Most Americans will eventually receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds release lengthy reports to Congress that assess the health of these important programs. The most recent report, released on April 22, 2020, discuss the current financial condition and ongoing financial challenges that both […]
$86…and change
What would the average medical doctor have to do to earn $86? Well, according to Medicare, that’s the amount the doctor will be paid if he or she spends up to thirty minutes talking with a patient about their wishes for end-of-life care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved this billing code […]
Take (care with) Your Medicine
Prepare yourself for the paper deluge! If you are a Medicare enrollee, you will probably notice an uptick in the amount of mail you receive during the next couple of months. That’s because we are about to enter that special time of year designated to be the open enrollment period for Medicare plans. Various Medicare […]
Give and Take
Lots of important financial announcements came down from the government this week that should be of interest to retirees and those looking to retire in the near future. As usual with Washington, there’s some good news and some bad news. Here’s a quick look… For those who are still working and can contribute to some […]
A Crucial Decade
My 60th birthday is rapidly approaching. Yikes! On most every day, I feel much younger than my mental image of a 60-year-old, but the calendar tells the truth. My birth year of 1954 places me squarely in the middle of the Baby Boomer generation, defined as those born between 1945 and 1964. That placement resulted […]