When I got laid off in March 2020, I was able to continue my group health insurance with Cigna due to COBRA. I had to pay the full cost ($710 for health, dental and vision; the health insurance part is $640). This year, due to the COBRA premium subsidy of the American Rescue Plan, I did not have to pay the monthly premium from April through September.
COBRA, however, is good for only 18 months. I will have to switch health insurance starting November 1. When I looked at Covered CA (AKA ACA or Obamacare), very few of the plans included Stanford and none included my oncologist. Only a few plans through Blue Shield included PAMF where my PCP is and where I was first diagnosed with cancer. The premiums (over $500/mo) and out-of-pocket maximum (over $8000) are expensive. The best I could find was through Kaiser with a monthly premium of ~$85 and max out-of-pocket (OOP) of $6500. The premium is unusually low because of a subsidy, but the OOP is still high.
My problem is that I've already paid the OOP for Cigna. But because the health plans are by calendar year and my infusions are so expensive, I will have to pay the OOP for Nov-Dec on the new plan. Then I will have to pay the OOP again in January for the 2022 calendar year. $3000 + $6500 + $6500 = $16,000. In addition, my HOA has a special assessment of $6,600 due in January for roof replacement. $16,000 + $6,600 = $22,600. The high cost has been upsetting me for a couple of months.
The good news is that once I submitted my application to Covered CA, a new plan I'm eligible for popped up. It's still with Kaiser but the premium is subsidized and costs only $1/mo, and the OOP is only $1000! This is very welcome news. The subsidy is also through the American Rescue Plan and is supposed to be good till December next year.
Once I get my Kaiser membership card, I will have to find a new PCP and get a referral to an oncologist so that I can continue my treatment with minimal interruption. I also plan to get dental and vision insurance.
