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A new survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute® confirms what many of us already suspected – inflation can be bad for your health, especially in retirement. According to the survey, inflation is forcing Americans to delay medical care and downgrade health insurance. In fact, more than half of respondents (59 percent) say they lack confidence in their ability to pay for health care costs as they age.inflation and healthcaregetty
Healthcare in an Inflationary Environment.
The relationship between inflation and healthcare in retirement is particularly acute, and inflation’s pain can be both direct and subtle. While it obviously hits the pocketbook hard, it can also lead to unhealthy healthcare decisions.
The direct cost of inflation. Americans are already underestimating the average cost of healthcare in retirement. As the Nationwide survey reveals, adults estimate they will pay an average of $55,000 when the actual cost for an individual was almost triple that at $172,000. Inflation will only exacerbate this problem. For example, the 2024 Medicare premiums and costs were released by CMS on Oct. 12, and they include an increase for both Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles. In fact, the Medicare Part B monthly premiums are expected to increase by six percent in 2024 while the Social Security cost of living raise is only 3.2 percent. That translates to a minimal increase in net Social Security payments for many senior citizens. And affluent Americans are not immune to this problem. According to the survey, two thirds of adults age 50+ with investable assets of at least $250,000 say they are “terrified” at what health care costs may do to their retirement plans.
Delayed care. Many retirees are putting off needed medical care in order to avoid the deductibles and co-pays involved with Medicare. This is borne out by th …
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