What are some good options for pre-medicare retiree health insurance with $1000 allowance (self+spouse) for Ford GRP folks? This may get very basic coverage. Are you planning to upgrade to platinum/gold/silver or bronze coverage by paying the difference? If so which one are you thinking for a good value?
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@lkt+1idiEGa0
Curious. I called Blue Cross also and tried to get the same plan from pre retirement to post retirement. The equivalent ( Silver) was several hundred dollars more out of my pocket and I ended up downgrading to a lower BC Plan but it seems OK. They did not offer any option to directly enroll through them and sent me to Marketplace.
What VIA and other Marketplace ( .gov site) reps finally admitted last year, after dozens of calls, is that VIA is just a storefront for Marketplace. You still get routed to Marketplace to make your selection even if VIA guides you. VIA are just enrollment assistants, not experts in any health care insurance in particular. In fact Marketplace said if they don't show it ( not VIAs storefront which is more limited) its not available to you.
Are these findings not true?
1idiEGa0
If you go the ‘call blue cross directly’ method, can you use HRA stipend.?
And can you use H R A funds for COBRA for 18 months then buy direct from BCBS using HRA until Medicare eligible.
Thanks
Should have added to my post below that I did the same thing with MetLife and VSP. Call them directly.
After many false starts and hours wasted at the end of last year, I ended up calling Blue Cross Blue Shield directly and enrolled in basically the same plan I had when I was working at Ford. Cost was about the same for me with the reimbursements offered through Via.
Via's job is to get you into a plan that costs no more than what you were paying when you were employed, but I did not like the choices that they were presenting. And I knew I wanted to stay with Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Do COBRA for as long as you can. You don’t have to take the companies VIA has to offer. They are just an insurance agent and takes commission if they sell you a policy. Even after Medicare, you don’t need to us Via Benefits other than submitting your reimbursement for qualified medical care.
Do cobra for 18 months and keep everything the same. Way cheaper. You can pay for cobra with your pre hra dollars. Talk to via benefits folks and they will explain how that works. Market place out of pocket is $7k per person max $14k family
Note: It is not required that you elect a plan from those presented by VIA Benefits; you can submit proof of payment for any outside qualifying health care plan to be reimbursed for that allowance. We have a VIA-presented plan currently, but each year we will compare to those on the outside.
The VIA Benefits website has all of the health and dental options, their terms and conditions and their prices.