6 ms·

> They cannot afford to lose healthcare coverage. And with Obamacare, they don't have to. They should be able to purchase decent coverage on the exchange, rig

> They cannot afford to lose healthcare coverage. And with Obamacare, they don't have to. They should be able to purchase decent coverage on the exchange, right? That's what we did when I quit my job.

joshmn 11y ago
The amazing coverage they have is barely cutting it. He pays pennies on the dollar for the coverage they get. I can't imagine it would be like this at all on the exchange.
- gscott 11y ago
  Years ago I did a website for a person who sold health insurance for businesses. It turns out that a business is defined as 2 people and can come in most any form. With business healthcare they accept anyone even if you have pre-existing conditions. It gets around trying to buy health insurance directly. Cost is pretty reasonable.
  - rcurry 11y ago
    Great advice - also, there are a few states that allow a one person business to qualify for group coverage. I forget all of them, but I think the following states still allow "groups of one" with respect to a business acquiring health insurance: Connecticut, Delaware, Mississippi, North Carolina My apologies if I'm wrong on any of these, it's just off the top of my head since the last time I looked into it.
  - cma 11y ago
    There are no pre-existing condition exclusions in private insurance through obamacare. That was the biggest change it brought and is the reason for the mandate (so you don't wait to get sick and then take advantage of the lack of exclusions).
  - drzaiusapelord 11y ago
    A two person business won't be able to negotiate a group rate or decent benefits package very well. At this point you're better off looking at these ACA exchanges. They've done the negotiation for you with these larger carriers.
- rcurry 11y ago
  You're right - private health insurance will be far more expensive than what he's paying now. I don't think there's any way around that. If he can afford to pay the vig, then COBRA makes the most sense for the short term.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    cobra is often much more expensive than obamacare; at least it was for me
- muzz 11y ago
  If his employment does end, he can do COBRA for 18 months (although he'll lose the employer contribution of course). Afterwards, ACA guarantees that a plan will be available. Depending on the state, you may be able to even get a quick quote online to get an idea of what the cost would be today.
  - hwstar 11y ago
    You don't need to go on COBRA and exhaust its benefits before signing up with the ACA. IMHO, the only reason you would want to sign up for COBRA is if you or a family member are undergoing care at a hospital and you don't want the continuity of that care interrupted. The ACA is going to be far less expensive than COBRA . If you are on COBRA and the company declares bankruptcy, you lose COBRA and must sign up for the ACA.
  - cookiecaper 11y ago
    COBRA is not a realistic option for most people. Without the employer contribution, most health plans end up costing more than $1k/mo. That's too much for a steadily-employed person to afford, let alone someone who was just laid off.
- x0x0 11y ago
  Good news: you're almost certainly wrong :) Obamacare in MN is through https://www.mnsure.org/ https://www.mnsure.org/ . Your father being fired or laid off qualifies as a special enrollment event. If your mother is seriously ill, look at gold plans and simply look at the maximum out of pocket. Find a plan with a maximum out of pocket of $2k or even $1k pp. They'll spend it all, and after that, your out of pocket expenses will be limited to copays. They will even be eligible for assistance paying for it if your parents' income falls. From a brief poke around the above website, for zip 55401 and two adults born 1/1/1960, you should be able to find a plan for under $1k/mo unsubsidized with a $3k/family/year maximum out of pocket. This is almost certainly less than cobra will cost. Be careful of narrow networks though, particularly if your mother is being actively treated by a doctor/hospital. Good luck to you and yours.
  - melling 11y ago
    At $1,000/month that's over 10% of his pre-tax income at his current job. That's a lot of money if you aren't working and your income goes to zero.
    - tsotha 11y ago
      If you have someone in the family with serious medical issues, though, it's free money. A trip to the ER and a few days in the hospital runs tens of thousands.
    - mapt 11y ago
      Yes, but if that happens, thanks to the other half of Obamacare (the Medicaid expansion), if income goes to zero / povertylevel for any adult (no longer merely special classes of disabled or child-raising adult), then healthcare becomes free. People with big enough health problems that the heavily subsidized Silver market category is insufficient, but who have only a middle class income, do get stung in this system; But before Obamacare they would have been treated much, much worse should their employer fail to provide them with good health insurance. The Silver market plans are supposed to represent the standard level of care, and be subsidized on a sliding scale from 99% right above the Medicaid threshold, down to 0% at ~$100k income or so, IIRC.
- jedanbik 11y ago
  You don't have to imagine anything. Get a quote from their 24 hour telephone hotline. https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/ https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/
bduerst 11y ago
I think with the mother you would want at least a gold level plan, right? That's pretty expensive.
s73v3r 11y ago
With what money?

