Factor in additional costs when choosing a Medicare plan | Opinion
While we grapple with inflationary costs for essentially everything any of us are buying today, our senior population – trying to make the math work often on a fixed income – is adding these increased costs to an already complicated and costly health care equation. The cost of health care can be a burden for many, but especially for seniors.
It is too easy for us in the non-Medicare population to assume the federal health insurance program for people age 65 and older will take care of Mom and Dad. Generally speaking, Medicare covers some, but not all, medical expenses for qualified participants. Preparing individually for those additional costs is critical for Tennessee’s senior population, while other factors are complicating the national debate over Medicare funding challenges.
People are living longer, baby boomers are hitting Medicare age, and there’s more. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen at least two employment shifts: the Great Resignation and the Great Retirement. The first refers to people of all ages leaving their jobs for self-employment gigs, work-from-home opportunities, etc.; the second phenomenon is age-specific as people at or nearing retirement age (or those who were working beyond age 65) lean into retirement, opting out of the workforce earlier than planned.
In fact, the rate of retirement of the generation born between 1946 and 1964 has increased since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 29 million boomers retiring in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. That was an increase of more than 3 million over 2019. These “excess retirements” have continued to accelerate, increasing the number of people eligible for Medicare. Today, more than 1.4 million are enrolled in Medicare in Tennessee.
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These circumstances − compounded by rising health care expenses − are unprecedented and contribute to the challenges of what has been dubbed a “silver tsunami” of an aging population.
For Tennessee’s senior population, truthful and complete discussions are needed during the Medicare open enrollment period. Medicare’s open enrollment period, the eight-week window from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, is when beneficiaries can enroll or make changes – if needed – to their Medicare coverage. Private insurers help bridge the gap in traditional Medicare coverage through a variety of Medicare plans and products. Seniors, their family members and caregivers must be careful to understand the different options amid a flurry of marketing efforts.
And then, as seniors make wise decisions about whom to trust for their health care protection, we in the payer community must continue to optimize advances in medicine and behavioral health to keep seniors active and healthy; use technology for better efficiency and customer interaction; and encourage appropriate telehealth usage among members and providers.
So let’s adapt to a constantly shifting health care landscape together. We owe it to ourselves and, especially, to Mom and Dad.
Anthony Kimbrough is chief executive officer of Farm Bureau Health Plans, a service company of the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation. FBHP provides a variety of Medicare plans and products as well as health coverage for individuals and families, and is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Factor in additional costs when choosing a Medicare plan
