When steep medical costs cut into your retirement savings, the results can be staggering and painful. They were for the mother of Bradford Daniel Creger, chief economist & lead wealth strategist at Total Financial Resource Group in Glendale, Calif…. Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a series for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) About 70% of patients want to talk about cost with their physicians, but fewer than one-third actually do, according to polling conducted a few years ago by Avalere He… Continue reading
You know the old expression, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” I sometimes feel that way about the high cost of health care. But Dr. Marty Makary, author of the new book about America’s health care system — The Pri… Continue reading
Have you ever wondered how pharmaceutical companies decide whether that pill you take costs $3 or $3,000? Or why some new drug, or a potentially life-enhancing procedure, may not be covered under your insurance plan? In the U.S., the Food and Drug Admi… Continue reading
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a series for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) Margaret Birt, then 62, had routine surgery in 2006. But in the recovery room, she had complete cardiac arrest. Initially in a vegetative state, Birt regained much of … Continue reading
Medicare paid for Betty Gordon’s knee replacement surgery in March, but the 72-year-old former high school teacher needed a nursing home stay and care at home to recover. Yet Medicare wouldn’t pay for that. So Gordon is stuck with a $7,000 bill she can… Continue reading
Much of the media attention over the Democratic presidential candidates’ two-night showdown in Motown focused on who had the knockout jabs and lines. I was watching to hear what the 20 White House hopefuls said they’d do to try to make lives better for… Continue reading
Our ability to avoid outliving our money is, in large part, due to our expenses in retirement. Turns out, a new study reveals, we’re pretty lousy at predicting how much we’ll actually spend on housing and health care when we retire. And another study s… Continue reading
If your spouse or partner wakes up in the middle of the night complaining of chest pain, which of these would you choose?: 1) Call 911 for an ambulance or 2) fire up your computer, go online to compare prices for cardiac care at nearby hospitals, pick … Continue reading
(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.) Three times a week, Tod Gervich injects himself with Copaxone, a prescription drug that can reduce the frequency of relapses in people who have some forms of multiple sclerosis. After more than … Continue reading