Watching Your Wallet: Medicaid, Medicare Gap Insurance

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - If you feel like your medical costs are increasing, you’re not alone, but it’s important to know right now how you’ll pay medical bills when you’re retired.

If you think Medicare is all you need when you’re retired, just know there’s a lot more to it.

Medicare does not cover all of your medical expenses in retirement. Even adding supplemental insurance isn’t enough to pay for everything. And if you need long-term care, Medicare likely doesn’t cover that at all.

It is usually covered by Medicaid, which is used primarily by people with very limited finances, about 20% of Americans. That means many Americans will have to pay for long-term care themselves.

According to the US Census Bureau, in just 10 years, there will be more adults over 65 than people under 18. And, according to a recent AARP survey, nine out of 10 adults between 50 and 80 years of age want to age at home, not in a nursing facility.

Both can be expensive. Millions of Americans are taking care of elderly family members, spending time and money to help. If you don’t want to be dependent on family, talk to a financial advisor. Some people have enough money to ‘self-insure’ but others choose to buy long-term health insurance.

That can be quite expensive, and it’s important to know what it covers, and what it doesn’t. Also, add an inflation rider to the policy if possible. That protects you against price increases in the future, which are bound to come.

If your goal is to age in place or live at home and have extra care, know that many improvements you make to your home to help with accessibility can be tax-deductible. Again, bring your questions to a financial advisor so they can guide you.

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