Re: Health ins. when unemployed in CA. "MediCAL"?
COBRA seems very expensive, Heinz, and private insurance even worse, but let me tell a sad tale here.<br /><br />I retired at 62 and COBRA-ed my insurance until about 63-1/2. $160/mo as I recall. Nothing happened during that 18 months.<br /><br />When the COBRA ran out I approached several private ins co.s. The best bid I got was $750/mo.<br /><br />I had 18 months to go until Medicare and my income was about $1200/mo. I decided to bet $750/mo. that nothing major would happen in those 18 months.<br /><br />During the 18 months I had a double heart bypass and a ruptured esophogus (perforated ulcer). I lost my bet and shrunk my retirement savings by almost $200,000. Fortunately, that was before the dot-com/9-11 crash in the market or I would have been wiped out completely.<br /><br />I recommend that you get some sort of catastrophic event coverage or you could be reduced to poverty overnight.