As men and women retire from their jobs or previous lifestyles, they often are not thinking of rising healthcare costs. Instead, they are looking at brochures and catalogs that show pictures of beautiful resorts, cruises, and ways for seniors to explore new opportunities now that they have more time on their hands.
While living longer holds the promise of life after retirement, it also means that men and women need to address how they’re going to pay their rising healthcare costs and still cope with day-to-day expenses. If you are struggling to manage all of the changes a retirement will bring, connect with a personal counselor.
Out-of-Pocket Expenses
In a recent report, cited by Huffington Post, information on rising healthcare costs and the challenge to seniors is shared. The report discussed in the article is one from the Journal of General Internal Medicine, and it assessed data from over 3,000 individuals who were covered by Medicare throughout the timeframe of 2002-2008. Through gauging “the impact of health care cost on seniors,” the report “measured how much money Medicare-eligible seniors had spent out of pocket on healthcare in their last five years alive, and looked at how those costs weighed on their total household income.”
Once the numbers were assessed, it was clear that “more than 75 percent of Medicare-eligible households spent at least $10,000 out of pocket on health care. Spending for all participants during those last five years averaged $38,688, and for the remaining 25 percent the average expense was even greater: they spent a whopping $101,791 out of pocket.”
With numbers like these, it is clear the rising healthcare costs in retirement are out of reach for many American families. A quarter of participants spent “more than their total household assets on healthcare,” according to the report.
Putting Funds Aside for Rising Healthcare Costs
The bottom line is that if you’re not yet a senior and you have a few years left before your impending retirement, it would serve you well to begin putting money aside for rising healthcare costs. Travel savings could be one goal, but the other needs to be funds in reserve to pay for out-of-pocket healthcare expenses when something does arise.
If you are receiving Medicare as a senior, consult with healthcare providers who offer supplemental insurance. Most larger cities in the United States have paid and volunteer workers whose primary concern is to address questions about retirement and affording health care costs. Being healthy and not taking any medications now is wonderful, but it does not solve the problem of future health issues.
Besides that, even individuuals without major medical issues may benefit from yearly medical exams that may require x-rays, EKGs, and medications to lower your blood pressure or to control hypertension or high cholesterol readings. Talk to your doctor and find out what others in your area are doing to cope with rising healthcare costs. Additional insurance, for example, may be an option.
Kendall Van Blarcom is a senior helping seniors. Contact Van Blarcom Consulting today for help with your personal problems. Or, reach out to provide support for an older adult in your life.
One Comment
Good post. By the time you pay the premiums and co-pays for Part D drug coverage under medicare, plus the reduction in your social security retirement check for having purchased a Part D policy, Part D covers only about 60% of the costs of Rx’s. Then the big hit comes after you and the pharmacy have, combined, paid about $2,900 in Rx’s, you pay about 85% of all additional Rx’s until you’ve spent out of pocket $4,700. All of which is taxed.
All of these costs are on top of the premiums we all paid into medicare for the past 45 years while working. Then, just to add insult to injury (pun intended) the IRS taxes you on all of the premiums and co-pays unless you are able to itemize and meet the high hurdle to be able to itemize. It’s a total rip off for the elderly. LIES and more LIES from the government and the perfidious Obama cabal.