[Samantha]

Do you buy off the marketplace? Is it good coverage ie low deductible, low co insurance and low co pay?

A friend and I were talking recently and we could both retire pretty early, but the issue is health coverage. We are both working for benefits.

[Holli]

I don’t qualify for any reductions. I pay $550 a month, with a $7k deductible. I go to other countries for planned medical procedures, dental, rx. Mostly try and stay healthy. I’ve never made my deductible.

[Darrell]

Yes we retired early and use ACA.

The reason you get some people loving it and some people hating it is because every state has different policies available.

[Sean]

Yes get ACA coverage.

Whether it’s good, based on your made up definition, totally depends on the plan you buy.

You can pay more money to have a plan with lower deductibles and copays, or you can pay less and have higher deductibles.

For example you can pay 12k per her for a 14k family max out of pocket plan. That would max out at 26k.

Or pay 25k in premiums for a $0 deductible plan with a 4K out of pocket max or 29k per year max.

So it depends if you want to think paying 26k is a bad plan when you can pay 29k for your so called good plan.

These are real life numbers from plan options in Florida for my wife and I.

People tend to think hdhp are bad and low deductible plans are good. But in reality with a low deductible plan you are just prepaying for your healthcare regardless of whether you need it or not.

Consider browsing: Health insurance question – What if you turn 65 before then?

[Robert]

I’m 61. In the USA I use one of my former employer’s retiree health insurance benefit.

As part of my FIRE plan I was approved for European citizenship whete i have access to public healthcare everywhere.

So… I’m covered on two continents.

[Lea]

Depends on how much “income” you have to determine your subsidy. I’m a freelancer and buy insurance on the marketplace and I pay a lot for a high deductible plan. When I FIRE I should be able to keep my income low enough to at least get the high deductible plan for free.

[Cindy-Lou Baxter]

If you make over 60k and are healthy you should consider private indemnity plans. Could be 40% less than ACA, you can stay on it until 65, no deductible unless in hospital 24 hrs or more, first dollar coverage.

Wish I knew about it sooner for our family before we became ineligible.

You might also be interested in: What do you plan to do for health insurance in the US before you get to Medicare?

[Aaron]

I’m FIRE’ing at age 50 and don’t know why people complain about health insurance costs. For my wife and I, if we pick the nicest plan with most coverage and lowest deductibles it’s only about $1,800/month for us both for our premium.

And I don’t qualify for any reduction in premiums due to how high my income will be in retirement.

I feel $21,600 a year is cheap to buy good coverage from BCBS out of pocket. Yes it will go up over time but still we are on a FIRE forum for crying out loud.

This small amount for health insurance coverage should be factored in (I’m factoring in around $3,000/month in health insurance premiums from age 50-65 just in case).

[Author]

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