Medicare/Medigap Insurance
Found 108 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.
Decisions to Make Under Your New Medicare
Prescription drug benefits and other changes are coming to Medicare. Let’s take a look some details, the timetable, and the actions you should consider over the next few years. Keep in mind that the prescription drug provisions are voluntary. You don’t have to leave your current benefit structure unless you want to or the provider […]
How to Find the Best Health Care Plan
A recent headline in The Wall Street Journal said it all: “Health Benefits for Retirees Continue to Shrink, Study Says.” “Outlook Is Even Bleaker For Workers Leaving Jobs Over the Next 20 Years,” said the subheadline. Take a look at a few developments in just the last few months: Another 200,000 Medicare members will lose […]
How to Save Money with Prescription Plans?
Prescription drugs are more numerous and more important to health care. Unfortunately, buying them is getting more confusing. Unlike the early days of Medicare, today drugs are the prime treatment for many diseases and conditions. Often, diseases are treated or controlled by taking medication for life. Drugs are a big reason why, despite an older […]
Handling the Latest Medicare Changes
There’s been another change in Medicare. The change especially affects those who are interested in HMO coverage. But it also has the effect of locking almost all beneficiaries in their chosen Medicare plan for all of 2002. The U.S. government extended the deadline HMOs had to declare whether or not they would remain in the […]
Best Ways To Pay For Extended Long Term Care
One of the most stressful and difficult financial decisions is planning for possible long term health care expenses. Individuals of all ages struggle over how to provide for the possibility of significant long-term health care costs. Should they buy long-term care insurance? If so, how should they pay for it? Are there other options? Nursing […]
The New Health Care Orphans
It looks like a Medicare experiment is coming to an end. Many seniors are losing the option of receiving their Medicare-covered health care through health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Over 1 million seniors will be dropped from their HMOs next year, because the HMOs are leaving the Medicare program. Over 900,000 of these seniors will have […]
How to Deal with Medigap Premiums
Premiums for Medicare supplement insurance are climbing again. Insurers report premium increases of 10% and more. For some policies, the premiums will increase over 40%. The sharpness of the increase depends on your state and the type of policy you have. The highest premium increases are for Medigap policies covering prescription drugs. Of the 10 […]
The Easy Way To Pay for Long Term Care
Financing potential long-term care expenses can be complicated and expensive. Nationally, a month in a nursing home ranges from $3,000 to $6,000, and is rising faster than general inflation. That’s why many people do no planning. Another reason is that half of nursing home stays are for 90 days or less, and Medicare pays for […]
