Picking Health Insurance When Between Permanent Residences
Hi folks. May be a dumb question but here I am.
tl;dr: I’m residing in a certain state for a three-ish month period and will move to a different state in August or September. I need to pick health insurance now. Will there be issues if I sign up for individual/marketplace insurance in the state where I’m currently located due to me being fairly transient?
Overview of the situation:
I’m in limbo with health insurance. I’m not covered by a plan through an employer anymore, but do have a stipend for covering insurance. Obviously I’m interested in using that money wisely, but this is just to make clear that I have the money to cover a larger premium if necessary. I’m fairly young, no tobacco use, and don’t have any chronic medical issues.
I moved out of State A about a month ago and am residing in State B (MI if it matters) until the end of the summer. Barring unusual circumstances, I plan to relocate to State C at that point. Any insurance plan I would pick will be a PPO that’s part of a nationwide network.
I’m eligible for COBRA through my last employer. The insurance was a BCBS PPO that was quite good but for a number of reasons (you’ll just have to trust me that they’re good reasons) I’m not interested in being even remotely connected with my past employer unless that really is the best option. It is also, as expected, more expensive than the marketplace and individual options, but not much more so than the top option for individual/marketplace insurance in the state. I wouldn’t need to hold onto my old insurance solely for purposes of keeping the same doctors since I’m moving anyway.
My main question is, would it be an issue if I got new insurance under the individual/marketplace plans exclusive to MI even though I’m here for a short time? I don’t want it to look like I’m gaming the system or something. The insurance on the market in the state where I eventually end up is likely to have higher premiums generally. I honestly just don’t have another address to give at this point. I’m not sure if insurance companies really care about this at all.
A side question is if there is any compelling reason to go with COBRA over individual/marketplace insurance in my situation.
I have to make a decision about this in the next few days and unfortunately I can’t wait until I move somewhere more permanent to make a selection. Any info/advice is much appreciated.
submitted by /u/FluffyTelevision99
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