Retirement Healthcare and Medicare
Retirement expert Bob Carlson’s research and knowledge on how to get the most out of healthcare options
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HIPAA-compliant Estate Planning
The law of unintended consequences has struck again. Because of it, some standard Estate Planning tools need to be reworked, and existing plans might need some revisions in the next few years. Congress decided Americans’ medical privacy needed more protection, so in 1996 it passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA. […]
Behind the Headlines on Prescription Drug Prices
In my files are a series of reports detailing the rapid rise in the cost of medical care for Americans, especially for seniors. The good news is that the numbers in the reports aren’t terribly accurate. The bad news is that these reports are used to scare people, especially those in and near retirement, and […]
A Medicare Prescription Drug Update
The Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card program now is up and running, producing both benefits and controversy. Seniors could sign up for a program starting May 1 and could begin using the cards June 1. Advertising for the cards by both the government and card sponsors began in May. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid […]
Medicare Drug Discount Rolled Out
Medicare announced its first group of endorsed prescription drug discount cards. Medicare members can enroll in one of the discount programs after May 2, 2004. The cards can be used beginning June 1, 2004. The web site www.medicare.gov has a feature that makes it easy to find the discount card programs that are available to […]
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The New Private Medicare Plans
The sales pitches are back, enticing seniors to join HMOs and other private health plans. Congress has changed the law again, this time to encourage firms to offer these alternative plans to regular Medicare. In 1997 Congress reduced reimbursements to Medicare HMOs and other private Medicare plans. As a result, many HMOs stopped participating and […]
How to Maximize Retirement Community Deductions
A portion of long-term care expenses are deductible as medical expenses. The question taxpayers often ask is what portion of the fees paid to retiree communities, such as assisted living facilities or nursing homes, can be deducted. The Tax Court recently stepped into this issue and set some new rules. When someone enters a nursing […]
The Medicare Overhaul: An Update
We’re getting more details about the most significant parts of the Medicare prescription drug law that was enacted in late 2003. The two key provisions are Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and prescription discount cards. The new Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for people under age 65 were reviewed in detail in January. Recall that the accounts […]
Long-Term Care Insurance: Worth the Cost?
Insurers frequently lament that only 1% to 3% of those in the logical market for long-term care insurance actually buys that insurance. Their view is that most Baby Boomers are engaged in short-term thinking and that the nation will have a severe fiscal crisis as it tries to finance care for aging long-term Boomers. Consumer […]
