6mo ago

Some baby boomers are burning through their retirement savings to pay for cancer treatments. Then they have to go back to work.

www.businessinsider.com

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6mo ago

Some baby boomers are burning through their retirement savings to pay for cancer treatments. Then they have to go back to work.

www.businessinsider.com /retirement-savings-medical-costs-baby-boomers-paying-for-cancer-treatment-2024-9

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6mo ago

Some baby boomers are burning through their retirement savings to pay for cancer treatments. Then they have to go back to work.

www.businessinsider.com /retirement-savings-medical-costs-baby-boomers-paying-for-cancer-treatment-2024-9

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9mo ago

Some baby boomers are burning through their retirement savings to pay for cancer treatments. Then they have to go back to work.

www.businessinsider.com /retirement-savings-medical-costs-baby-boomers-paying-for-cancer-treatment-2024-9

65 comments

As a millennial that went bankrupt and lost their house because of medical bills I have to ask. First time?
- Don't ya see? It wasn't a problem until it affected them personally. "Something, something avocado toast."
  
  Pre-ACA it was even worse. Watch Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko".
  
  Fair point, but don't forget that the culture war is here to distract us from the class war.
- I'm going to go to the doctor for the first time in 20 years in 2025. Am frightened.
  
  It's why I didn't go for 15. I didn't want a "preexisting condition"
Even with insurance, medical payments were hundreds of thousands of dollars each month.
Jesus. My father died of lymphoma after fighting it for 8 years or so, and he was miserable for a lot of that time. Luckily (if you can call it that), he was a military veteran and the VA took care of the treatment, but even with the treatment, his quality of life wasn't good. If I get cancer, I'd rather just kill myself before it reaches that point than bankrupt my family. It's pretty fucked that that's something we have to think about.
- Ahh but that’s why they sell you life insurance, so you won’t kill yourself and the family can use the payout to pay off your medical debt. Maybe. Ain’t capitalism grand?
- he was a military veteran and the VA took care of the treatment
  Project 2025 is putting an end to that.
For all the shit everybody gives Boomers, I'm pretty sure the majority of them are also poor and working class. There's just a lot more wealth at the top, or the "top" is bigger.
- I think it's more about the stereotypical Boomer attitude than their wealth. The whole "I worked hard at the gas station and saved up and bought my house in 1974 for $20,000, so I don't see why all of you younger people are having such a hard time" thing.
  Like I said, stereotypical, but it transcends economic status.
  Even many poor, working class people of that age own their homes after all.
  
  The other half of it is, the older generations tend heavily towards being Republicans. So even if they aren't rich, they're still voting for this.
  
  Even many poor, working class people of that age own their homes after all.
  It's not JUST that houses were cheaper. It's also that they've had the >= 30 years of working to pay off their mortgage.
- It's culture war to distract us from the class war.
  
  ding, ding, ding! This!
- Slavery!
  You'll never worry about money again!
Maybe if they didn’t elect all the representatives against single payer healthcare they wouldn’t have to worry about it.
- Agreed. Next step: Get those punk muther fuckers out of there.
This is just another culture war to distract everyone from the class war.
- Even though I'd pointed out the same about another article, I was triggered by this one and you brought me back around. Thanks!
  Why should illness block your retirement? Healthcare is a human right.
My retired neighbor moved a few months ago crying about this.
Said their property tax is too expensive and they cant afford living in this area with their med expenses.
- Let me guess, voted R since the 1980s
  
  Even if they didn’t, they aided and abetted friends that did
I don't have good line of sight into what happens outside of the US, but are cancer treatments unlimited for those in single payer systems? Even if the person requires treatment for years? Just wondering how it works (forgive my ignorance)!
- Yes, but the treatments don't cost as much to the government/taxpayer, since medications aren't inflated to the moon since insurance is supposed to pay.
- Yea, that's kinda the point.
  No worries about medical debt.
  Mostly. Sometimes you can still get screwed by things that aren't covered like prosthetics.
  
  Sometimes you can still get screwed by things that aren't covered like prosthetics.
  Well prosthetics usually have bullshit coverage requirements, if any coverage, with the US system as well.
  
  In Australia with the NDIS prosthetics etc are covered. So are other items related to disability. Eg shower chairs, home modifications, crutches, consumables eg special soap etc.
  
