4 ms·

Since my wife is on my health insurance plan, COBRA is going to be very expensive. Instead of COBRA, can you get on an Obamacare ACA plan? That might be much c

Since my wife is on my health insurance plan, COBRA is going to be very expensive. Instead of COBRA, can you get on an Obamacare ACA plan? That might be much cheaper.

malyk 7y ago
you don't have to pay for cobra until you need it though, so you could get out spending $0, iirc.
- mceachen 7y ago
  At least in CA, if you opt out of COBRA, you can't opt back in later.
  - brianwawok 7y ago
    Hum. In IL and IN you have either 45 or 60 days to accept or decline coverage (don’t quote me on exact number, do the research). It made the optimal short term insurance policy to be: Don’t fill out cobra paperwork to day 59 If not sick or total bills less than 2 months cobra payments, decline cobra. If sick and total bills > 2 months cobra payments, decide to accept coverage. Used this for like 5 job hops. Never had to opt in, but it seemed fine. Confirmed with HR several times that it would work as I said. After 2 months it starts to get gross. Likely want to get an emergency only plan.
    - omgwtfbyobbq 7y ago
      It's the same in CA in my experience. I guess people don't think about it b/c we're used to pre-paying for insurance and with COBRA there's a decent period of time to make a decision and you also pay for insurance the following month instead of paying for it prior to/during the month.
    - r00fus 7y ago
      I think your heuristics change if you happen to have an ongoing condition or family needing coverage (who may also happen to have costly out-of-coverage costs). This is the kind of mental gymnastics that would be completely avoided if we had even the most basic of universal coverage.
- justin66 7y ago
  There is a grace period before you have to start paying, and the dates should be on the letter you receive when you leave your employer. The grace period does not last forever, and when it's almost up, you need to pay several months at once to get coverage. (another comment suggests these rules might vary somewhat by state, and I'm sure that is also possible)
  - masonic 7y ago
    For ACA, policies, the grace period is forever. Job loss is a "life event" that lets you jump in any time, not just an arbitrary open enrollment window.
    - justin66 7y ago
      The grace period to start paying for a plan under the ACA is 60 days, not "forever." It's true that you don't need to wait for open enrollment, a special enrollment period opens for you when you lose your job. edit: I'm not sure there's any grace period at all with the ACA. You have 60 days to sign up, but unlike COBRA, I don't see any evidence you can start using the insurance without paying for it first, which is the nice thing about the COBRA grace period. https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/special-enrollment-period/ https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/...
      - masonic 7y ago
        I was talking about California. CA has no such limitation right now. https://www.coveredca.com/individuals-and-families/getting-covered/special-enrollment/ https://www.coveredca.com/individuals-and-families/getting-c... I don't see any evidence you can start using the insurance without paying for it first, Because there's no limitation on pre existing conditions, it's effectively the same. You can sign up the day you get sick and have a free ride until then. That's why the CBO scoring was all bullshit.
        justin66 7y ago
hysan 7y ago
My wife is a certified social worker and knows just about everything there is about that. It’ll be cheaper but far worse in terms of coverage and deductibles. So it’s an option for stretching budget, but it’s not a good solution if anything significant happens. I’ll ask her if she knows what’s changed with regards to COVID-19 related cases, but my guess is that nothing in terms of coverage has changed. So given the current world circumstances, switching would be akin to taking a giant gamble on your health.
- geerlingguy 7y ago
  An equivalent plan in my state (MO) is 2.5x more expensive (monthly), with a higher deductible and fewer available in-network providers :(
- chris11 7y ago
  Is medicaid a good option? I think you should qualify in California. Also, I don't know your situation, but has your health needs changed recently? I know Kaiser is trying to limit unnecessary office visits.
  - PopeDotNinja 7y ago
    In California, Obamacare IS Medical (aka Medicaid). I signed up once. I couldn't get my Vyvanse for my ADHD because it's a controlled substance, and the Medical doctor wouldn't touch a prescription for it. Pro-tip:. If you pay out of pocket for your regular doctor (maybe tell then your situation and work out a deal), you can get Medical to pay for the prescription (verify before trying).
    - masonic 7y ago
      Obamacare IS Medical (aka Medicaid) No, Obamacare is Covered CA. Medicaid is called MediCal, except persons in the US illegally can get it, too. If you pay out of pocket for your regular doctor... you can get Medical to pay for the prescription That's a felony.
- redisman 7y ago
blendo 7y ago
On my California Kaiser plan, COBRA was about 35% cheaper than the equivalent Covered California offering.

