Who needs a million dollars? Apparently, nobody

[Happy Panther]

I'm 52 and ready to retire with a paid for home. $100k wouldn't last long just maintaining a home and health insurance. Much less the $500k+ for my kids college.

[Davidson Deac II]

On 6/11/2024 at 12:44 PM, jayboogieman said:

My mom has been on medicare for five years or so now. It gets worse over time and they pay less each year as they shift medicines from one tier to another. She has an inhaler and they started making her copay higher than what they paid last year. Thankfully, the local pharmacy she uses started giving her the generic version for less than her copay as the price for the name brand version went up.

Wasn't talking about Medicare exactly.  Medicare advantage is different.  The one my mom uses is thru blue cross and blue shield.  

Medicare Advantage (Part C) | Blue Cross Blue Shield (bcbs.com)

My mom has been using it for about six months now.  Before she was using a medigap program run by United Health Care and it paid almost everything, but was costing her 400 a month.  The Medicare advantage plan doesn't cost anything (the premiums are actually paid by Medicare).  Now she does have copayments, some of them for for medicine, but so far, they aren't bad.  Hers also covers dental, which medicare normally doesn't cover.  

I will state though that my Mom has Medicare part b (she pays for it, but gets reimbursed by the employer my stepdad retired from).  

[Paa Langfart]

On 6/16/2024 at 9:04 PM, Davidson Deac II said:

Wasn't talking about Medicare exactly.  Medicare advantage is different.  The one my mom uses is thru blue cross and blue shield.  

Medicare Advantage (Part C) | Blue Cross Blue Shield (bcbs.com)

My mom has been using it for about six months now.  Before she was using a medigap program run by United Health Care and it paid almost everything, but was costing her 400 a month.  The Medicare advantage plan doesn't cost anything (the premiums are actually paid by Medicare).  Now she does have copayments, some of them for for medicine, but so far, they aren't bad.  Hers also covers dental, which medicare normally doesn't cover.  

I will state though that my Mom has Medicare part b (she pays for it, but gets reimbursed by the employer my stepdad retired from).  

There is a reason that if you watch any television that there are so many medicare commercials with old folks tottering around confused.  It is a money making racket.  The medicare insurance companies will buy you $50 worth of aspirin or " healthy" foods" a month through special stipends ( while gasp you pay nothing extra other than your approximately $170 a month removed from your social security check ) , but when its time to get that new drug that could save your life or that surgery - good friggin luck. You need pre approval from the insurance company.  I know- I have seen it first hand.  Traditional medicare is at least up front that they will pay for just about everything except your 20% copay and it is good for any health care facility- no pre approval needed.

[LinvilleGorge]

How in the world did insurance companies get the power to determine that they get the ability to approve or reject treatment plans? Literally the foxes guarding the henhouse. 

[Davidson Deac II]

11 hours ago, Paa Langfart said:

There is a reason that if you watch any television that there are so many medicare commercials with old folks tottering around confused.  It is a money making racket.  The medicare insurance companies will buy you $50 worth of aspirin or " healthy" foods" a month through special stipends ( while gasp you pay nothing extra other than your approximately $170 a month removed from your social security check ) , but when its time to get that new drug that could save your life or that surgery - good friggin luck. You need pre approval from the insurance company.  I know- I have seen it first hand.  Traditional medicare is at least up front that they will pay for just about everything except your 20% copay and it is good for any health care facility- no pre approval needed.

I strongly disagree and I have direct and recent experience with it.  I help my mom manage her finances, and the Medicare advantage plan has been a huge benefit and a great thing for her.  The $170 a month you are referring to (Medicare part b) was already being taken out of her account well before she switched to the Medicare advantage plan. It is something Medicare does for additional coverage of prescription medicine and other services.  

And no, Medicare wouldn't pay for everything, if you only have part a (when you don't have the $170 taken out of your social security).  The 20% copay you referred to is only if you have Medicare part b and have the additional money take out of your social security.  

In addition to the 50 a month, she gets 2000 a year in dental coverage which Medicare doesn't provide.  They also have other benefits, such as life alert (which would cost 40 a month if she had to pay for it herself).  Not saying it doesn't have drawbacks, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.  

