Healthcare Costs Forcing Baby Boomers into Bankruptcy

Here's a piece I found on MSNBC that says baby boomers are going bankrupt at faster rate. The reasons for this:

Senior researcher Jose Garcia, who examines consumer finance trends at New York-based Demos, said rising costs for housing and health care, especially prescription drugs, have made older Americans more dependent on credit. This, in turn, makes them more vulnerable to financial rough spots.

I've written before on how I think healthcare costs are going to be the biggest issue in retirement for most of us. Let's face it, people are living longer (requiring more healthcare) and the costs of healthcare is going up and up. So if you need something longer than in the past and it's more expensive in the past, you've got a big and growing financial commitment just waiting for you.

How will this impact retirement saving? I think that the historical estimates of people needing 70% to 80% of their pre-retirement salaries while in retirement will be a thing of the past. Look for 100% to be the new standard before long. Translation: we all probably need to be saving more for retirement.

Comments

[Chris]

Healthcare costs are going to put everyone into bankruptcy, not just retiring baby boomers. Twentysomethings out of college and starting out are more often opting to just forget health insurance altogether. Even when their employer offers it at a discount, they still can't afford to pay for it or the benefits are so low...the end up with a huge medical bill even with the insurance.

We need reform. This problem is only going to get worse.

[Edmund]

Yes, we need reform, but what kind?

You can't just focus on the negative effects of the current system.

For example, if the price of food keeps going up due to a shortage of food, no amount of reform is good enough to feed everybody. Anything short of dealing with the shortage directly will not help. The government can lower the prices of food in whatever way, if there is not enough to food to go around, you still can't feed everybody.

We face a similar problem in health care today. We have a shortage of a lot of things. Universal health care sounds good, but then we will all be waiting forever to get treatment. Making health care "affordable" sounds good, but if there is a shortage, it's not just a money issue.

[Chris]

Edmund, great points. I'm not an expert, so I really couldn't offer much insight on how to reform the system. As a casual observer however, I do see my own rates rising far beyond what my income can afford. If I were to have a child, my monthly insurance would cost more than my mortgage, property taxes, and home owners insurance combined. With the new health insurance vehicles being offered, like high deductible plans, I just put more of the financial risk on myself.

Personally what do I think the solution is? Well, first I would say we need to reduce the cost of healthcare. Particularly prescription medications. What about hospital administration costs, which tacks on plenty of cost to even the most basic of services? Isn't it odd that someone can fly across the world, get top quality surgery in a foreign country and spend tens of thousands of dollars less than they would have in the US for the same treatment?

What issues do exist in health care and what can we do to fix them?

[Dhani]

My company have seen this trend a long time coming. That is why we are fighting so hard to provide our current benefits which has been helping many of our clients save on their Rx Drugs and Medical costs.

Individual benefits start at: $11.95 for DENTAL, Chiropractic, Vision and Rx Drugs or $19.95 for an Entire Household!

If you need MEDICAL Plus the above it's $49.95 total for an individual OR $59.95 for an Entire Household. Many employees purchase this as a supplemental benefit and many Small Business Owners have turned to us for peace of mind without the headache!

But what's really gotten to me is that the NAIC is now trying to regulate these discount health plans! When do they just stop and investigate these insurance companies just a little more? It seems that every year insurance goes up and more and more benefits are being cut!!! However, I do understand why they are doing what they are doing, due to MANY fakes but Insurance Companies still need someone to take a closer look at them too.

My company has been a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, NADP, Consumer Health Alliance and the Dallas BBB!