My biggest worry about medical expenses in the future is that Medicare will be gone. All things are pointing in that direction. Who is going to sell health insurance to a 75 year old and if they are, at what price? But as I said, we are not going to be able to self insure in our golden age, so small gifts given to kids now are not going to make much of a difference in that scenario.
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Our retirement plan is a hybrid, I guess. We have enough to be able to gift our kids things when we want to. We have enough to live on supposedly for a long time. And when we depart, everything left will be divided equally between the two kids. IF there is anything left!
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Iām more concerned about Medicaid, right now my in-laws have the bulk of their accounts in trust which are not included in counting for Medicaid. Also their home. That trust and that home may be included in the future. So they will need everything if they end up in a nursing home.
Same for us, that there will be no way to āprotectā your inheritance.
This isnāt a political statement but a thought of where the law may go in the future.
We also would not be able to fund medical insurance if Medicare ceases. I think that privatization might be what is coming instead of Medicare plus the option of a supplement
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The webpage with social security fairness act information has been updated. Looks like most people affected will have back benefits paid by the end of March. I thought we had a thread on this but the search didnāt pull it up.
Back to Medicare worriesā¦.
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This is a pretty common scenario now. It used to be that by the time people retired (usually in their 60ās) their parents had passed. Not so true now. I know a number of people in their 60 and 70ās taking care of elderly parents even though they themselves are no longer young.
I was talking to some friends about this a few years ago. One of the many issues in our country that is not being dealt withā¦
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My parents lived to 80 and 97 (3 weeks shy of 98). ShawWifeās father died at 72, I think, but he was a pretty serious drinker and I think that affected his longevity. Her mother is still going strong 25 years later at 93. So, we are plan for longevity in excess of our parents.
There are hybrid LTC products that I looked at a long time ago that might be helpful for someone thinking about longevity. Iām planning to look again. But have not gotten there yet.
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If this had a 1,000% emoji option, thatās what Iād hit.
This has been my statement of fear all along in this retirement thread. We can manage without SS (of course, it would be nice to have!), but we will need that Medicare. 
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I didnāt know they werenāt included at the moment. So can anyone be on Medicaid if they put all their assets in a trust? My neighbor is going through this. He has a dementia. Need to be in a care facility. It is too expensive to pay for and doesnāt qualify for medicaid.
Itās not that simple. In order to protect assets so that they arenāt counted towards eligibility for Medicaid, the trust has to be an irrevocable trust, and it has to be set up at least five years before Medicaid kicks in. There are other important caveats, and an elder care attorney would be a good person to speak with about it.
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Correct, they have an elder attorney and set up a trust years ago.
My husband and I went to the elder attorney with my mom, she declined to set up a trust. Said that she will deplete her savings first if she has to go into a care facility.
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Iāve been doing a lot of reading about this subject. There are political forces that believe that Medicare should be managed in the private sector, so that sounds like Medicare Advantage ā¦ which is not Medicare, but rather an insurance program for an aged population that is funded by the government (from the Medicare budget) but run by for-profit companies. Like current Advantage plans, I imagine the offerings would differ by company (physician/hospital network requirements, prior approval requirements, etc) - and some might offer richer plans for a higher price. I believe that this would take Supplements off the table, since a Supplement is complementary (bridging cost coverage gap) to the guaranteed benefits offered by Medicare - which would not exist as a plan (replaced by the private plans). Basically, it seems like it would be a landscape similar to other health insurance.
We canāt predict the future, but for those of us who worry about possible changes, itās important to understand what could happen & try to plan accordingly.
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Both husband and I had private company retiree insurance (different companies) until we turned 65 and qualified for Medicare. Then it ended. I seriously doubt that would reinstate if Medicare went private.
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That is incorrect. Medicare Advantage plans are legally Medicare Part C. While Medicare Advantage plans are primarily managed care, i.e., HMOās, they now also offer PPOās.
Perhaps what you mean is that Medicare Advantage plans are not Original Medicare (Parts A, B, & D).
