12 ms·
Whatever you save with your blood, sweat and tears (if you are lucky) will be blown on medical expenses. The trick is to convert to cash (literal), then give i
by ransom1538 9y ago
Whatever you save with your blood, sweat and tears (if you are lucky) will be blown on medical expenses. The trick is to convert to cash (literal), then give it to your wife, convert medical expenses to debt and die.
- FabHK 9y agoNote that what you say applies mostly in developing countries and maybe the USA, not in other developed countries, as far as I can tell.
- emodendroket 9y agoWell, the audience here is largely American and the story is about Americans, so I'm not sure this qualification was really needed.
- FabHK 9y agoTrue. Important to keep in mind though. And frugality (and excessive government austerity) has been a European problem, too.
- reustle 9y agoThe trick is to move to a country with proper healthcare
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- brianwawok 9y agoYou get fine healthcare for free when you are old in the US. You just gotta be broke first. So it's a fine line to work....
- justin66 9y agoAnyone who wants to test this assertion - that "fine healthcare" equal to what a wealthy retiree gets is available to all - should go to a nursing home that offers care for normal and purely medicare-supported patients. You don't have to study the situation really closely to get what I'm driving at. The patients will generally stay in separate areas. Just walk around and use your sense of smell.
- brianwawok 9y agoOr if you want actual truth, interview people at said missing home. Person A was rich, her 500k in savings was all spent to provide her care at a rate of 5k per month until it is gone. Person B had 100k to her name. She paid the nursing home 5k per month until it was gone. Then care is free until the money runs out. Person C had 0 money. They paid $0 from day 1. All three got the same medical care. All three got the same food. Maybe person A spring for a private room vs a shared room... But otherwise all would be the same. Nursing homes in general aren't great. Hopefully you can stay out of them. Eating well and exercising seem to help. If not, money won't do much.
- justin66 9y agoYou do not know what you are talking about at all. > Person B had 100k to her name. She paid the nursing home 5k per month until it was gone. Then care is free until the money runs out. > All three got the same medical care. All three got the same food. Maybe person A spring for a private room vs a shared room... But otherwise all would be the same. Person b experienced a lower standard of care once the money ran out. (I'm sure this isn't universally true, but in my experience it is. It's a free market...)
- incompatible 9y agoMost countries with decent healthcare are reluctant to accept retirees. They'll likely have to fund their own health insurance, at least. If you can gain citizenship of such a country, well in advance of retirement, it could be well worth it though.
- curun1r 9y agoYou can go to developing countries. The health care I received in Southeast Asia was quite good and the full cost was significantly less than just the co-pays on my plan in the US. Thailand has a retirement visa that allows for 6-month stays and you can live quite comfortably there for under $20k/yr.
- incompatible 9y agoThat's an interesting visa, although the monthly income requirement of THB 65,000 would be beyond me.
- eatbitseveryday 9y ago65,000 THB = 1,885.17 USD That is 37,760 USD / year. Too much? edit: Whoops, should be 22,622.04 USD / year
- incompatible 9y agoYeah, I make nowhere near that much as a retiree.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- gozur88 9y agoI'm sure care is adequate in many developing countries if you get the clap or get injured in a car accident. But I'm skeptical you're likely to get as good cardiac or oncology care.
- imgabe 9y agoOr just die when you're old? Maybe that sounds harsh, but being bedridden for 12 years doesn't sound like any idea of a good life to me. The old die to make way and free up resources for the young. That's the way it's supposed to work.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- astrodust 9y agoSomeone's a fan of Logan's Run. Enjoy your manadatory execution when you're forty you old bastard.
- msabalau 9y agoAs I recall, the age of execution in the film was thirty, in the original novel it was 21.
- smnplk 9y agoOh, didn't see your reply. Nice to know about the novel, need to check that out.
- imgabe 9y agoFalse dichotomy. There's a pretty big difference between dying after having a stroke that leaves you permanently disabled in your 70s vs. mandatory execution of healthy 40-year-olds.
- undersuit 9y agoAnd you're trusting someone else to make that decision.
- r00fus 9y agoWe should enable a culture where people are free to make that decision for themselves. California and several other US states allow for this - not sure about internationally. I wouldn't want to live on life support. I'd rather my wife/kids get a nice (well managed) trust fund for the remaining savings and just go in peace early.
- ssambros 9y ago> The trick is to move to a country with proper healthcare The trick is to move to a country [where taxpayers are going to pay for your medical care]. Nice plan. Several people in this thread already noted that there are ways to make American taxpayer pay, without having to move.
- pvaldes 9y agoOr press to build a proper healthcare in your country
- csomar 9y agoIf everyone does that, then it no longer works.
- cvwright 9y agoThat's not necessarily the only option. Long-term care insurance claims to address this problem. (Whether it actually does or not, I'm not qualified to answer.)
- ams6110 9y agoBased on first hand experience... They will find a reason to not pay. Don't waste your money on LTC insurance.
- astrodust 9y agoAny time "insurance" is involved, be prepared to say goodbye to a good portion of your own health and sanity as you end up fighting with them over every little detail. Honestly, the best argument for single payer is all of that bullshit is gone.
- was_boring 9y agoI'm currently in a similar situation about what to do with an elderly relative with dementia who is currently in limbo after the last relative taking care of him died. The best moral option is to take guardianship and look after him. The best financial decision is to "divorce" from the situation and let the state take care of him so I have a chance of my wife and I being able to retire and saving for the kid's education expenses. It's a crazy system the U.S. has.
- martin1975 9y agoYou know the Golden rule, no? It's as true as 2+2=4.
- laughfactory 9y agoHe who has the gold makes the rules?
- navbaker 9y agoAre you leaving the proof to the reader as an exercise?
- martin1975 9y agoYou got it. When people ask for proof, I always laugh.. cause they already know it :). And if they don't, it's the easiest thing to prove. But with humans, I find that reminding them to do the right thing is a constant necessity...
- squozzer 9y agoA certain fictional character named O'Brien might have a problem with your assertion.
- duck 9y agoSome what relevant: http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/ideas/nexus/ http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die...
- luckman212 9y agoCan you elaborate on this? How exactly do you convert medical expenses to debt? Who assumes these debts when you pass away?
- cko 9y agoUnfortunately, this is probably the best hack. Put assets in some kind of trust, then have the American taxpayer pay for those expensive last years. I am a pharmacist at a long term care pharmacy, and assisted livings in my area charge up to $8000 a month. Their model seems to be 1. Drain your assets until you qualify for Medicaid, 2. Move you from your private suite to a slightly shittier shared room. I believe Medicaid pays around $3000 a month. And that's only for a place to sleep and a med tech or patient care assistant be on site 24/7. Many of these places don't have nurses after 8pm. Do you want employees to give you your mess? How about an extra $500 a month? All that money doesn't get you superior results. I talk to some of the more coherent patients all the time on the phone. The lonelier ones keep me on the line for longer. I can't help but think there is a better model.
- cko 9y agoEDIT: employees to give you your meds
- mgiannopoulos 9y agoI was surprised to see that the article hardly mentions the logical fear of huge medical bills that are quite frequent in the US.