Ending Covered California and unsure which plan to switch to next. Help!
spent the first half of this year working freelance and making significantly less income than before, which qualified me for Covered California. This let me continue my Kaiser Health Insurance (from my previous employer) at a great rate, which was essential since I encountered a host of unexpected physical and mental health issues in 2022.
As of June, I have started a contract where I am getting significantly more income, and am now eligible for Employee-provided health care benefits, but not from the same provider (Kaiser). The new health plan is Trustmark. I have been keeping my Kaiser plan while starting this new contract until I was eligible for medical coverage. I may owe money back during tax season since I spent a few months with the Covered California rate yet had a higher income.
My new income knocks me out of Covered California subsidy coverage. If I want to keep the same Kaiser Plan, I will now have to pay $493/month (previously it was $11.92/month). The new employee plan, Trustmark, is $88-$396 per month depending on what level I select.
The administrative work required to transfer over all my medical data and select new providers (dermatologist, gyno, therapist, etc) make me weary to start over again with a new Health plan. I do not have “serious” health concerns, but I have to use these providers on an ongoing basis for recurring issues (shots at the dermatologist, gyno screenings, weekly therapist visits, etc).
Based on the above information, is it worth transferring to the new employee health plan, Trustmark? Or should I keep my Kaiser plan at the much higher rate? ($493/month)? I am eligible for this new Trustmark plan now, and will only be re-eligible in November during open enrollment.
My options are:
Stay with Kaiser indefinitely and pay $493/month.
Stay with Kaiser and pay $493 until November and switch to Trustmark during Nov open enrollment.
Switch to Trustmark now.
Please help!
