Healthcare After Early Retirement

Healthcare is a huge issue in the United States if you plan to retire early. Most of us get health insurance through our employer. What happens if you retire early? How do you get health insurance? My original plan was to get health insurance through healthcare.gov (ACA). However, the Republicans passed a bill that did not extend the ACA premium tax credits. The premiums are predicted to increase by about 75% for most ACA policies next year. That isn’t good.

I checked on healthcare.gov, and a silver plan costs about $1,650/month for a family of three in Oregon. That isn’t cheap. Pile on a 75% increase, and we would pay nearly $3,000/month for health insurance in 2026. Damn!

Fortunately, Mrs. RB40 worked long enough to qualify for a (reduced) pension when she retired earlier this year. This means we can keep her employer-sponsored health insurance. That’s a huge win for us. This year, we pay about $650/month. Next year, the price will increase, but it shouldn’t be 75%. Whew, we lucked out big time.

Getting Old Ain’t for Wimps

Health insurance is a big problem, but getting older is the real issue. Mrs. RB40 and I are relatively healthy now, but we’ll have a lot more problems in the future. We can see it with our parents.

Mrs. RB40 is going to visit her parents for a month. Her dad has mobility issues and recently had a fall. He has health coverage through his pension. However, his primary care physician moved and the earliest appointment he can get is in January. Mrs. RB40 will try to make an appointment while she is in town. If she can’t, she’ll take him to urgent care to see a doctor. He has other health problems that I don’t want to share here. Even if you have health insurance, it isn’t easy to find a good doctor due to a nationwide shortage. They live in a small town near Palm Springs, and the shortage is more severe in rural areas.

Mrs. RB40’s mom is healthier, but she has some problems too. She hit her head a few years ago (fell in a dry pool) and now she can’t see much out of her left eye. They are divorced and live separately. Now that Mrs. RB40 is retired, she plans to spend a lot more time there. Her parents need more help. This is why we plan to move to California after our son finishes high school. Her mom has health coverage through her pension as well.

My dad is also dealing with some health problems. Suddenly, his left leg can’t bear his weight. We don’t really know why. He has gout and it flares up occasionally, but that’s the knees. That’s not the problem this time. He lives in Thailand, and they have public health care over there. He went to the hospital, but they don’t know what the problem is yet. They’ll do an MRI next week and run more tests. Also, his PSA level was high, and he was diagnosed with prostate cancer recently. He is following up on this too. Cancer sounds scary, but prostate cancer usually is slow-growing. There are many treatments available. I’m hopeful.

My mom had dementia and passed away in 2023. I still miss her.

Getting old ain’t for wimps. We need to exercise and eat healthier while we’re young. We also need to travel more and go see everything we want to see in our 50s and 60s. It’ll be a lot more difficult to travel when we’re older. I’m glad we achieved financial independence and were able to retire early. Life is short. You need to enjoy it while you’re young and healthy.

Alright, that’s all I got today. Are you planning to retire early? What’s your plan for healthcare?

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