Younger than 65? Your Options when You Lose Group Health Insurance

There are some health insurance options available to you depending on your situation. You just have to dig deep (because the government is not going to help) to find an avenue that would best suit your needs and lifestyle until you can quality for Medicare.

What happens when you are younger than 65 years of age (when you are eligible for Medicare) and lose your group health insurance? For a variety of reasons, many older people under the official retirement age lose their group health insurance and the reality of private individual health insurance is hundreds of dollars above what your budget allows. Millions of adults are in this predicament. Some choose to take their chances with no insurance and others sacrifice so many things such as adequate food for their diet in order to afford medical coverage.

There are some health insurance options available to you depending on your situation. You just have to dig deep (because the government is not going to help) to find an avenue that would best suit your needs and lifestyle until you can quality for Medicare. Everyone needs health insurance because it takes just one mishap to completely destroy your financial future.

The majority of people under the age of 65 have insurance through their job or their spouse's job. This group health insurance could be composed of a number of plans from PPOs to HMOs. The employer picks up part or all of the cost and you subsidize the rest if needed. Group insurance often costs less than individual health insurance and has more benefits. Therefore, it makes sense to try and hold onto this insurance.

First, let's look at the reasons why you may end up losing your group health insurance:

1.  Your spouse dies or you divorce, thus losing that avenue of insurance.
2.  You quit your job, get laid off or are fired.
3.  Your work hours might be cut back thus precluding you from being eligible for insurance.
4.  You retire early without a plan for health insurance and a long wait until you reach age 65 and are eligible for Medicare.

Retirement Planning You have to work it out in order for it to maintain its elasticity. You do not run out of brain cells. In fact, there are areas of the brain that produce new cells all the time. As you age, your style of learning and recall may differ but that doesn't mean losing your keys or forgetting your shopping list is an indicator of Alzheimer's disease. There are a number of helpful hints to consider keeping your brain healthy and sharp as a tack. Planning For Retirement

Luckily, there are some steps you can take if you are faced with the possibility of losing your health insurance. The first thing you should do is determine if you are eligible for COBRA benefits. While it will cost more, at least you would not be denied automatically. Look into your HIPAA rights. This Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 protects your right to insurance if you change jobs. Finally, you can see if your group health insurance plan can be converted into an individual health insurance plan.

There are some other avenues to pursue if you know that you will likely lose your group health insurance. If you belong to some type of membership organization whether it is a community, fraternal, social or professional, there may be possibility of garnering individual health insurance through this method. Some insurance companies will treat all the members of the organization as a group and offer group health insurance rates. In addition, most states have risk pools where people who cannot normally get insurance can go and get coverage. It is rather pricey but not always as much as individual health plans.

Options exist for relatively affordable individual health insurance. You just have to be proactive and anticipate the possibility that you may lose your group health insurance. Except in cases of sudden spousal death or being fired, you would have some indication in advance.

Living a Healthy Retirement

07/23/2008
California's Farmers and Ranchers Hit Hard by Health Care Costs (Centre Daily Times)
A new report, issued by The Access Project and commissioned by The California Endowment, that surveyed more than 1,700 California family farmers and ranchers finds that approximately one in three must purchase health coverage through the costly individual market because they have no access to lower-cost group coverage. Furthermore, these family farmers and ranchers who purchased health coverage ...

California's Farmers and Ranchers Hit Hard by Health Care Costs (Centre Daily Times)

07/23/2008
California's Farmers and Ranchers Hit Hard by Health Care Costs (Centre Daily Times)
A new report, issued by The Access Project and commissioned by The California Endowment, that surveyed more than 1,700 California family farmers and ranchers finds that approximately one in three must purchase health coverage through the costly individual market because they have no access to lower-cost group coverage. Furthermore, these family farmers and ranchers who purchased health coverage ...

California's Farmers and Ranchers Hit Hard by Health Care Costs (Centre Daily Times)

07/22/2008
Top 5 healthiest hometowns for retirement (MSNBC)
The place you choose to live during retirement could have a big impact on your health and longevity. AARP The Magazine lists five great cities that could make all the difference during the golden years.

Top 5 healthiest hometowns for retirement (MSNBC)

07/22/2008
Unwise Spending Can Sandbag Retirement Security (Carteret County News-Times)
(ARA) - When it comes to financial health in retirement, how much you set aside for your senior years is only half the story. Equally important is how you invest and spend what you've saved, and a recent survey indicates more than 50 percent of retirees aren't spending wisely.

Unwise Spending Can Sandbag Retirement Security (Carteret County News-Times)

07/22/2008
Erickson Retirement Communities retains BBDO to handle advertising (BizJournals)
Catonsville-based Erickson Retirement Communities has hired BBDO Atlanta to develop its national marketing strategy.

Erickson Retirement Communities retains BBDO to handle advertising (BizJournals)

07/22/2008
Erickson Retirement Communities retains BBDO to handle advertising (BizJournals)
Catonsville-based Erickson Retirement Communities has hired BBDO Atlanta to develop its national marketing strategy.

Erickson Retirement Communities retains BBDO to handle advertising (BizJournals)