re: Employer provided retirement healthcare coverage

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Why would a company provide (or would the OP expect) a company to provide healthcare to a person who doesn't work there

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It probably used to be more common 20+ years ago.

I know that federal employees have the option to continue their health coverage after they retire, some even keep it after they become Medicare eligible because the premiums are lower than a Medicare Supplement or they are raising grandkids or whatever.

State employees probably have the same option since many/most can retire after 20-25 years of employment.

I think there are still some mining companies that offer this benefit as well.

Not common anymore but still exists in some sectors.

I see you don't know very much about Medicare.

What do you get for the 185 dollars a month compared to what you get from an employer plan?

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Most of of my business owner clients simply pay the 185.00 Medicare premium for their employees over the age of 65.

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Plus supplemental which take sthe bill to about $300 a month? At the very least a retiree should have at least the basic supplemental.

Medicare supplement premiums vary based on location and gender. 707 & 708 zipcodes are $90-$124 per month at age 65. Keep in mind that with Medicare A&B plus the supplement the max annual out of pocket in 2025 is $257

There's also a little loophole that allows the premium to be deductible. My wife is on Medicare but has kept her (very) small bookkeeping business open. She is able to deduct her premiums as a business expense as long as she keeps the business producing income.

I thought everyone knew companies don’t pay your insurance after you retire. I don’t even think federal or state does?

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But I would assume that a reduced retirement income would qualify you for a plan on the Obamacare exchanges and a tax credit for coverage depending on how much retirement you are collecting.

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Yes that is correct. A strategy many who have planned well in advance to retire early use. Stockpile cash and/or draw from Roth non-taxable accounts so you can claim low income and qualify for cheap health insurance on the exchange until you reach Medicare age.

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What about Part D which can get very pricey if you are taking a lot of medications.

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During the previous Part D open enrollement, October 15th to Pear Harbor Day I ran a little over 500 Part D drug plan evaluations across about 22 states. Througout the rest of the year I run another 200-250.
In Louisiana roughly 95% of my client evals showed that the best plan for them had "Zero" premium. Around 4% needed a plan that had a monthly premium of 10.60 and a handfull of clients with really unusual prescription drug utilization needed a plan that is around 30.00 per month.
Also, with almost every client there will be some prescriptions that are far less expensive NOT using the Part D plan but rather buying in bulk using coupons like GoodRx and Singlecare

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Yes that is correct. A strategy many who have planned well in advance to retire early use. Stockpile cash and/or draw from Roth non-taxable accounts so you can claim low income and qualify for cheap health insurance on the exchange until you reach Medicare age.

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Yes....and something most folks don't understand is that with lower incomes you qualify not only for a premium subsidy but also CSR's aka Cost Sharing Reductions which means that in addition to funds to pay your premiums your plans out of pocket costs, Co-pays, Deductibles, Co-insurance are reduced to almost nothing in some cases. The more people in your household the more income you are allowed and still recieve a subsidy and CSR

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False. They are each paying $396/month out of their paychecks to stay on our health plan. Not to mention the deductible of $2,000 they have to meet before the HDHP takes over. No way Medicare is that much.

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You are correct and another consideration is that Medicare A&B is geared more toward the care someone older will need i.e DME (Durable Medical Equipment) Home health care, Home Modifications etc. Sadly most employer sponsored health plans are no longer real health insurance contracts but rather HMO's which offer very limiited amounts of this type of care.