Since my wife is on my health insurance plan, COBRA is going to be very expensive. Instead of COBRA, can you get on an Obamacare ACA plan? That might be much cheaper.

malyk 7y ago

you don't have to pay for cobra until you need it though, so you could get out spending $0, iirc.

mceachen 7y ago
At least in CA, if you opt out of COBRA, you can't opt back in later.
- brianwawok 7y ago
  Hum. In IL and IN you have either 45 or 60 days to accept or decline coverage (don’t quote me on exact number, do the research). It made the optimal short term insurance policy to be: Don’t fill out cobra paperwork to day 59 If not sick or total bills less than 2 months cobra payments, decline cobra. If sick and total bills > 2 months cobra payments, decide to accept coverage. Used this for like 5 job hops. Never had to opt in, but it seemed fine. Confirmed with HR several times that it would work as I said. After 2 months it starts to get gross. Likely want to get an emergency only plan.
  - omgwtfbyobbq 7y ago
    It's the same in CA in my experience. I guess people don't think about it b/c we're used to pre-paying for insurance and with COBRA there's a decent period of time to make a decision and you also pay for insurance the following month instead of paying for it prior to/during the month.
  - r00fus 7y ago
    I think your heuristics change if you happen to have an ongoing condition or family needing coverage (who may also happen to have costly out-of-coverage costs). This is the kind of mental gymnastics that would be completely avoided if we had even the most basic of universal coverage.
justin66 7y ago
There is a grace period before you have to start paying, and the dates should be on the letter you receive when you leave your employer. The grace period does not last forever, and when it's almost up, you need to pay several months at once to get coverage. (another comment suggests these rules might vary somewhat by state, and I'm sure that is also possible)
- masonic 7y ago
  For ACA, policies, the grace period is forever. Job loss is a "life event" that lets you jump in any time, not just an arbitrary open enrollment window.
  - justin66 7y ago
    The grace period to start paying for a plan under the ACA is 60 days, not "forever." It's true that you don't need to wait for open enrollment, a special enrollment period opens for you when you lose your job. edit: I'm not sure there's any grace period at all with the ACA. You have 60 days to sign up, but unlike COBRA, I don't see any evidence you can start using the insurance without paying for it first, which is the nice thing about the COBRA grace period. https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/special-enrollment-period/ https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/...
    - masonic 7y ago
      I was talking about California. CA has no such limitation right now. https://www.coveredca.com/individuals-and-families/getting-covered/special-enrollment/ https://www.coveredca.com/individuals-and-families/getting-c... I don't see any evidence you can start using the insurance without paying for it first, Because there's no limitation on pre existing conditions, it's effectively the same. You can sign up the day you get sick and have a free ride until then. That's why the CBO scoring was all bullshit.
      - justin66 7y ago

hysan 7y ago

My wife is a certified social worker and knows just about everything there is about that. It’ll be cheaper but far worse in terms of coverage and deductibles. So it’s an option for stretching budget, but it’s not a good solution if anything significant happens. I’ll ask her if she knows what’s changed with regards to COVID-19 related cases, but my guess is that nothing in terms of coverage has changed. So given the current world circumstances, switching would be akin to taking a giant gamble on your health.

geerlingguy 7y ago
An equivalent plan in my state (MO) is 2.5x more expensive (monthly), with a higher deductible and fewer available in-network providers :(
chris11 7y ago
Is medicaid a good option? I think you should qualify in California. Also, I don't know your situation, but has your health needs changed recently? I know Kaiser is trying to limit unnecessary office visits.
- PopeDotNinja 7y ago
  In California, Obamacare IS Medical (aka Medicaid). I signed up once. I couldn't get my Vyvanse for my ADHD because it's a controlled substance, and the Medical doctor wouldn't touch a prescription for it. Pro-tip:. If you pay out of pocket for your regular doctor (maybe tell then your situation and work out a deal), you can get Medical to pay for the prescription (verify before trying).
  - masonic 7y ago
    Obamacare IS Medical (aka Medicaid) No, Obamacare is Covered CA. Medicaid is called MediCal, except persons in the US illegally can get it, too. If you pay out of pocket for your regular doctor... you can get Medical to pay for the prescription That's a felony.
redisman 7y ago

blendo 7y ago

On my California Kaiser plan, COBRA was about 35% cheaper than the equivalent Covered California offering.