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Medicare rules can leave seniors with unexpected costs
Medicare rules requiring seniors admitted to a hospital to receive three days of treatment as an inpatient prior to paying for follow-up care in a nursing home has left many on the hook for thousands in medical bills.That’s because hospitals…
The retirement apocalypse that isn’t coming
Grandma’s much-anticipated Arctic cruise becomes a slow drift away on an ice floe. Grandpa mortgages his kidneys to pay for a new heart. Social Security is deader than disco and “IRA” only refers to guys named Ira. That bleak vision…
Getting Married Has Its Financial Benefits
Forget the marriage penalty. If getting hitched has any financial effect, it’s likely to be a bonus. In the 1990s, there was much discussion about how the tax code penalized married couples. But many of the issues were addressed in…
State’s Medicaid program now covers naturopaths
Amanda Lewis and her husband use a naturopathic doctor, covered by their private insurance, as their primary-care provider. But until this year, the Sultan woman had to pay $95 a visit for her young son because naturopaths in Washington weren’t…
Is Medicare an example of how government can run health care?
On April 9, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released billing and collection data for the year 2012, for every physician practicing in the United States. This treasure trove of information, while being imperfect by not showing payments…
When Hospital Systems Buy Health Insurers
Another hospital system wants to buy another health insurance company, and consumers may well wonder what this trend could mean for them. As reported last week in Modern Healthcare, the St. Louis-based Ascension Health, the country’s largest nonprofit hospital system, “is in…
Many Americans fear going broke in retirement
Many Americans with significant savings fear going broke in retirement, but they aren’t willing to cut back on their current lifestyle to save more for the future, a new survey shows. About 55% of respondents say they fear not having enough…
Legislation would extend tax credit for low income housing
Reps. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said on Thursday they would introduce legislation that would aim to make affordable housing more available and remove uncertainty in the tax code. The legislation would make the low-income housing tax credit permanent…
Five Myths About Retirement
It’s not all golf and grandchildren. Many people spend years planning for retirement and think they have it all figured out, until they actually retire. Here are a few areas where retirees don’t know as much as they think they do. 1.…
Rethink your finances and retirement risks
Maybe the best way to save for retirement is to actually start budgeting for a short bout of insecurity. Or lots of insecurity. The looming pension cuts — on top of higher health care costs — facing City of Detroit retirees…