Retirement Healthcare and Medicare
Retirement expert Bob Carlson’s research and knowledge on how to get the most out of healthcare options
Found 311 Articles.
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Curbing the High Cost of Retirement Medical Care
The cost of medical care continues to rise and to be the wild card in retirement plans. Reports and studies update their estimates of the cost of retirement medical care each year. They show the cost to be high and also very unpredictable for individual retirees and couples. The studies focus on average or median […]
Coming Changes in Medicare/Medicare Advantage
More changes, none of them positive, are on the way for those enrolled in Medicare or Medicare Advantage. First are the broader changes that apply to all Medicare prescription drug beneficiaries. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid quietly released a proposal to limit the types of drugs that are protected under the program. Those in […]
Medicare Advantage and Obamacare
If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan (about 25% of Medicare beneficiaries are), you’ve already seen the negative effects the Affordable Care Act is having. But there is a lot more to come. About $156 billion over 10 years is expected to be shifted from Medicare Advantage plans to help fund the increased coverage and […]
Medical Expenses in Retirement
Too many people continue to believe that Medicare will cover all or most of their retirement medical expenses. While Medicare does cover a lot, it isn’t close to covering all your expenses. On average it covers about half of medical expenses. That means for a large number of people it covers much less. The Employee […]
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The Future of Medicare
Some people are excited because medical expenses decreased at a slower rate the last few years than previously forecast. That is helpful for Medicare, and some say it means Obamacare is working and eventually will help Medicare recover. Charles Blahous of the Mercatus Center disagrees. He’s also a public trustee for the Board of Trustees […]
Dealing With the Latest Turmoil in Long-Term Care Insurance
The turmoil in long-term care insurance continues. In recent years a number of insurers raised premiums substantially on existing policies or exited the market. A year ago it appeared things would stabilize after the shakeout, but a new round of premium hikes and policy changes is taking place. Two of the largest and most stable […]
Beware Medicare “Observation” Status
You might need a subscription to read this from The Wall Street Journal, but I’ll give you the highlights. As you might know, when you’re at a hospital you might be officially admitted or you might be kept there but under “observation status.” Ideally observation status is so doctors can run tests and take other […]
Looking for a New Medigap Plan
It’s Medicare open season again, and that means many of you can consider changing your Medicare supplement insurance (Medigap) policy. Shopping for a new policy is wise. It turns out that many people are overpaying. Medigap policies are issued by private insurers but are standardized by the federal government. Insurers can offer only up to […]
