Moving to FLorida

[mrschwarz]

We have been residents of Washington state for the past couple of years. I am on Medicare, but my child-bride is only turning 60 this year so she has a few more years to go before she can qualify. She has been on a PPO there, but we were notified that the insurance company won't be renewing the policy for 2018. Since that was the only PPO available to us, we are looking for coverage. An HMO is pretty dicey for full-time RVers due to emergency coverage outside of our home area, where we are pretty much all the time.

We are currently looking to change residence to Florida so we can take advantage of the BSBC EPO that is available in Bushnell, FL. Does anyone have experience 'moving' to the Escapees park, getting set up as residences and obtaining insurance from BCBS? Do you have any experience using the insurance out of state? I know the deductibles and co-pays double when out of network, but at least there is still coverage.

When we moved to Washington from Texas, getting established as residents was easy, as far as the state was concerned and getting auto insurance. Blue Cross was more difficult for someone who doesn't have utilities or property. Will we be running into the same thing in Florida?

[KHenson]

Hey Michael,

You should be able to use Florida Blue outside of Florida and still be "in-network" as long as you use a Blue Card provider (provider.bcbs.com).

Florida Blue shouldn't give you any trouble about using a Bushnell SKP address either. Many are doing it without issue.

 

[k4rs]

We have a Florida Blue (BCBS) PPO plan.  In our travels this year I had some severe medical problems requiring treatment in North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.  I had 10 doctor visits, 3 trips to the ER, and two week long stays as an inpatient and all of it was in network. The trick is to use the Florida Blue web site to verify who is in network wherever you need care.  

Safe Travels...

[mrschwarz]

4 hours ago, k4rs said:

We have a Florida Blue (BCBS) PPO plan.  In our travels this year I had some severe medical problems requiring treatment in North Carolina, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.  I had 10 doctor visits, 3 trips to the ER, and two week long stays as an inpatient and all of it was in network. The trick is to use the Florida Blue web site to verify who is in network wherever you need care.  

Safe Travels...

Thanks for the response. Did you apply for coverage using an Escapees address in Bushnell? Did you have Florida residence before that?  What were the residency requirements that BCBS imposed?

[k4rs]

Toni and I have been Florida residents since 1973 and have had a BCBS policy since 1978.  After we retired we used MyRVMail for a couple of years without any issues with insurance.  We now have a home base at an RV community in Bowling Green (about 45 miles SE of Tampa).

Safe Travels...

 

[saydiver]

On 10/22/2017 at 12:47 PM, mrschwarz said:

Thanks for the response. Did you apply for coverage using an Escapees address in Bushnell? Did you have Florida residence before that?  What were the residency requirements that BCBS imposed?

As far as I know the only residency requirement FL Blue imposes is to have a FL driver's license.

The info at the following link many help:

https://winnieviews.blogspot.com/2015/12/how-to-move-to-florida-in-1-hour.html

 

[saydiver]

On 10/21/2017 at 1:44 PM, mrschwarz said:

We have been residents of Washington state for the past couple of years. I am on Medicare, but my child-bride is only turning 60 this year so she has a few more years to go before she can qualify. We are currently looking to change residence to Florida so we can take advantage of the BSBC EPO that is available in Bushnell, FL. 

One other thing to think about before moving your domicile is Florida has some of the highest Medicare Supplemental rates in the country. Click on the link to find out what Medicare Supplemental plans are available by county and their rates.

https://apps.fldfs.com/mcws/CWSSearch.aspx

[mrschwarz]

21 hours ago, saydiver said:

One other thing to think about before moving your domicile is Florida has some of the highest Medicare Supplemental rates in the country. Click on the link to find out what Medicare Supplemental plans are available by county and their rates.

https://apps.fldfs.com/mcws/CWSSearch.aspx

That's what the insurance guy told me. Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen it before. Based on my age, zip code, etc., I can actually save about $10 per year moving to Florida. I am using Escapees:Home for mailing and I will be changing all addresses to Livingston, except for Florida government and BCBS mail. He also said that when I do that, they will recalculate my rates based on Texas, which will be lower than Florida.

My wife's insurance through BCBS in Florida will be about $21 per month less expensive than her premium this year in Washington. I believe the deductible is a little higher this year, but it's so high now, that it will only matter if something bad happens.

The real surprise came with auto insurance. We had our policy for the coach and toad with The Hartford through AARP. No one could touch the rates we were paying. When I spoke with them about moving to Florida, the rates went up by more than 125%! By shopping, I found another carrier where it will only cost us about 50% more. This insurance is the real cost of moving to Florida.

