Nursing Home Care Pros And Cons

Life tends to get better with age, although this is not the case when it comes to paying for the cost of healthcare. An increase in life expectancy, prescription drug costs and medical insurance work together to push the average cost of healthcare to the point where it quickly becomes a financial burden for many retirees. Fidelity Investments estimates that a retired couple, both age 65, can expect to spend $245,000 on their healthcare needs during their retirement.

Having Medicare benefits does not necessarily make the average cost of healthcare decrease as the benefits tend to be inefficient in fully covering all of the costs that factor into a healthcare plan. The average cost calculation also does not take additional financial responsibilities, such as paying for a nursing home or long-term private home care, into consideration. Here is a look
On one hand, modern technology is beneficial in paving the way for the development of new medications. These medications often impact the health conditions of individuals, giving them the opportunity to live longer with certain health conditions that carry a diagnosis of a shorter life expectancy timeline. The medical innovations do not come without a cost, which is part of the reason why prescription medication grows increasingly more expensive each day.

Medicare Part D works to provide people of retirement age with assistance in paying for their necessary prescription medication. Under this plan, a retired person pays a deductible of $360 for prescription medication coverage extending up to $3,310 each year. Once the annual cost of prescriptions reaches that amount, the individual becomes 100 percent responsible for all remaining medication costs after that point. Participation in a Medicare Part D policy is optional and does not impact the ability to have coverage in the other three parts of