Comments on: Some Fantastic News on Health Insurance Costs

By: Mr. Clipping Chains

Mr. Clipping Chains — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 18:22:17 +0000

In reply to Rex. HC always worried me the most too. Thankfully we were conservative in our planning, and even with the relatively pricey Silver plan we’ve been pleased to find that the rates aren’t terrible. YMMV. Now, even better news. And yes, hit us with all the melodies! 😉

By: Rex

Rex — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 16:12:38 +0000

Nice post. I still have a few years to go before getting in the RE part of FIRE, but health care cost is the part that worries me the most. I’m hoping that these changes can be made permanent in the next couple of years and possibly something even better.

Since you posted a Daft Punk video, I will leave you with a Daft Punk melody by Pentatonix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MteSlpxCpo

By: Mr. Clipping Chains

Mr. Clipping Chains — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 17:05:57 +0000

In reply to Josh. There’s lots of ways to slice this, and the number depends on your personal healthcare needs. Obviously, you must have at least enough for the premiums. Beyond that, some folks budget for the yearly deductible or even full out-of-pocket max. Us personally, I’ve been doing premiums + ~$2000. However, if we hit the out-of-pocket max we would be fine. Certainly, if that became a regular (yearly) occurrence it would be a problem. I’d argue that if healthcare spending gets that high, your life expectancy is going to be trimmed anyway.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 16:09:32 +0000

What the government is doing seems insane…anybody else feel like this guy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBm4Wk7oBVA

It’s ironic since I’m under contract on a house right now, but I still feel good about where I’m at with that despite taking advantage of said artificially very low interest rates.
I will not have access to my parent’s insurance in a few months and don’t have insurance through my employer, so this article becomes very relevant for me.

You may have mentioned it in prior articles, but is there an amount you save or have saved monthly for out of pocket health expenses? I don’t think I’ve been factoring that into my emergency fund/6 month living expenses savings…

By: Mr. Clipping Chains

Mr. Clipping Chains — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 22:40:31 +0000

In reply to Frugal Professor. Awesome. Nothing is forever so there’s lot to love about tax free states. Thanks for the comment!

By: Frugal Professor

Frugal Professor — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 21:25:27 +0000

I still need to digest this, but I’d consider any increase in annual ACA premiums resulting form an extra $100 of realized income to be a “tax”. Be sure to include that number when figuring out your effective marginal tax rate today.

I’d unambiguously convert Trad => Roth up to the 12% federal bracket if you lived in NV (especially if the extra MTR implied above is small). However, since you live in UT it changes things slightly. Do you plan to stay there forever? If so, then the cross-state arbitrage is irrelevant and I’d convert to the top of the 12%.

Good luck!

By: Mr. Clipping Chains

Mr. Clipping Chains — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 15:15:42 +0000

In reply to nick. My understanding is that the individual state programs are dictated largely by federal policy. There might be a couple of exceptions.

By: nick

nick — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 15:07:27 +0000

Interesting. If I’m reading your graph right, the ARPA changes are very significant. Any notes on how/when this will apply to state-run marketplaces for insurance? Hopefully they will react accordingly.