Edited June 19 by Davidson Deac II

[Davidson Deac II]

If you don't have Medicare part b (the one that cost $170 per month, Medicare won't cover things like ambulance service, wheel chairs, some prescription medication, diabetes supplies, therapy and counseling etc.... One trip in an ambulance could cost as much as $1200

 

If you believe that Medicare and indeed all health and health insurance should be redesigned, I agree with you.  But as far as what is available right now, at this point in time, in my opinion, (based on working with my mom for 15 years now dealing with straight Medicare, Medicare part b, part d, and medicare advantage plans), Medicare advantage is far and away the easiest and cheapest to deal with.  

[Paa Langfart]

4 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

And no, Medicare wouldn't pay for everything, if you only have part a (when you don't have the $170 taken out of your social security). 

Far as I know you have no choice but to have the money removed from your ss check and is always a mystery to me why younger folks think medicare is  " free".  Not only do you or your employer pay in advance your whole working life, but you continue to pay monthly " premiums" until you die once you start to draw ss.

[Paa Langfart]

4 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.  

until you yourself actually come down with one of the disadvantages that they decide not to cover.  Like I said - they make it all seem great with little perks that basically cost them nothing because most people don't take advantage of them.  

 

 

A retirement specialist is warning seniors to prepare now as Medicare Advantage cuts are likely to come during the next year.

Bob Carlson, an attorney and accountant who runs Retirement Watch, a monthly newsletter and site on retirement planning, wrote in an article for Forbes that Medicare Advantage plans will be cut as the federal government looks to reduce its spending.

Carlson said Medicare Advantage plans tend to be popular because they generally have lower costs if you are healthy and can bundle supplementary insurance and drug coverage options.  They also tend to be more profitable with insurers.

Still, the federal government is looking to curb its costs by reducing Medicare Advantage options.

"Reduced payments to Medicare Advantage sponsors are likely to cause changes in the plans in 2025, such as higher premiums, copayments, and deductibles as well as reduced coverage," Carlson said.

"The areas of cuts will vary by insurance company and even down to the individual plans," Fong told Newsweek. "We are either expecting higher copays or lower extra benefits which include health foods grocery, dental, vision, hearing, transportation and any non-Medicare covered benefits."

Medicare Advantage Cuts Coming This Year, Retirement Specialist Warns (msn.com)

 

from the linked article -  They also tend to be more profitable with insurers.

hmmmm, I wonder how those good hearted insurance companies do it?

Edited June 19 by Paa Langfart

[CRA]

On 6/8/2024 at 1:34 PM, LinvilleGorge said:

Then again, if you get into a situation where you need assisted living you're going to chew through a million way faster than you'd think. As long as you can live on your own you can make money go a long way living modestly but assisted living is out-fuging-rageous.

I don't think most Americans know the comical price of assisted living care.  I mean, that million would be gone in 2 years.   And that's just the average.  Higher cost state or a nice facility?  It would be gone real quick. 

[LinvilleGorge]

19 minutes ago, CRA said:

I don't think most Americans know the comical price of assisted living care.  I mean, that million would be gone in 2 years.   And that's just the average.  Higher cost state or a nice facility?  It would be gone real quick. 

I definitely didn't until my wife's grandmother had to go into assisted living. Unless you're legit RICH whatever money you have saved up is gonna be gone in the blink of an eye.

[Davidson Deac II]

On 6/19/2024 at 1:42 PM, CRA said:

I don't think most Americans know the comical price of assisted living care.  I mean, that million would be gone in 2 years.   And that's just the average.  Higher cost state or a nice facility?  It would be gone real quick. 

Its expensive, no doubt.  And a big concern.  But I think you are exaggerating a little.  My wife works at one of the high end retirement homes and the cost is about 8000 per month and is all inclusive (food, most medicine, in house medical care).  Of course, the cost may be higher in other areas. If you start out with a million when you move in, it would last about 10 years for one person, or 5 years for two.  A more average facility in the area we live is around 5 grand a month.  

[Davidson Deac II]

I think this impacts a lot of people these days.  

What Is Money Dysmorphia and Who Does It Affect? | Bankrate

[LinvilleGorge]

I'm sure it does and social media is likely a HUGE driver of it. Seems like social media is dominated by "fake it til you make it" types. Then you have shows on HGTV and the like where the husband is a dog catcher and the wife is a stay at home mom for their two kids and they're home shopping with a $1.2M budget. Um... WTF???

[Khyber53]

Retirement fund managers really, really need you to keep $1 million in your retirement accounts to manage. And, well, so does the stock market. And some will tell you that, in turn, so does the economy.

Really, though, it's who you are, what you want and how much cushion you want in your old age. Our country has a very difficult time dealing with the needs of the aged and this whole argument about how much money is needed really misses the point of what is actually needed.