Voluntarily leaving a benefited job. What are my health insurance options?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Voluntarily leaving a benefited job. What are my health insurance options?

Splinter: Jul 4, 2003; Cowabunga!

I'm leaving my job as a software engineer and don't have another job lined up. I'm planning on taking 6-12 months off to work on some personal projects before finding another job. What are my options for health insurance over that time period?

From the research I've done, it appears I have 3 options:

Stay on my work plan (for up to 18 months) via COBRA continuation coverage. I'd have to pay the full premium (no longer subsidized by the employer) with up to a 2% surcharge for administrative fees. Still waiting to hear back from HR on how much this would cost, but it's a Kaiser Plat 90 HMO which is ~$440 for an individual. So probably slightly less than that (assume there is some sort of group plan discount).
Signup for a plan on Covered California during the 60 day special enrollment period granted by losing health insurance from my job. From what I understand, even though my income will be ~$0 going forward, I won't be eligible for any subsidy because I made decent money earlier in 2016. Does that remain the case during 2017 open enrollment? Prices range from ~$250-500 depending on coverage.
Get temporary/short-term health insurance. I don't know much about this option. Looks like plans are a bit cheaper than marketplace plans, but it also sounds like these don't satisfy the health insurance requirement, so I'd have to pay the penalty for every month I used this.

Is all of the above correct? Am I missing anything?

I'm a relatively healthy 30 year old. My only consistent medical cost is a non-generic asthma inhaler that I should refill every 3-6 months. Most likely way I'd incur an unexpected medical cost would be some sort of sports related bone, ligament or tendon injury from hockey, skiing or casual football. In other words, my costs will most likely be low. I'd obviously like to keep my monthly premium as low as possible. At the same time I'd like to avoid a plan with a huge deductible, so if something unexpected does happen I won't see the funds I have set aside for this sabbatical rapidly evaporate.

Any recommendations or thoughts on which option I should go with and/or what sort of plan would be ideal for my situation?

# ¿ Sep 15, 2016 23:58

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 17:20

Splinter: Jul 4, 2003; Cowabunga!

Elephanthead posted:

COBRA rates are usually insanely high, personally I would just get an Obamacare plan. In Indiana, the most republican of anti Obama states IU health has a plan that is insanely cheap and IU doctors are fairly competent. Even if you miss the window open enrollment is only a couple months away.

Can't you get unemployment after so many weeks?

I don't think I'm eligible for unemployment if I voluntarily leave my job (at least in California).

Heard back from HR, COBRA would cost ~$410 for a $0 deductible 'platinum' copay plan. Cheaper than similar Obamacare options, but still a lot of money.

It looks like once 2017 open enrollment comes along, I can estimate my 2017 income to be very low, which would give me a low, subsidized premium. If I end up getting a job earlier in the year and therefore making more than my estimated income, I believe I'd have to repay the subsidized amount come tax time (when I have a steady income again). Looks like this would allow me to defer most of the premium until after I find another job.

Pryor on Fire posted:

It blows my loving mind that young healthy person is supposed to pay $300 a month for health insurance. And that's usually for a plan with a not great deductible.

Tell me about it. I was very surprised to see how much quality health insurance costs. I had to cut down the amount of time I'd be able to go jobless once I found this out.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2016 22:06

Splinter: Jul 4, 2003; Cowabunga!

Moneyball posted:

Piggybacking on this- I'm leaving in December, and if I could go without health insurance without paying a penalty, I would. Or if I'm reading the website correctly, that's a max of $695 I would have to pay?

Here's my understanding: if you have zero income for the entire year, I don't think you have to pay any penalty. The penalty is waived if the cheapest plan is more than 8% of your income. There's also no penalty if your gap in coverage is less than 3 months. There are other exemptions that get the penalty waived as well.

If you don't qualify for any exceptions $695 is the minimum penalty you'd pay for a full year of no coverage in 2016 (this may got up a bit in 2017). After your income is above a certain threshold, you pay a percentage of your income up to the national average for an Obamacare bronze plan ($2085 in 2016). The penalty is assessed on a per month basis. So if you are only without insurance for 6 months, you'd only pay half of the penalty. Your yearly income is used to determine the per month penalty, so even if you have no income the months you don't have insurance, if you end up making decent money the rest of the year your per month penalty could be higher than $57.92 minimum (1/12 of $695). The max monthly penalty is $173.75 (1/12 of $2085).

# ¿ Sep 20, 2016 20:00

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Voluntarily leaving a benefited job. What are my health insurance options?