This is personal now

[Freddie]

My son is a recovering heroin addict. 14 months clean. He is now working as an addictions counselor-in-training at a recovery center in Florida and doing great.

When he turned 26 last summer I put him on COBRA. The rehab he was at (not the one he works for now) did not take any of the Exchange plans so I had no choice. It was worth it to me to maintain his good insurance that I can get through my work.

His new job will offer insurance after his 90-day probation period (July). If it's a decent plan I would absolutely love to save $500 a month and stop his COBRA coverage. But now that the GOP has fucked the nation, I'm scared to do this. Once you stop COBRA you can't go back on. What if he lost his job? He's got a hell of a pre-existing condition and you know damn well Florida will elect to end "essential benefits" in a heartbeat.

I've read that the pre-existing condition thing would only kick in if you allow a 60+ day lapse in coverage and if you bought a plan right away it wouldn't matter. Is this true? I know I should read the fine print but the assholes who voted for this thing didn't. If he lost his work plan I would get him a private plan immediately. The "lapse in coverage" thing is the deciding factor in whether I could risk taking him off COBRA.

Does anyone know for sure?
I hate Republicans with the heat of a thousand suns.

[MichMary]

1. From everything I've seen,

there will be no pre-existing if you don't go more than 63 days without coverage.

This is something that is personal to me, too. My dh is planning to retire in a few months, and we will have to have individual plans. I have a heart condition, will need valve replacement surgery within a few years, and am a 4 years away from Medicare. We are going to talk to an agent next week, and whether or not my dh announces his retirement plans is going to depend on what the agent says.

Watching this closely . . .