Not necessarily. Many nonprofit insurers offer Medicare Advantage plans, including those that also offer Medicare Supplements for Original Medicare.
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OK, dh and I meet with the FA next month so Iām running some numbers in preparation for that meeting. Help me sort this out, please. All of this stems from our inability to switch our mindset from savers to spenders. 
I have a small pension from a long-ago employer that Iāve never taken. The longer I wait, the more it increases. I always planned to wait until I have to take it, at age 72, but I could take it now. If I wait the extra 10 years, it would be worth $1k more a month. Who doesnāt want an extra $12k/year? I know that thatās a rounding error for some of you. 
But I am hoping that dh really does quit one of his PT retirement jobs this year, which means a drop of about $20k in income. We certainly could take that money out of my IRA, assuming weād even need to, but we are just ridiculously wedded to the notion of not touching that money. I wish we could change this. We are really trying to reframe our thinking.
So, hereās my question: Do the great minds of cc have thoughts/insights into why one option is better than another?
If we actually start spending down the IRA that means smaller RMDs down the road and less need to do the Roth conversions we are doing now. Thatās a positive and might make us more comfortable in dipping into the IRA for other things. Exposure therapy, ya know?
If I wait to take the pension, obviously, itāll be worth more. If I were to die before starting it, they assume that I would have taken it with a 50% survivor annuity so more money for dh (because I wasnāt planning on taking any survivor annuity). Thatās an argument for not taking it.
If we enter a bear market, I shouldnāt touch the IRA if I can help it, right? Because Iād be selling low? What else should I consider, big-picture-wise? We do think about what might happen with Medicare and SS, but those total unknowns wonāt drive this decision. I guess that I should add that as it stands now, with both pensions and both of us taking SS, we will feel golden at 70. Itās just these next few years before I take SS (at 65 or 67) that has us a little worried.
TIA
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Yes, thatās what I mean. They donāt necessarily offer the same benefits as original Medicare in that they can limit access and say no to procedures that original Medicare covers.
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That is also incorrect. Any medical procedure approved for payment thru Original Medicare must also be provided thru Medicare Advantage. (That said, Iām award of the articles about UHC and their alleged denials, so that requires an audit and huge penalty if they are withholding necessary care.)
MA plans usually offer more benefits than Original Medicare, as they can include basic dental and vision, as well as Rx, all for a really low fee, or even zero monthly premium.
Yes, most Advantage plans are HMOās and are therefore managed care, so they can require seeing your primary care provider before visiting a specialist. But again, Advantage plans now offer PPOs where you can see a specialist without going thru a gatekeeper. (one of our popular posters on cc loves their MA PPO plan.)
Not quite directly related. Iāll start Medicare in May. Iām planning on traditional Medicare with Tricare for Life which will act as a supplement.
Iām also in the process of signing up for a concierge practice owned by a local hospital system. My thought is they will always have docs available within the network. My annual fee will increase over time but, maybe, Iāll be in a fortunate position for the continuity of care if the terms of Medicare change.
Also, possibly not related, I had a conversation with a slightly younger employee today. We got on the topic of when Social Security Full Retirement Age moved from 65 to 67 ā ACK, that was in 1983. I was 23 when it changed! I wonder how much longevity has changed in the same amount of time!
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way back when SS started, life expectancy was ~65, so actuarially, many āretireesā would die before they received a dime. (yeah, I get that the big increase in life expectancy is due to childhood vaccines.)
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There are many instances of denials of coverage. Hoops to jump through that delay care unnecessarily, and denials due to procedures being considered unnecessary, are not uncommon. I know people personally who were effectively denied procedures (not getting approval is the same as denial when time is of the essence) and died. Itās not just UHC. I donāt want to debate this here. Itās been debated before on other threads. Believe what you want.
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its not my belief, its federal law. If MA providers are not providing care that is approved and available to Original Medicare enrollees, those MA providers are breaking the law (and should be prosecuted).