Healthcare Budget

[Jerry1]

Ok. But it’s just the overwhelming proportion of the topics that deal with “paying for it” I’m much more interested in the actual health issues. Maybe I’m a small minority?

I think paying for health insurance is the one health issue that many of us share. I know in my situation (DW had a significant illness), I went to that illnesses web site. I agree, it's helpful and interesting to know what everyone is going through, but this site just seems to be a bit more focused on the financial aspects of retirement and the living the dream part of retirement.

 

[2017ish]

So how do you budget for healthcare? ...

In the US, so much is dependent upon your own health, where you live, and whether traditional major medical-type insurance is, or will be, available....

FWIW (if anything), we live in TN, are currently 57/56, and either run, hike, and/or lift every day that we are not traveling (i.e., our health is pretty good). Our barely-SWAG rational-worst-case "budget" projection for healthcare expenditures before age 65 goes to 36,000 a year for insurance, plus 10,000 out of pocket for deductibles and our cash dental. (Don't include continued HSA contributions, as that is just moving money from one pocket to a better pocket.) In the event of nasty expenditure/health year, we easily will cut other expenditures to make up any difference--for example, not going to be trekking or diving soon after compound femur fracture(s).

Luckily, COBRA is only ~1100 a month (and smaller out of pocket), which was nice this 1/2 year and next year. And, currently even ACA plans (much less the non-ACA plans) are quite a bit less than our budget guesses ....

 

[W2R]

In fact, looking at the current threads it seems only one of the last 20 threads (blood pressure) actually deals with health issues? Maybe we should split this forum into two? Actual health issues in retirement and the financial aspects of the US healthcare system?

Please feel free to start a thread or threads on the actual health issues in retirement that you'd like to discuss, right here in the "Health and Early Retirement" section. We'd sincerely love to read it and comment/contribute to it!

For me, it's kind of difficult to force others to start threads on topics I'd like to see; I find it to be much easier to just start a thread myself.

That's how my "What was the last thing you bought on Amazon" thread got started. I was looking for threads on neat things to buy on Amazon and didn't find one, so I started it.

 

[Danmar]

Please feel free to start a thread or threads on the actual health issues in retirement that you'd like to discuss, right here in the "Health and Early Retirement" section. We'd sincerely love to read it and comment/contribute to it!

For me, it's kind of difficult to force others to start threads on topics I'd like to see; I find it to be much easier to just start a thread myself.

That's how my "What was the last thing you bought on Amazon" thread got started. I was looking for threads on neat things to buy on Amazon and didn't find one, so I started it.

Could do that, of course, but I do enjoy reading health related threads that often get me thinking about things. Don’t really think of most of these until I see the thread. Anyway, carry on.

 

[kcowan]

Could do that, of course, but I do enjoy reading health related threads that often get me thinking about things. Don’t really think of most of these until I see the thread. Anyway, carry on.

Here is a thread for anyone interested in health and aging:
At what age did you get serious about your health?

 

[DEC-1982]

As Scuba mentioned earlier, Fidelity RIP has an estimate button in the "Healthcare & Insurance" section where it puts out its own estimate for current medical insurance, medicare premiums and expenses, medicare/medigap premiums, and other (out-of-pocket) expenses. I am using those as I expect their estimates are more accurate than anything I would come up with on my own.

I wonder if their estimate of 5.5% healthcare inflation is too low but I am going with it for now.