I went through the same thing 3 years ago and had to buy insurance for my wife and my son. My wife turns 65 next February.
I had great insurance at work, so it was a bit of a shock when I saw what we would have to pay out of pocket after retirement.
If you have decent insurance at work, you can sign her up for COBRA, which allows you to continue with the
same insurance for 18 months, though not at the same cost. That's what we did since the insurance at work was good and
she knew she needed major surgery (knee replacement) not long after I retired. The cost of COBRA was quite a bit higher than
what I payed while working, but it was still a better deal than what I was able to find elsewhere. After 18 months you will have
to find other insurance. The COBRA also covered my son.
Since you're in Washington, have a look at this site. I believe this is where I started looking.
Somewhere, I found a list of all the health insurance policies available in my county. (Coverage and availability does vary from
county to county within the state.) If I remember right, there were about 30 policies available. I made a list of all of them,
sorted by up front cost, which was annual premiums + deductibles.
One thing that jumped out right away was that the least expensive policies in terms of premiums always had higher deductibles,
and usually higher over all costs. I suppose that makes some sense: the insurance companies want their money upfront, but it
means that the folks who can't afford the higher premiums pay more in the end if they get sick. However, the most expensive
policies didn't necessarily have the best coverage. The devil is in the details, so once you have the list in front of you need to
look at the details of what coverages those policies provide. I wound up picking a policy that was somewhere in the middle
cost wise, but that had good coverage. The policy we chose also had monthly premiums that were close to what we were paying
under COBRA, though the deductible was higher. The cost of all this was shocking, frankly. Folks with lower incomes will need
to sign up for Obama-care, which I can't tell you about since we didn't qualify.
Don't forget about dental coverage as well: some policies won't cover it.
I don't know if you've looked into Medicare yet, but start here:
Learn about the 2 main ways to get your Medicare coverage — Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C).
www.medicare.gov
Basically, you'll need Medicare parts A and B and a supplement which can either be a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C),
or Supplemental (Medigap) policy. Part D, which you'll need covers drugs.
All this isn't free, but the cost is much less than what you'll pay for your wife. I also have to say that if you have all of this
stuff, Medicare is a good deal. I've had some significant health issues in the last year and the cost has been high, but after
paying a small deductible, the cost has been almost zero.
What I've said here covers the basics. This stuff is complicated and you'll need to pay attention to the details. Be sure to
give yourself enough time to research this before you retire: you don't want to make a rushed decision at the last minute.
