There was recently a NY Times blog post (http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/getting-old-is-expensive/) regarding a subject I have covered for many years in presentations regarding Medicare, Aging Wisely and planning ahead–the cost of healthcare in later years. Very few people think about this stuff ahead of time…why would you? We’re all busy dealing with our current health insurance, employment, etc. So, people generally know Medicare exists (and often seem to have the impression it will take care of everything with little/no cost) but rarely understand all of it’s working parts, costs, etc.
As this article quotes as recent study and has been shown in studies for a # of years, out of pocket/uncovered costs from 65 til death usually rank in the $250,000 range. Check out our Medicare 2010 Fact Sheet for some info. on the many premiums, copays and deductibles of the various parts of Medicare for the primary costs: http://www.agingwisely.com/2010-medicare-fact-sheet/. Still, as one person pointed out in response to the NY Times blog, when you consider similar costs for employer based insurance, this may not be such a bad deal or the horrific figure it is made out to be. I just worry that people don’t factor it in to their retirement planning or get much education about Medicare prior to the need. I always get a lot of great questions when doing my “Medicare 101″ presentations or when we do a consultation with someone as they plan to retire…just wish more people would get that type of info. This should be an absolute part of anyone’s retirement planning process.
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