Retirement expert Bob Carlson’s research and knowledge on how to get the most out of healthcare options
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Full implementation still awaits the beginning of 2014, but researchers are finding clear trends in medical delivery and pricing as we prepare for Obamacare. The reports are springing up now, because we hit the third anniversary of enactment of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. A key trend identified is a medical provider shortage, especially […]
Members of Medicare Advantage plans can expect a new round of premium increases or reduced benefits or both. The plans are very popular with their beneficiaries, and they’ve been growing as a percentage of the Medicare population. But the current administration in Washington doesn’t like them at all. Money put into the plans was reduced […]
Paying for medical care promises to gobble much greater shares of federal and state government budgets. Medicare will come to dominate the federal budget. But what’s the cause of the rise? Many discussions would have you believe that rising prices or high medical inflation are the cause. That would lead to a conclusion that we […]
Medicare beneficiaries have been through a series of changes in recent years, and more changes are coming next year.The changes aren’t all positive, so they were released quietly last Friday. The good news are in the Part D Prescription Drug program. The deductible is being decreased to $310 for 2014. That’s a 4.6% decline. The […]
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There are a lot of different kinds of long-term care and different ways of paying for it. Many people simply don’t understand how high the potential cost is or the different ways of planning to pay for it. This slideshow from Bloomberg does a good job of running through the different care options, how much […]

Changes have roiled the long-term care insurance market the last couple of years. The latest big changes came from the leading LTCI insurer, Genworth. The good news is that unlike other insurers, it plans to stay in the market. Genworth eliminated unlimited lifetime benefits as a policy option and also the choice to fully pay […]
Medicare is the main medical expense insurance plan for retirees, and it’s also among the most complicated programs. Most retirees and pre-retirees don’t know much about the program, which is revealed in many surveys. The enrollment rules trip up many people. Mistakes here trigger extra premiums for the rest of their lives. Others miss the […]
Medicare coverage is about to expand, perhaps substantially, for people with chronic conditions and disabilities. The rule for a long time has been that skilled nursing and therapy services were covered by Medicare only if there was a likelihood that the care would result in a medical or functional improvement. Care that simply helped people […]
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