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Retirement Healthcare and Medicare

Retirement expert Bob Carlson’s research and knowledge on how to get the most out of healthcare options

Found 315 Articles.
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The Future of Medicare

January 16, 2014

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

January 1, 2014

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

October 21, 2013

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

October 1, 2013

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 […]

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The Future of Retiree Medical Insurance

September 10, 2013

IBM shocked a lot of people when a late Friday report in The Wall Street Journal said the company was ending all retiree medical insurance once Obamacare kicks in. Instead of finding and paying for insurance coverage for its retirees, IBM will tell its retirees to seek their coverage on one of the new insurance […]

Avoiding Costly Medicare Errors

September 1, 2013

The wild card in most retirement plans is medical spending. Too many people approach retirement believing Medicare and their last employer will cover most retirement medical costs. Even after people realize their full potential exposure to medical expenses, many miss critical opportunities to reduce their share of the costs and especially to reduce the uncertainty […]

Line Up Caregivers for Long Term Care in Advance

August 27, 2013

That’s the advice from a new AARP study. The study concluded that there simply aren’t going to be enough people available to provide long-term-type care to people who need it in the next few decades. AARP says the problem is identified from simple arithmetic. The Baby Boomers are a large population group and are getting […]

Better Dental Care Avoids Dementia?

July 31, 2013

The  search for the cause of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia might have taken a big step forward. A new study found that people with Alzheimer’s have a bacteria related to gum disease in their brains, while those without Alzheimer’s don’t have the bacteria in their brains. Most people don’t realize it, but bad dental […]

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