[saydiver]

On 10/29/2017 at 11:11 AM, mrschwarz said:

The real surprise came with auto insurance. We had our policy for the coach and toad with The Hartford through AARP. No one could touch the rates we were paying. When I spoke with them about moving to Florida, the rates went up by more than 125%! By shopping, I found another carrier where it will only cost us about 50% more. This insurance is the real cost of moving to Florida.

Yes, FL has higher vehicle insurance rates?  The reason is HURRICANES!!

[Pat & Pete]

5 minutes ago, saydiver said:

Yes, FL has higher vehicle insurance rates?  The reason is HURRICANES!!

You must be kidding . Hurricanes happen every so often  . But , people driving like they're the only ones out there , everyday , has nothing to do with it ? 

[saydiver]

35 minutes ago, Pat & Pete said:

You must be kidding . Hurricanes happen every so often  . But , people driving like they're the only ones out there , everyday , has nothing to do with it ? 

But people drive like that all over the US, not just FL.  From my experience people in FL actually drive slower here, except for the Miami area.

Edit:  According to the internet, it's the high cost of Personal Injury Protection, since FL requires everyone to carry $10K of protection. That's only about 20% of the policy.

There's also the increased perception of risk, whether a hurricane actually hits or not.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/15/hurricanes-could-push-up-insurances-rarteshomeowners-auto-insurance-rates-could-rise-tx-fl-and-beyon/653203001/

 

[Zulu]

On 10/21/2017 at 10:44 AM, mrschwarz said:

We are currently looking to change residence to Florida so we can take advantage of the BSBC EPO that is available in Bushnell, FL. Does anyone have experience 'moving' to the Escapees park, getting set up as residences and obtaining insurance from BCBS? Do you have any experience using the insurance out of state? I know the deductibles and co-pays double when out of network, but at least there is still coverage.

If you plan to use an ACA health plan, remember that ACA "residency" is not the same as other types of residency. See the 2016 ACA FAQ on Residency, especially this section from the FAQ:

Individuals visiting an Exchange service area for a transitory purpose, for example, to attend to a business matter, obtain medical care, or for personal pleasure, do not have a present intent to reside, and do not meet the residency requirement for Marketplace coverage for the Marketplace service area they are visiting.

[Blues]

On 10/26/2017 at 8:38 AM, saydiver said:

As far as I know the only residency requirement FL Blue imposes is to have a FL driver's license.

Do you have a source for Florida Blue requiring a Florida driver's license?

[saydiver]

18 minutes ago, Blues said:

Do you have a source for Florida Blue requiring a Florida driver's license?

My source is me. FL Blue required a copy of both of our FL driver's licenses when we applied for FL Blue insurance. That was over two years ago so perhaps it would be best if you ask them yourself.

[mrschwarz]

I don't think we'll be using the ACA. We aren't entitled to any subsidy, so there is no reason unless the insurance company requires it. We do plan to change residence and domicile so I don't think the ACA's definition of residence will be a problem. According to Kyle from the RVer insurance exchange, all I need is an address in Florida. We plan to apply tomorrow (11/1), but aren't planning to go to Florida until the beginning of December to do the license and vehicle thing. I hope they don't require a copy of a drivers license!

[Blues]

22 hours ago, saydiver said:

My source is me. FL Blue required a copy of both of our FL driver's licenses when we applied for FL Blue insurance. That was over two years ago so perhaps it would be best if you ask them yourself.

Okay, thanks.  Did you apply directly with them, or via the exchange?

I wonder what they do with people who don't have driver's licenses.  To register to vote, if you don't have a Florida driver's license you can use your social security number.

 

5 hours ago, mrschwarz said:

I don't think we'll be using the ACA. We aren't entitled to any subsidy, so there is no reason unless the insurance company requires it. We do plan to change residence and domicile so I don't think the ACA's definition of residence will be a problem. According to Kyle from the RVer insurance exchange, all I need is an address in Florida. We plan to apply tomorrow (11/1), but aren't planning to go to Florida until the beginning of December to do the license and vehicle thing. I hope they don't require a copy of a drivers license!

Please try to remember to report back if they do (or do not, for that matter) require a driver's license.  I wouldn't be surprised if you aren't the only people with timing issues.

You said you're not going to use the ACA exchange, but for those who are, if you're applying on the first day (November 1), remember that the healthcare.gov website will be shut down for maintenance overnight, so do it early that day to avoid getting caught in that.

[saydiver]

20 minutes ago, Blues said:

Okay, thanks.  Did you apply directly with them, or via the exchange?

I wonder what they do with people who don't have driver's licenses.  To register to vote, if you don't have a Florida driver's license you can use your social security number.

I applied directly with FL Blue.