  In Australia with the NDIS prosthetics etc are covered. So are other items related to disability. Eg shower chairs, home modifications, crutches, consumables eg special soap etc.
- It depends on the country, but healthcare is much cheaper and simpler everywhere else in the developed world than in the US. We live in a corporate dystopia.
- Sort of.
  I live in New Zealand, so this is hyper specific to how our healthcare system is set up, other countries will have radically different systems.
  The way it works in NZ is that all hospital visits are free, and all medicine dispensed within the hospital are free. Visits to your GP are free if you are under 16, over 65 or pregnant. Medicines prescribed by your GP have a price cap ($100NZ/year/person iirc), as long as they are on the "Pharmac" list.
  The 2 main caveats to this:
  Hospitals don't have infinite capacity. If you need non-acute treatment (ie, you aren't going to suffer serious harm by not getting treated immediately), you could easily be waiting a year to see a specialist
  Pharmac. The way the government ensures that drug prices stay affordable is by giving a government agency a big chunk of cash, and telling them to use it to buy the drugs that are going to have the best "bang for the buck", and use the bulk purchase negotiating power to get as good a price as possible - hospitals pretty much exclusively prescribe Pharmac drugs because they don't have the budget to buy anything else. This means that in general, if you've got something common, the drugs you'll need will probably be on the Pharmac list and you'll not have to pay anything, but if it's rare, or you want a newer more expensive treatment, or you just get unlucky and need a drug that Pharmac doesn't cover you can be in a really hard spot.
  Private medical insurance does exist, and is pretty much there to let you "skip the queue" - there are private hospitals not funded by the government that employ their own specialists (who typically also work in the public system) - or to fund drugs that Pharmac won't. Is fairly common in mid-end white collar jobs (especially finance and tech) to have private insurance paid for by your employer, but is pretty much just there for "what if I get an exotic cancer" or "what if I fuck up my knee and don't want to have to wait a few months for surgery". My wife needed her gall bladder removed a couple of years ago, and we just used the public hospital even though we do have insurance that might have paid for private - the public system is excellent for 95% of things.
  
  This is a great explainer but I do want to let you know I chuckled at "mid-end".
  
  If you need non-acute treatment (ie, you aren’t going to suffer serious harm by not getting treated immediately), you could easily be waiting a year to see a specialist
  This is also true in the U.S. entirely for-profit healthcare system. I had to wait over 9 months just to get an appointment with a new neurologist when my previous one retired.
  It's also something that a lot of Republicans claim is a problem in countries with socialized medicine but not in the U.S., which always gets a derisive laugh from me.
  
  Thanks for this! Starting to get my head around it 😃
- I mean, it isn't cancer, but I have a family member that will need IVIG infusions every 2 weeks for the rest of their life (25+ years). Here they are ~$10k each one. I know it is like 1/3 of the price outside the US, but would something costly like that be covered without limitations?
  (I'm just curious how things tactically work out)
  Edit: I realize that my perspective is a very US consumer one. We feel entitled to whatever we can pay for (and when it's free, like a buffet, it can be a lot). It is a pretty big mind shift to move from whatever you want to pay for even if it isnt practical to what you need. Anyhoo, this got me thinking and adjusting my expectations. 😃
Capitalism working wonderfully
- As intended. Have to suck these people dry before they die. Would be a shame if they had inheritance money to give back to their family.
Maybe they should have voted for universal healthcare.
Unfortunately the bankruptcy rate for cancer survivors after 2 years jumps to around half.
- ...in America.
Having trouble feeling super compassionate. An abundance of luck and good market circumstances combined with a once in a lifetime fluke led to my ownership of a house. I have no illusions that I'll ever actually be able to really retire.
My friends aren't as lucky. Their rent is more than double my mortgage. They're going to be working till death for sure.
It's okay though, we've gotta do something to support those quarterly profits, right?
The piss poor US healthcare system is the number cause of personal bankruptcy. I do not know of any prominent US politicians that wants to extinguish the massive dumpster fire. If you voted for Putin's Sock Puppet, the GOP and Project 2025, I have zero sympathy for your asses. Your fucking grocery prices somewhat valid, but none of you MAGAt fuckers mentioned the rising cost of healthcare which outpaces everything in the USA.
Oh Canada, our smart boomers are coming for your healthcare
Not if they do the funniest thing.
- turn into a pickle?
I met one the other day, she apologized for wearing a mask at work, but her immune system was vulnerable because of chemo.
- Why the fuck would someone apologize for wearing a mask? What a dumb world we live in.
It’s almost impossible to retire.
Say 1.5 million in retirement savings earning 5% making $75,000 year.
According to AARP the average cost of cancer treatment is $150k, so some is less, some is more. Hope you get the “less” side, but if not…
There goes all your income. Unless you start withdrawing the principal. If you do, and survive, now your income is reduced.
$1.5 million, looking at the American financial landscape, is not a number most Americans are going to have when they reach retirement age.
Good
Why? Fucking idiots.
All they gotta do is simply not pay and ignore the debt collectors. They're Boomers, which means that they already own a house and paid off their car. What do they need a good credit score for? They already won at life.
Seriously, just ignore medical debt. I do it all the time. Hospitals can't deny treatment if you don't pay.
- Are you sure that includes oncology? I thought it was just emergency rooms.
  
  Correct

65 comments