From young adults aging off parents policies or pre-retirees waiting for Medicare in most cases at age 65 … there are various reasons we find ourselves in need of a bridge health insurance coverage…
Going just one day without health coverage can be a catastrophic event. At the bare minimum some type of major medical high deductible insurance is always a need.
Searching for health insurance – We are not experts in this field, but our favorite type of search is through some sort of general agency that has multiple carriers and objected in their desire to help you get coverage. Dropping our information in an an informational search is a last resort but it may be what we are forced to do.
Remember ZIP Code of residence generally dictate options, premiums, and coverage availabilities so what follows may be slightly different to your situation based on your residence zip.
Pro-Tip Options:
Cobra – Usually an extension of some type of larger company benefit and is in most cases the most comprehensive but can also be expensive. Many times when an employer allows cobra the subsidies expire as well. Pro Tip – In certain situations it’s possible to double 18 month cobra benefit.
Legacy company benefits for long-term – If you’ve worked at a company for an extended period of time, in some cases, there are abilities to continue with that legacy health coverage. You will need about 10 years of employment and with less companies in long-term situations these benefits they are becoming harder and harder to find.
Membership coverage – Our favorite trick. These benefits can be extremely good. If you have a membership, a particular specialty occupation, or something special in your field, frequently that membership will have some type of group benefit. An example of a membership would be something you likely had to have experience or specific job skills to be a member, a sort of moat, thereby creating a large enough group to get a good health pool. This is one of our favorite tricks as when it works, it works terrifically, but it is difficult to find. With runway time on this think out of the box on all of your expert related expertise and possible memberships. You may find that a simple one time, less than $1000, membership to a club, gives you the option for an incredible health benefit to cover the gap.
Having health coverage of some type is an absolute. With advanced notice and some planning, the cost, coverage options, and nervousness can hopefully be avoided.
Have a Good “Gap Health Insurance Options” Day!
John A. Kvale CFA, CFP
AI Content Authenticity: AI created the blog related image. All of the following text content has been completed by myself and has not been edited or created by AI. Occasionally we do use AI for images and will note when appropriate.
Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
