I'm pretty lost in this: there's a lot of literature but no clear answer, and I'm not sure what the new regulations are under obamacare...
What's a simple, affordable way to make sure I'm covered?
Thanks!
COBRA is the standard answer. The ACA provides for coverage, though the general enrollment period has closed for this year. I'm not sure if a job transition counts as a qualifying event for a new enrollment, but there are counsellors (free of charge) in some states who can answer your questions on that.
My experience is that there tend to be a few tiers of coverage, and that you'll want to balance your anticipated healthcare needs with the dues. From what I've seen, middle-tier coverage tends to be the best bet.
You'll want to compare costs with what you might be able to purchase outside of COBRA. I'd suggest taking a look at the Covered California website or getting a quote from Kaiser:
open https://individual-family.kaiserpermanente.org/healthinsuran...
I've tried doing that with the information you've provided but find the websites aren't cooperating with me (that's been an ongoing failing of the health plan(s) in general).
I suspect you'll be paying under $300/mo for a silver plan.
See also:
http://www.healthpocket.com/individual-health-insurance/silv...
One thing to watch out for is that teeth and eyes are often covered seperately, for some unknown reason.
That's because teeth and eyes have predictable and often high maintenance costs that general medicine doesn't. It's hard to cost-effectively insure teeth, for instance, because you're almost certain to incur routine and expensive costs. Expensive general medical interventions are much less predictable and frequent and so that risk pools nicely.
That's also why private dental insurance is often not a good deal.
Clearly the first step towards nationalized health care is me commenting on a message board. Avanti!
I remember a Gladwell New Yorker essay that related dental care to poverty and economic mobility, so I'll add right away that this isn't a small problem.
I wonder: How much would our national dental health improve if we merely offered universal coverage for the simple stuff: cleanings, photographs, and X-rays?
The standard of care for these things doesn't seem like it varies wildly: Everyone should get a cleaning and inspection from a dental hygienist every six or twelve months. Obviously, once we get into treatments the judgement calls begin, and then it does become fraught.
But speaking as someone who might have saved a small fortune on fillings, crowns, and root canals if he hadn't just stopped going to the dentist regularly for several years – because, by the time your teeth start hurting, it is way too late for the inexpensive interventions – I wish we had national dental coverage for checkups, such that it was economical to station people in malls and on street corners begging passersby to step inside a door and spend thirty minutes getting their "free" dental cleaning. Yes, the hygienists would probably try to up-sell you. But that's a relatively nice problem to have.
>I'm not comfortable with lying and so it is in my best interest to resign.
I fail to see how she would be "lying" here, in any capacity.
She may know more but refrained from stating it? As the Director, you are supposed to make a statement like this and not harm your sponsors. For her to speak out against them would be counter productive to her organization's goals.
Seems to me she just has some moral issues with some companies in particular and therefore was not comfortable working in any capacity with them. So, it was an appropriate choice to resign imho.
As I understand it, you can in fact file a special enrollment with HEALTHCARE.GOV if you've recently lost your insurance. That's probably going to be a much better option.
Consider signing up for a "bronze" plan --- the cheapest available with a provider network you like --- and setting up an HSA. High-deductible insurance and an HSA is probably always a better deal than premium insurance: you take the money you'd plow into higher premiums and stick it in the HSA, which rolls over year over year. If you don't, say, lose your appendix this year, you get free money.
Depending on your work, you can also inquire about taking a leave of absence. I've worked with a couple of people that have done that. Most never returned but some did.
You could also see if you qualify for a cheaper plan. Go to HealthCare.gov and enter your information and you'll get a list of plans and what they cost.
The important thing is to have some kind of catastrophic coverage.
If you don't go the Kaiser route, I would recommend One Medical as a nerd-friendly place to get health care in the Bay Area. You can do most stuff via website and they take a variety of insurers. (https://www.onemedical.com/sf/)
I'm 24, male, living in the bay area. Any rough estimates on how much COBRA would cost?