Is it true that a 62 year old who takes early retirement is left without medicaid until age 65?

It is true, my husband was laid off at age 61 1/2 just like my sister was.

We moved overseas to Hungary because he can get medical insurance there for a reasonable rate.

He has always worked since arriving in the US and the total shock of losing his job with so many other actualy did put him in the hospital for 2 days at a cost of over $32,000. Just had several tests done there and they gave him xanax and sent him home. They said it was just stress issues that made it seems his heart was going out.

Same exact thing happened to our friend who lost his job that was payng over 6 figures, he was also given xanax but now he is hooked on them along with his wife.

My sister and he are both turning 65 this Oct.

My sister has had to take a part -time job just to pay for her health insurance.

If you need help before age 65 then you are on your own, it's hard out there.

You can go to those walk in clinics around strip malls that cost here in NV between $55. to $95. a doctors visit, no meds with that, everything is extra like a menu card, not very good doctors there either, more like pill pushers.

They know you don't have insurance so they pump you up with drugs to get rid of you hoping you will not come back or that you will take yourself to the ER and let the county deal with you.

Once although we both were working full time, we still didn't have insurance, it took over 18 months at the jobs to qualify for insurance with the companies and we were both new hires.

We got the flu and went to one of those walk in places, we had been there before and they had a file on us, our son went there once as well.

The doctor examined my husband and then me. He was talking to me for about 5 min. or longer when he threw down the chart and started yelling down the hall to the nurse. He was speaking in Spanish and was really mad.

Seems he was looking at my son's chart, like a middle aged women and a 20 something male are the same. Made me feel really confidient, on top of that we wound up paying over $350. for the 2 of us with a couple of scripts and a shot for me.

He told me to stop smoking, I don't smoke he said my lungs were shot from smoke at the casino so I needed a $90. shot. When I asked the nurse what she was giving me she didn't even know just said it was good for me.

What great treatment and costly as well.

At age 65 they take out a payment for the medicare, I am not sure but might depend on how much ss you get every month.

They want you to be totally cash poor.

Yes. Medicare is a fixed package that doesn't open until you are 65. Retiring on reduced SS at 62 is a choice you can make but you better be prepared fo cover your medical insurance for the 3 years to follow.

I had private insurance that carried me until I got medicare when I was forced to retire at 64, and then continues as the supplementary policy until I die.

Medicaid is for poor people. Medicare is for old people. I think you meant Medicare.

Yes, it's true that medicare is not available fo people younger than 65. The person who retired early (or for any other reason doesn't have health insurance) has to pay for their own doctor care and prescriptions. If they don't have enough money, they usually don't go to the doctor.

If they have a medical emergency and go to the hospital but can't afford to pay, I think their are social workers at the hospital who help them to apply for medicaid (if they qualify) and in some cases the hospital will treat them even though they can't pay. I'm not sure how this works.

Edit: @ Bubba, by the time someone is able to retire early, they'd have a hard time finding an insurance company who will sell them major medical health insurance as a new customer, at ANY price.

As part of the retirement benefits, some companies offer medical coverage until a person reaches age 65 and Medicare kicks in. Where I work, the official retirement age is 60 if you have at least 20 years service. The retirement benefits offer continued medical coverage until age 65. Of course you still have to pay for your share of it, just as if you were still working.

As pointed out by others, there is a difference between Medicare and Medicaid. If you qualified for medicaid you are automatically covered for all the benefits that those of us had to wait until age 65 to recieve.It will make no sense to apply for early retirement and I'm sure your local SS office will explain that to you. Even after age 65 you will continue to recieve certain benefits that those of us that had to wait till we were eligible to apply for early retirement (62) or wait til age 65 will never get.

Yup, it's true. I retired at 62 and have no medical insurance now. But then again, I haven't had medical insurance for the past 20 or so years. My advice is to stay healthy and stay as far away from the medical profession as you can. At age 65 I will be required by the gov't to buy into their medical insurance plan ie medicare.

As far as I am aware, yes, you will get the full amount due to you so long as you don't exceed the $13,560 figure. I took retirement at 62 and although the benefits are lower than they would be at 66 I decided that since I don't know for a fact that I will still be alive at 66 (although I have no reason to think that I won't), I would take the benefits now at the lower level. I need themoney now and waiting until 66 would be quite a burden. Even at the lower rate, the payments really help me out.

Dee, I was just talking to a former co-worker about this a couple days ago at my job at the store. He believes he is being forced out of his job and going to be replaced by someone younger and had wanted to retire in a couple of years but said he would go ahead and retire in August and go without Medicare until he is 65. He has surgery scheduled for May and hope he can get his medical problem taken care of before they take his job. I think that the powers-that-be don't care a hoot about how people will survive in those years.

Of course. You cannot enroll in Medicare until you are 65 or you are on SSDI or you are in final stage of kidney failure. You have to buy your own insurance or go to a medical clinic and pay cash. If the Republicans take over the government they will increase Medicare age to 67.

I'm sure you mean Medicare, and not Medicaid. Yes, you would have to wait until you are 65. When I went on SS disability at age 58, I had to wait two years until Medicare kicked in. If you are under a certain income level, you may be eligible for Medicaid until then.