$500,000 Surprise: Health Care Sticker Shock Awaits You in Retirement

[Blue Collar Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex The Great Actually, I wonder does out-of-pocket Medicare cost vary with the locations? For example, TX vs CA? It would be nice to know.

My wife's uncle pays zero where ever he goes. He fled to Vegas for a few years, he paid nothing there. Now he is letting NY reap the benefits of his residency.

[mamadogmamacat]

I also think this is unrealistic for the majority of retirees. Medicare/Medicaid pays for quite a lot for many of the 65+ friends I know here in GA. OOP costs (primarily Medicare premiums) are on the order of 1K to 2K at most, on an annual basis. Many insurers (Kaiser is particularly aggressive about this) bend over backwards to "help" (obviously it is self serving for the insurer, but not the taxpayers) them get into whatever federal and state programs there are to pay many HC costs. For me, in first year of ER, pre 65, my OOP actual cost, mostly premiums, was just under 9K, with no subsidies.

[Scuba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LARS I see one potential tiny flaw in this part of your plan. Unless you expect that day relatively soon your "expensive car" will most likely be chuck-filled with technological do-dads and thing-a-mabobs that will thwart you well intentioned plunge over a cliff!

[emoji23]

[daylatedollarshort]

I'm using $10K a year for healthcare costs post Medicare years in a plan with a lot of buffer if we do need more for health care or some other out of plan expenses. That number seems to track pretty close most years to the Fidelity predictions for healthcare costs for a retired couple.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup Not for company's retiree heath insurance. I think it will increase with inflation but not related to age. It's the individual market you are referring to where it may increase with age.

I think that might depend on how much of the premium the company pays, some pay a % or have a cap.

[ShokWaveRider]

I am getting concerned about posting on any healthcare post, as sooner or later it seems to get closed prematurely. It is just me?

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShokWaveRider I am getting concerned about posting on any healthcare post, as sooner or later it seems to get closed prematurely. It is just me?

No, it's not just you. The rule is: Thou Shalt Not Express An Opinion. Disobey it at your own risk.

[Blue Collar Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShokWaveRider I am getting concerned about posting on any healthcare post, as sooner or later it seems to get closed prematurely. It is just me?

I think when they get a political slant , they get closed. Thats the beauty of this forum, they try to keep everything calm.

[Focus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GravitySucks How long can one sector increase in cost over three times the rate of general inflation? There needs to be a breaking point eventually.

That's what I thought 15 years ago, and yet here we are. There seems to be no breaking point. It's insane.

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GravitySucks Thanks pb4uski. And thanks BCLover for bringing this up. Does anyone have similar numbers to pb4uskis?

My Mom, age 87 hasn't spent more than $10K total in the past 10 years on medicals, except for her tiny Medicare payments and about $500 per year in Rx.

She did have a bad fall a few years ago and spent 4 days in the hospital, MRIs etc and her OOP bill came to $1200.

[ShokWaveRider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Collar Guy I think when they get a political slant , they get closed. Thats the beauty of this forum, they try to keep everything calm.

We need to be able to say that we do not like or agree with a bill though. And comment on the really bad parts (most of it).

[MichaelB]

There have been many discussions on health care proposals and legislation, and members have shared their opinions freely. There is no problem as long as the community rules are respected.

What does lead to ending the discussions is when sarcasm, snark and politics come together and take over the discussion, which then becomes useless for the rest of us.

[Ginny]

My DH is on medicare, we live in CA and he pays $450 ish quarterly. Zero copays. He had his eyelids "done" and it cost $0, no copays.

[ShokWaveRider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ginny My DH is on medicare, we live in CA and he pays $450 ish quarterly. Zero copays. He had his eyelids "done" and it cost $0, no copays.

This is very good. Does he have a supplemental and if so which one?

[imoldernu]

While it's not an easy project, you might consider getting into looking at the future possibilities and probabilities for Medicare/Medicaid, as the discussion trickles out in the news. Not just the proposals, but the positions the healthcare industry is taking.
A secondary but very important part of projecting costs in the future for retirement planning, is the longer term effect of the change from
CPI to Chained CPI. Also, benefits like corporate support may in fact, not be there.

There are so many parts of whatever new plan comes into being, that the temptation is to wait, and worry when change happens. Understanding the potentialities and being prepared could lessen any anxiety, and be a help in making long term plans.

Current studies indicate that less than 5% of the public has even a cursory understanding of impending healthcare legislation.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Collar Guy yeah I agree, while he was telling stories to his bowling alley buddies, I was working 5 more years "just in case". Any extra program he finds out about, i.e his $194 a month food stamps, well that just frees up more money to make side bets in the cash prizes at the bowling alley.

Yep, really tempting to make my OMY into OMD (One More Day) and let someone else pay.

For those of us who actually like to "play by the rules" and don't have Tricare or any Megacorp paid insurance, this topic hits hard, and the numbers are not that crazy. One reason I think this is because we see yearly increases in the max OOP numbers, now in the $16K range and increasing steadily. It isn't hard to reach OOP max, at least before Medicare kicks in.

[DAYDREAMER]

IMO, the article is just shock value reading. The way I look at health care costs, the system will be set up to service the average Joe one way or another. DW and I will be able to weave ourselves through the loop holes to afford care. We have diligently saved through our lives (no doubt more than average Joe), so, I'm not too worried with health care costs. We'll figure out how to make it through!

[ShokWaveRider]

Here we go.............................. Oink Oink............ LOL

JoeWras, you probably should have reworded your post to "those who do not already have some form of subsided HI for whatever reason". Certainly nothing against the folk who enjoy that, they have earned/paid for it.

[Lawrence of Suburbia]

$300k is only a bit less than my entire retirement savings!

Am I doomed?

[GTFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB There have been many discussions on health care proposals and legislation, and members have shared their opinions freely. There is no problem as long as the community rules are respected. What does lead to ending the discussions is when sarcasm, snark and politics come together and take over the discussion, which then becomes useless for the rest of us.

But my recent thread on the Senate bill was closed after one partisan post (that I saw, of course others could have been deleted).

Wouldn't the better answer be to just delete the offenders so that conversation can continue? That thread was closed in less than a day!

The inference I get, same as ShokWave, is that you can't talk about HC policy around here.