joshmn 11y ago

The amazing coverage they have is barely cutting it. He pays pennies on the dollar for the coverage they get. I can't imagine it would be like this at all on the exchange.

gscott 11y ago
Years ago I did a website for a person who sold health insurance for businesses. It turns out that a business is defined as 2 people and can come in most any form. With business healthcare they accept anyone even if you have pre-existing conditions. It gets around trying to buy health insurance directly. Cost is pretty reasonable.
- rcurry 11y ago
  Great advice - also, there are a few states that allow a one person business to qualify for group coverage. I forget all of them, but I think the following states still allow "groups of one" with respect to a business acquiring health insurance: Connecticut, Delaware, Mississippi, North Carolina My apologies if I'm wrong on any of these, it's just off the top of my head since the last time I looked into it.
- cma 11y ago
  There are no pre-existing condition exclusions in private insurance through obamacare. That was the biggest change it brought and is the reason for the mandate (so you don't wait to get sick and then take advantage of the lack of exclusions).
- drzaiusapelord 11y ago
  A two person business won't be able to negotiate a group rate or decent benefits package very well. At this point you're better off looking at these ACA exchanges. They've done the negotiation for you with these larger carriers.
rcurry 11y ago
You're right - private health insurance will be far more expensive than what he's paying now. I don't think there's any way around that. If he can afford to pay the vig, then COBRA makes the most sense for the short term.
- x0x0 11y ago
  cobra is often much more expensive than obamacare; at least it was for me
muzz 11y ago
If his employment does end, he can do COBRA for 18 months (although he'll lose the employer contribution of course). Afterwards, ACA guarantees that a plan will be available. Depending on the state, you may be able to even get a quick quote online to get an idea of what the cost would be today.
- hwstar 11y ago
  You don't need to go on COBRA and exhaust its benefits before signing up with the ACA. IMHO, the only reason you would want to sign up for COBRA is if you or a family member are undergoing care at a hospital and you don't want the continuity of that care interrupted. The ACA is going to be far less expensive than COBRA . If you are on COBRA and the company declares bankruptcy, you lose COBRA and must sign up for the ACA.
- cookiecaper 11y ago
  COBRA is not a realistic option for most people. Without the employer contribution, most health plans end up costing more than $1k/mo. That's too much for a steadily-employed person to afford, let alone someone who was just laid off.
x0x0 11y ago
Good news: you're almost certainly wrong :) Obamacare in MN is through https://www.mnsure.org/ https://www.mnsure.org/ . Your father being fired or laid off qualifies as a special enrollment event. If your mother is seriously ill, look at gold plans and simply look at the maximum out of pocket. Find a plan with a maximum out of pocket of $2k or even $1k pp. They'll spend it all, and after that, your out of pocket expenses will be limited to copays. They will even be eligible for assistance paying for it if your parents' income falls. From a brief poke around the above website, for zip 55401 and two adults born 1/1/1960, you should be able to find a plan for under $1k/mo unsubsidized with a $3k/family/year maximum out of pocket. This is almost certainly less than cobra will cost. Be careful of narrow networks though, particularly if your mother is being actively treated by a doctor/hospital. Good luck to you and yours.
- melling 11y ago
  At $1,000/month that's over 10% of his pre-tax income at his current job. That's a lot of money if you aren't working and your income goes to zero.
  - tsotha 11y ago
    If you have someone in the family with serious medical issues, though, it's free money. A trip to the ER and a few days in the hospital runs tens of thousands.
  - mapt 11y ago
    Yes, but if that happens, thanks to the other half of Obamacare (the Medicaid expansion), if income goes to zero / povertylevel for any adult (no longer merely special classes of disabled or child-raising adult), then healthcare becomes free. People with big enough health problems that the heavily subsidized Silver market category is insufficient, but who have only a middle class income, do get stung in this system; But before Obamacare they would have been treated much, much worse should their employer fail to provide them with good health insurance. The Silver market plans are supposed to represent the standard level of care, and be subsidized on a sliding scale from 99% right above the Medicaid threshold, down to 0% at ~$100k income or so, IIRC.
jedanbik 11y ago
You don't have to imagine anything. Get a quote from their 24 hour telephone hotline. https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/ https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/

bduerst 11y ago

I think with the mother you would want at least a gold level plan, right? That's pretty expensive.

s73v3r 11y ago

With what money?