Question about insurance through Obamacare

[miwealia]

In two months my COBRA from my previous job will run out, which means I need to sign up for a plan with Obamacare. I won't be eligible for Medicare until June 2017.

I just looked at the insurance plans on Obamacare, and the cheapest one that has my local hospital, Gabapentin (the only drug I'm on) and PCP (but not my neuro!) in network has a monthly premium of $1,600, a deductible of more than $5,000 and a maximum out-of-pocket of more than $7,000!

That seems absolutely crazy to me! My COBRA coverage, which seemed expensive when it began, has a monthly premium of $960 with a deductible and max OOP of $2,000. Now I'm thinkin' this is pretty good!!

Does anybody have any ideas about how to find reasonable coverage? Or should I just wait out the next two months and see what Trump or Clinton will do with Obamacare?

[jreagan70]

Or should I just wait out the next two months and see what Trump or Clinton will do with Obamacare?

Waiting won't make any difference. The plans, coverages, and premiums for 2017 are locked in place and nothing is going to change until 2018. There's nothing the new president can do to change that. Whatever you find now is what you'll have to choose from to cover you from January until you're ready for Medicare in June.

Does anybody have any ideas about how to find reasonable coverage?

For completeness, you might want to double check the plans that are available in your marketplace. Is the plan you're referring to an individual plan or does it include family members?

And there are 4 levels of coverage. What level plan are you quoting? If it's an individual plan, it sounds like Platinum. It's possible that, if you want to specify a hospital and doctor, you might have to buy a Platinum plan. But are you sure you didn't miss something in a lower-level plan that would allow you stay with your hospital and PCP? Gabapentin is a generic drug and should be available under any of the plans, so that really shouldn't be a big factor.

Since you would only be needing a marketplace plan for 6 months, might it be possible for you to get by with a Bronze level plan? Services are the most expensive under a Bronze plan, but you'd be using the money you'd be saving on premiums, and you would only pay for the services you actually use. How far away would the hospital be? How many times would you need to see a PCP in 6 months?

You could also ask about a follow-on plan from your COBRA insurer but, if it's possible, the price might not be that much better.

I hope you're able to find a plan that works for you.