Tomorrow starts the first day of the rest of my life

[nebrhahe53]

Well tomorrow I have to go in and tell my boss that I have ALS and have to file for disability. Should be interesting to see what happens.
On a side note anyone know what happens to your health insurance when you get let go now-is it still COBRA for 1 1/2 years or have there been changes with the new health care laws?
I'm concerned more for my family than for me. I can qualify for Medicare in 5 months(don't know if Rilutek is covered and how much the copays are) but my family will need to find insurance too as my plan will no longer cover them after Cobra runs out.

 

[Nikki J]

Yes you can still cobra for 18 months but you should look into what is available on the healthcare exchange. Depending on ages and health needs of your family members it may be a better deal. Or you may might want to keep what you have until medicare kicks in for you depending on how good your work insurance is. And then if everyone else is pretty healthy change to an exchange plan for them. Right now you need good coverage for physician access plus meds plus equipment plus pt, ot. It is hard to predict what you will have to use before medicare but some plans can be pretty limiting. Look at what you have and compare it to exchange

 

[MaxEidswick]

>On a side note anyone know what happens to your health insurance when you get let go now

mine let's you keep it or go individual as long as you keep paying for it (on st & lt disability) ... it last for 66 months at my age (a lot longer than me!)

 

[Atsugi]

If you are covered by a group life insurance plan, you might be able to convert it to a private pay plan without answering medical questions, then max out your life insurance coverage to help your survivors.

 

[krnNdug]

I would contact a local insurance agent that represents multiple lines and Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. It was cheaper to keep my wife on a private plan vs the plans on the exchange. I don't have any kids still at home so the exchange may be less expensive for you. These are things a professional will let you know. FYI - COBRA can be expensive. It is what the company pays plus a 2% administrative fee. Mine went from less that $300 for a family to over $1500 for the family. Granted, it was excellent and they paid a majority of the premiums.

Good luck with everything.
Doug