Health Insurance for Liveaboard Cruisers after Retiring Early
After 6 years of planning for early retirement, my husband Scott and I quit our jobs at 52 and 45, respectively. One of the biggest questions I had is what are we going do about health insurance for liveaboard cruisers when we go sailing off in a few months. I’ll go over the options that I investigated, and what we ended up with. Please note, this is what we decided to do, and I strongly encourage you to research health insurance for liveaboard cruisers to see what health insurance options are available to you, and make a decision based on what you are comfortable with and works best for you.
Scott served twelve years in the Coast Guard and ended up with a knee injury which led to a total knee replacement in 2021. Due to this service-related injury, Scott can be covered by the VA for his health insurance program, but his level of coverage does not extend to spouses/family. With this coverage available, Scott is using the VA for his health insurance needs.
With Scott covered by the VA, I needed to find health insurance for myself. I researched several options such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health insurance broker for insurance related to traveling, and health-sharing plans.
Affordable Care Act
Since I will not be bringing in any income through employment in 2023 and minimal income from potential dividends, I do not qualify for any subsidies with the ACA, making medical insurance through the ACA a very expensive one (ballpark $1,000/month). Since Scott and I are married filing jointly, subsidies wouldn’t kick in until just over $18,000 of estimated income. Since I don’t bring in enough income, the next level of government health insurance is Medicare. As a resident of Florida, I don’t qualify for Medicare as I am an able-bodied person with no dependents. So, the ACA insurance and Medicare were not viable options for me.
Another thing to consider for health insurance for liveaboard cruisers is that we will be moving around all of the time. Some plans may prefer to only see you in your state of residence for routine medical appointments, or may raise a red flag if you only use your insurance outside of your state of residence.
Travel and International Health Insurance for Liveaboard Cruisers
My next step was to research travel and international health insurance for liveaboard cruisers. This research led me to an insurance an insurance broker named Arno Chrispeels (healthinsinternational@gmail.com). Arno provided me several health plans to consider from several insurance companies such as GeoBlue Navigator, Cigna Global, Expatriate Group, and Azimuth Risk Solutions. He also provided me some options to consider for medical evacuation and travel medical insurance. Since I knew we would be in the Bahamas for approximately 3-4 months this year, I was looking for insurance to cover me both in my home country of the United States and outside the United States. While I didn’t get quotes for just outside of the United States, my understanding is that they are much more reasonably priced. The quotes I did receive ranged from upper $400 to almost $1,000 per month.
Medi-Share
Medi-Share, a Christian Health Care Sharing program, is NOT health insurance. However, I investigated this option of medical bill sharing. Being a Christian and raised in the Catholic church, I have several viewpoints that align with this program. It works much like a catastrophic coverage plan would work, with a monthly share (similar to a monthly premium) and annual household portion (similar to out of pocket maximum deductible). Medi-Share’s goal is to help with unexpected and emergency medical needs, therefore it limited in coverage and does not cover preventative doctor’s visits or several pre-existing conditions. I called and asked them several questions about medical coverage, which they were able to answer. I’ve called them a couple of other times, and each time they have demonstrated great customer service.
Cobra Health Insurance
This is health insurance coverage from my employer that could get implemented after I leave my place of employment and lose my health benefits. With this option, I am responsible for what I would typically pay while I was employed, as well as the portion that my employer covered. I believe this option is available for up to 18 months post-employment. This option costs upward of $1,000 per month.
Conclusion
I started my research on health insurance well before I quit my job in January 2023. After researching several health insurance plans, I felt that Medi-Share was the best option for me, with a variety of levels and monthly costs to choose from. I went for a higher annual household portion of $6,000 which lowered my monthly share to $223/month. I also have money in my Health Savings Account (HSA) to help with medical expenses should they arise. Knowing that they do not cover preventative doctor visits, I made sure that I got all of my doctor’s visits in while I was still covered by my employer, including visits in January prior to quitting my job.
Not knowing yet what 2024 has in store for us, I do plan to re-evaluate my options at the end of this year. Arno Chrispeels was extremely helpful and responsive, and I will go back to him if we plan to be out of the USA more than in the USA next year. If anyone has any information to share on this ever-changing topic of health care, please leave comments below and I would love to hear from you.
Live your dream,
