Obamacare = early retirement anyone?

[tookish1]

Our $3,000/month cruising budget hinged on health care costs. With pre-existing conditions, we could not have afforded to cruise and pay $1,200+/month for health care. Risking going without was not an option.

With Obamacare now a certainty, a cruising couple making less than $50,000/year from any form of income (no means testing!) will not pay more than 9.5% of income for health insurance ($395/month!)

Whether we like or don't like Obamacare, the economic reality for us, is that retiring and cruising is now possible and I'm wondering if it has had the same effect on anyone else??

[denverd0n]

Uh... You do know that "Obamacare" passed a couple of years back, don't you? Nothing at all changes in that regard with this latest election, especially since the balance of power in Congress remains practically unchanged.

[tookish1]

Yep, I know Full implementation in 2014 is now likely whereas had the election gone the other way, Obamacare would have been dismantled.

[Tellie]

30 minute count down to thread closure has begun.

[roverhi]

Are you saying thank you for us paying so that you can go cruising???

[Saltyhog]

So assuming nothing else changes, who pays the balance? $1200 - $395 = $805 / month. Per couple. That bill is gonna get paid by somebody! Perhaps I'm missing something.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Tellie

30 minute count down to thread closure has begun.

Maybe not 30 minutes, but if the politics gets crazy then yes.

[Saltyhog]

Originally Posted by roverhi

Are you saying thank you for us paying so that you can go cruising???

You beat me to it by mere milliseconds

[In Training]

Isn't the cost of medicare skyrocketing in the next few years to more than that per person. I thought by 2014 or 2015 it was going to $300 per person and you still needed supplemental.

[propellanttech]

All of this is based on the fact that your situation is not put in front of the review board. Then if they decide your not worthy of the coverage, your basically screwed.

Another caveat, probably no insurance coverage would exist for you after that.

Not my idea of an even trade off.

James L

[Mimsy]

[keepondancin]

When we cruised, we had to carry our own health insurance. We were able to do it because my wife owned a retail business, and we took that in lieu of income. The cost was around $900/ month, through the ninties. We took a better policy that would cover us for major catastrophic out of the country, and would pay a substantial portion of being evaced to medical care. We kept the better policy, and ultimatly had to use the better benefits when my wife suffered a very serious injury. I support the healthcare plan for many reasons, but I don't want to start a political argument. If it is true that it will cost you $395/month, that is about what it costs my wife, who is on disability medicare, for part B, a supplimental and part D, prescription drugs. That takes a huge burden off people who have to carry their own health care coverage. I was just reading that employer supplied healthcare costs have to be shown on W-2 forms, not to be taxed, but to inform what the cost is of their health care is to their employer, so if and when they go into the market, they have something they can compare it to.. I think people will be amazed at what the cost is. In our case, we have been involved in two different circumstances that, without health insurance, we would have gone bankrupt. I truely hope that the Healthcare Plan works close to what is projected, and that it does help to bring down healthcare costs.

[belizesailor]

I know many friends in the USA whose lives are significantly constrained by concerns over healthcare coverage. These people choose to limit their personal, and business, ventures because of these concerns. This is bad for them personally and bad for the country. Hopefully, this attempt at reforming our badly screwed up healthcare system will allow many Americans to live freer and more productive lives....or at least punch out and go cruising!

Here in Guatemala (at least in the City) the healthcare is awesome, costs are quite reasonable, and insurance is reasonable too (I, healthy 50+ male, pay about $220/month for a PPO-like plan).

My GF has a preexisting condition. The way it is handled here (at least with the company we use) is that you are not denied insurance or quoted a higher premium (she pays about the same as I do), but they do not cover costs of preexisting conditions for the first year. Not a bad approach I suppose, unless you have something really extreme (her's is relatively minor).

[earthbm]

Politics schmolitics, whatever...

The conclusion is valid. This is why the French are good sailors (just compare the crowds at the Vendee Globe village that started TWO weeks before the start to the Volvo Ocean Race stop in Miami last year).

Pursuing lifestyle choices other than work is less risky now.

Or you can go cruise the world and pay out of pocket even less than Obamacare premium.

[tookish1]

Thanks to the moderators for keeping the thread open so far...didn't want to re-hash the merits just dealing with the reality. Policies have consequences, some intended, some not. We will retire earlier than had planned.