How to figure out health care expenses in retirement?

[b2bailey]

I would never go with Kaiser. My daughter was with them at one point through the company she was working for and couldn't wait to get off them.

I am probably turned off as a friend of mine had a horrible experience with them when treating her scoliosis and she ended up worse than before.

Both of those experiences were in the San Francisco Bay Area where the Healthcare is very good.

Luanne, I'm with you. I had a bad experience with Kaiser in NORCAL as well.

 

[b2bailey]

We stayed with the Denver Fire health plan and have Medicare. We were told by our good friend who was a Denver cop that we are overpaying for our plan because we are tied to the fire department's plan, and we could save a few hundred $$$ a month, if we go with Kaiser on our own. He did it, and he is much happier.

I am sort of stuck with this idea that things will change (for us), if we go that route, and so I am not really sure if this is a good idea or not. Next month we will meet with a Kaiser rep and ask that question.

Cindy, your mention of Kaiser makes me wonder if you had any difficulty receiving /paying when you injured your foot -- on Maui?

 

[heathpack]

Thinking back, I don't know anyone who wishes they would have worked longer. (Well, one comes to mind -- but she has no resources other than social security.

If I stay 10 years (ie until I am 68), I get a ridiculously good pension. I will probably try to see if I could go to some very minimal job that is still full time (a 9 month faculty appointment is still full time, and then for my specific job if I am not on hospital duty, I can be anywhere), and then maybe 2 more years of very part time work to make the pension. But the truth is they would have to really give me exactly what I wanted for me to consider it.

First, I don't really need the pension. I would be in IMRAA territory with just that and SS. (However my niece has a disabled child and it would be nice to throw money at them freely)

Second, I am just done with being an employee. My lifetime tolerance for dumb stuff has been completely exhausted. Every job has dumb stuff and I used to just see that something was dumb and maybe every now and then speak up about it. But now I just cannot tolerate it at all.

My cousin is a year ahead of me and also feels "done". So maybe its something about being 60ish. I've worked continuously since 16 yr of age. Maybe the "lifespan" of work is 40-45 years...

 

[b2bailey]

If I stay 10 years (ie until I am 68), I get a ridiculously good pension. I will probably try to see if I could go to some very minimal job that is still full time (a 9 month faculty appointment is still full time, and then for my specific job if I am not on hospital duty, I can be anywhere), and then maybe 2 more years of very part time work to make the pension. But the truth is they would have to really give me exactly what I wanted for me to consider it.

First, I don't really need the pension. I would be in IMRAA territory with just that and SS. (However my niece has a disabled child and it would be nice to throw money at them freely)

Second, I am just done with being an employee. My lifetime tolerance for dumb stuff has been completely exhausted. Every job has dumb stuff and I used to just see that something was dumb and maybe every now and then speak up about it. But now I just cannot tolerate it at all.

My cousin is a year ahead of me and also feels "done". So maybe its something about being 60ish. I've worked continuously since 16 yr of age. Maybe the "lifespan" of work is 40-45 years...

I think we all have experiences from our pasts that influence our decisions about the future. For me, it was a story about my husband's mother. (I never met her.) She had breast cancer 50 years ago -- when it was more of a death sentence than it is today. She went back to work as soon as she was able. Not sure of her motivation. She died 2 years later.

 

[Greg G]

I'm responding specifically to the part about healthcare costs during retirement, specifically after you are covered by Medicare. I've always carried a Supplement Plan, at a cost of less than $150 / month. I'm willing to pay that for 3 reasons:
1. If I'm traveling anywhere in US, I can walk into any Urgent Care or ER knowing I'll be covered.
2. At home I can see any doctor -- no need for referral to a Specialist.
3. After minimal Annual Deductible -- less than $300 -- everything else is covered.

One thing to note is that on item 2 you can see any doctor in the US (that accepts Medicare and for which Medicare covers your condition) without preauthorization and Medicare will pay for it, and your Medicare supplement will pay the remaining amount (depending on if it is a Plan G/F, and N if it is not an excess charge service, and if not then you will have more of a payment with the other Medicare supplement plan types ). Thus you choose who is best for the medical condition you have, and not an insurance company. That is the key advantage of Medicare with a Supplement over a Medicare Advantage plan (I , as other posters, have already mentioned the pros and cons of these two insurance types)