he'd retired early and that health insurance for himself, his wife and 2 minor children was crazy-expensive.  He found a college that offered low-cost insurance if he took one class.  He's a permanent student now!  I suspect this won't last long.  The reason it's cheap is that it covers a mostly-young population.  As the experience worsens with more older insureds in the group, rates will go up. I could see schools restricting it only to FT students but it's worth looking into right now. 

Christian healthcare ministries are not insurance (and the reputable ones will tell you that up front).  They depend on donations to fund the expensive health problems, with no guarantees and they have certain "lifestyle" requirements, including no smoking and no coverage for unwed pregnancies.  Not for everyone.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 14, 2020 8:27:59 GMT -5 trippypea said:

Ugh. Even going with the CHEAPEST plan in the marketplace will cost over $1500/mo and that's with a $16000 deductible. Crazy.

Yeah.  This is largely the reason why TD is continuing to work, even though we can afford for him to retire.  Insurance for him alone would be a crappy policy at over $1000/mo.  His goal right now is that he is hoping to do a COBRA slide into Medicare, because it's better to pay $2000 for a decent, employer sponsored policy for 2 of us than one on the marketplace.