. My friend R. never fails to point out the sliver linings whenever there is bad news, like my layoff. He said to think of it as an opportunity to spend more quality time with my dad, who is getting on in years and who knows how much time he has left?
This is very true; for long stretches of my life, he was not in the picture, but now that he's moved up to my sister's barn/loft apt nearby, I see a lot more of him than I ever did.
The other thing R. pointed out is that I'm in a better financial position now than during any other time I've faced a layoff. I can see from my records that my total savings/investments at the time of my last layoff in October 2009 was just $418,000. Now I'm at $776,000. So that's comforting, but I don't exactly want to spend any of that money down now.
So the bad news is...health insurance. Right now I pay just $143/ mth with my employer plan, and that includes dental. Super cheap, and a good Cigna plan. I know my employer picks up part of my premiums for me now, but i figured even if that figure doubled once i leave company, it still would be relatively cheap. Wrong. As a single person, if I keep this plan, without the dental, i would have to cough up $513 a month. This would easily become my single biggest expenses during unemployment. This is what would put me in the red each month while collecting unemployment benefits. So I will definitely have to look into prices of plans under the Affordable Care Act. Don't even want to think of the mess that could ensure if Trump is elected and the Republicans continue on their mission to dismantle the ACA for something else. Not a good time to be dependent on the system for health insurance. Sigh.
Silver linings and some bad news
July 14th, 2016 at 03:00 pm
July 14th, 2016 at 03:24 pm 1468509860
Health insurance is a big sticking point. My mom retired at 62 and we had to use private plans to fill that gap until medicare at 65. It as hard, but that was before the affordable care act, so maybe there will be more and better plans available to you.
I'm praying it all works out for you.
July 14th, 2016 at 03:35 pm 1468510558
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July 14th, 2016 at 06:31 pm 1468521083
Jenn, I'm neck-deep in looking at ACA plans now in my state's marketplace. The best plan I can find, and which I'll probably go with, is with United Healthcare and monthly premium for a single person of $264/mth with $2900 annual deductible. Copays are $30/primary and $50 for a specialist
My specialty Tier 4 drug for the MS will cost $250 per 3-mth prescription ($83/mth) and if this is true (i want to confirm with a live person, not just what it says online) this is much better than Anthem and Connecticare, my only 2 other choices, who would charge me $150 per month.
Everything else is pretty much the same and the main takeaway from all this is that you're much better off if you just STAY HEALTHY, becus even outpatient facilities are $500 a day and costs really creep up beyond the routine checkups and exams. Wondering if a colonoscopy done on outpatient basis would then cost $500 or if that's a wellness thing.
Unfortunately, very long wait times to talk to someone on CT health exchange and if I call United directly, they refer me back to the state health exchange.
July 15th, 2016 at 06:26 pm 1468607176