Who Do Use for Health Insurance

[Jl95501]

Hi Everyone (anyone),
Who do you have for Health Insurance to cover you for when you travel to other states or places that you can just about guarantee will be out of network?
We live in Indiana and are not old enough for Medicare yet. Everything has to be in-network for our Indiana insurance to cover most of the costs. I’m worried about losing everything that we saved so hard for due to unexpected medical expenses that don’t qualify as an emergency and/or out-of-network while rv’ing around the U.S.
I saw UnitedHealthcare Golden Rule Insurance on the internet. They’re really expensive. Would love to read your advice.
Thank you

[wackymac]

Medicare + AARP United HealthCare/The Villages

[fagnaml]

Fortunately for my wife and me I have medical insurance provided by my employer. Blue Cross - Blue Shield of Texas is the plan administrator. If we needed medical treatment outside of Texas, the only thing we have to do is search for a provider that is "in network" with Blue Cross - Blue Shield. BCBS has a nice search engine to find physicians, hospitals, etc. that are in-network across the U.S.

[Arch Hoagland]

We have Kaiser Permanente.

They gave us a form to take along to fill out if we are in an area that doesn't have their facilities.

Have you talked to your insurance company directly and asked them what to do if you are out of the area on a trip?

[twogypsies]

I would talk to your insurance company. Surely there's a provision for vacationing.

For full-timers they domicile in a state that gives insurance that covers out-of-state.

[thomasfalco]

FMCA insurance is only supplemental. My wife and I looked into it and were not impressed.

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by Jl95501

We live in Indiana and are not old enough for Medicare yet. Everything has to be in-network for our Indiana insurance to cover most of the costs. I’m worried about losing everything that we saved so hard for due to unexpected medical expenses that don’t qualify as an emergency and/or out-of-network while rv’ing around the U.S.

You posted this in the Full Time forum, but you say you "live" in Indiana? So you have a house in Indiana but plan to travel a lot?

I used www.healthsherpa.com to research ACA (Obamacare) health plans in Indianapolis. You should do the same, since I'm guessing at your Zip Code (I used 46077) & Age (I used 63 for both of you).

Anyway, it looks like you only have Ambetter or CareSource for providers and the cheapest plan would be about $1700/month for the two of you (unless you qualify for a subsidy).

But unless you move or have some other "qualifying event", you can't change your ACA plan until this November. This means you would have to purchase individual health insurance off the network (not from the ACA) and pay full price. Expensive.

Before calling your providers as others have suggested, read your health insurance policy. Dull, but very very important.

When we had an Arizona ACA plan (an HMO) we had to return to AZ for almost any sort of treatment. PITA. When we did use "emergency" services, we first had to fork over the $500 deductible. Your deductible is probably similar.

If you have more than a couple of years before you're eligible for Medicare, consider moving to a different state. Currently, FL is your best bet for good ACA coverage.

Finally, if you're going to be staying in a place for a while, you may be able to sign up for an ACA plan in that place (see Health & Human Services FAQ).

[Jl95501]

Thank you TechWriter. You just validated all the research I did and the summary that I came up with.

[Russ Silber]

Originally Posted by Jl95501

Thank you TechWriter. You just validated all the research I did and the summary that I came up with.

I use the VA all over the country if needed.[emoji1]

[BillJinOR]

Using emergency care would be fine in the event of a sickness or illness that truly came on while traveling.broken leg etc If continuing treatment is needed then you need to return to the "plans" home. If you become seriously ill then you need to be off the road anyway right? So you go home. Same as if you were on vacation and something happens.
In our case, I'm on Medicare and the DW .. A couple years away is healthy and uses a non insurance health sharing option. She has filed for "sharing" on health expenses and been reimbursed without issue. It does require up front payment and a few months to be reimbursed. We have substantial funds set aside for this. It's not insurance , but it meets our needs, just another option.
1700 a month with a big deductible can go a long way to instill some confidence in other options. Worst case we move, creating a life event and get real insurance

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by wackymac

Medicare + AARP United HealthCare/The Villages

The OP said, "We live in Indiana and are not old enough for Medicare yet."

To the OP: You're encountering the same problem lots of frequent travelers have, but don't even think about. As you noted, you're covered in an emergency, but not for things that are merely "unexpected."

Ambetter offers coverage in multiple states, but I don't know if, for example, an Ambetter insured in Indiana will be considered in-network if he gets medical care when he goes to an Ambetter-network facility in Texas. You can take a look at what states Ambetter operates in, and decide whether it's worth looking into.

For unexpected medical expenses that aren't an "emergency," you should expect to just pay for it out of pocket, like at a doc-in-a-box at Walgreens. Also, there are services you can sign up for where you get a telephone consultation with a doctor for minor things that you need a prescription to treat.

Something else you might consider is a travel insurance plan that will transport you to a place where you have in-network coverage, in the case of an emergency. My concern with being covered as an emergency when outside the network is at what point the emergency stops, and I'm now just getting care out-of-network, which a lot of policies don't cover at all.

The problem that most fulltimers face is getting routine medical care while on the road. If you're not a fulltimer who is constantly traveling, then you can get that taken care of while at home and in network, where you'll presumably be at some point.

[vmark1]

Look into paying for Cobra from your current employer, if you have one. Gives you 18 months of current coverage. You of course pay the full ride. It's still half of ACA. Depending on what type of job you have, in 18 months pick up another FT gig. Wait until you qualify for Cobra and Cobra out again. For my wife and I, it will cost about 700/month.

[lhuff238]

For full timing: If you have a preexisting condition, the ACA is your only option but you will need to change your domicile to FL (Florida Blue is the only nation wide plan) and if you show less that $50K of income it might be free. If you are healthy, Christian Health Sharing offers inexpensive coverage but out-of-pocket costs will be $1K-$2K annually.
If you aren't full time: your current insurance should cover emergency claims nationwide. If you buy a "secondary" travel policy you'll have to run the red tape gantlet on every claim. There are a lot of pitfalls with out-of-network claims such as surprise billing for the "uninsured" amount.

Guide Health Insurance 2019 - RVer Insurance Exchange

[Jlo11111]

We got rid of the ACA and went with a Christian healthshare. We chose Liberty Healthshare, but there are a half dozen others you can choose from. It's good in all 50 states. $399/month for the two of us with a $1750 deductible. While technically not "health insurance", they've paid out on all claims to date and are ACA exempt. The bronze ACA for us was over $1700/month with a $9600 deductible. Not portable and stupid expensive. The healthshare was a no-brainer.