If you have commercial health insurance, be it a Medicare Advantage plan, a state health exchange plan or an employer plan, and you are struggling to budget for your health care, you’re not...
Diane Archer
Visiting the doctor costs even more than you think
Many of us not yet on Medicare visit the doctor in fear of the sizeable bill we will owe, even if only for the deductible or the copay. But, a Harvard Medical School study shows that if you add in...
Should we treat aging as a disease?
Experts disagree as to whether aging is simply a natural process or we should treat it as a disease. If aging is seen as a diseases, we should be looking for ways to treat it. Not surprisingly, the...
Opioid deaths on the rise
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warns of the dangers of opioids. Last year opioid pain relievers and heroin alone were responsible for some 47,000 deaths in the United...
What’s a Guaranteed Retirement Account?
We all need to be saving for retirement. But, the options for many of us are slim. Some of us have 401(k) plans, which have their own limitations. Labor economist, Teresa Ghilarducci proposes...
To save money on drugs, avoid chain pharmacies
A Consumer Reports investigative report reveals that to save money on drugs, you may want to avoid chain pharmacies. Pharmacies such as CVS, RiteAid and Walgreens sometimes charge as much as 10...
Be sure to get your cancer screenings
Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control reveals that we need to do a better job of getting cancer screening tests. Screenings for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer were below targets...
How to prevent elder abuse
Elder abuse is a serious problem that takes many forms. According to Brown University professor Dr. Richard Besdine, it can mean physical, mental or sexual harm and financial exploitation. It can...
Will your health plan cover the drugs you need?
Health plans often make it hard for people to know which drugs they cover before they sign up for the plan and even harder to find out what out-of-pocket costs will be for a particular drug. Yet...
Claiming Social Security benefits early disproportionately hurts...
A GAO report analyzing the characteristics of people who claim Social Security benefits early raises two questions that deserve far more attention than they get: 1. Should people claiming Social...