I’m retired, and am between 65 and 70 years old. I’m not a great athlete, but I like hiking, kayaking, skiing. and perhaps a bit of social dancing. Assume I will live to be less than 90 - I have no interest in living long enough to need a long term care facility.
I’m considering living full time in a small but relatively reliable van (e.g., Sienna) or truck (e.g., a 4WD Ford F150 or F250, with a slide-in camper shell (with a shower, toilet and refrigerator, and a microwave or hotplate), effectively converted to a minimal RV (and possibly registered as such), and travel a lot throughout the U.S., in places these things are possible. I’m picking these vehicles because AFAICT, with proper maintenance, they usually last over 150,000 miles (though maybe not if I spend too much time in a state that salts its roads), and are easily repairable by many U.S. mechanics. I don’t want something that requires a high priced “RV mechanic”. And I think slide-in camper shells cost less to replace than doing a major RV plumbing repair. (Is that right?)
In addition to living in it (at campgrounds, state forests, etc.) I would drive the vehicle on a more or less daily level.
I’m on a somewhat limited budget (I think about $3500 / month from social security & pension, plus a small amount from savings), and am trying to work out costs and issues.
Based on
it looks like my current state, Maryland, has somewhat more expensive Medicare Advantage plans than the 3 states Escapees advises nomads to make their official residence (Florida, South Dakota, Texas).
But what I don’t know is how coverage compares by state. I would be honest with the insurance companies - i.e., obtain full-time-travel insurance on the vehicle, and tell the health insurance companies what I am doing.
I currently use a Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plan, that doesn’t cost anything beyond Medicare Part B premiums. It actually looks like they have pretty good travel options - you can get some medical treatments out of area. And they have a website where they discuss options for “Snowbirds” - which I wouldn’t quite be, because I would sometimes seek out snow rather than flee it.
I also like Blue Cross Blue Shield because of the “Silver Sneakers” gym plan - I can go to any and all gyms & swimming pools in the U.S. that accept Silver Sneakers. Also, they include a reasonably comprehensive dental & vision plan at no extra cost. Plus, AFAICT, a lot of doctors and facilities throughout the U.S. are in network for Blue Cross Blue Shield.
What I don’t know is if I were to switch to being a Florida, South Dakota or Texas resident, whether their Blue Cross Blue Shield Advantage plans offer significantly less coverage. I’m type 2 diabetic, and have high blood pressure and cholesterol (all controlled by medicines - for now), and have sleep apnea (controlled by a CPAP machine). My medication copays are about $140-$150 / year if I use their mail order pharmacy, a lot more if I use store pharmacies. Assuming I make one of those states my home base for most medical treatments and receiving mail & medications:
I will ask these questions of my Blue Cross Blue Shield customer care, but I think they only know these sorts of things for Maryland.
- Did the link above give actual representative rates - i.e., will the other states in fact be slightly cheaper?
- Are the medicine copays likely to be higher or lower for one of the other states?
- If I need medical treatments (I’m mostly healthy for now), are their corresponding plans more or less comprehensive, and have higher or lower copays?
- Do they all have reasonable dental and vision plans? (I’m not too worried about comprehensive eyeglass coverage - I order from a cheap mail order place - Zenni optical - that has so far done a good job for me. But I should probably get my eyes checked once/year or so, and see a dentist a couple times a year or so.
- (I think I can look this up, but if you happen to know) do all the corresponding low end Blue Cross Medicare Advantage plans for those states include Silver Sneakers?
- Is the budget I listed sufficient to handle probable costs? Assume I will also get a more or less unlimited wireless Internet plan, or possibly (though this is pricey, and I worry about antenna theft) StarLink. And that I will move states every month or two. Say, 20,000 miles / year. My savings could pay for maybe 5 - 7 vehicles of this type during that period - though I admit vehicle costs have recently been going up, so I’m not sure.