How Do Retirees Cope with Uninsured Health Care Costs?

By Mary Helen Gillespie

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College offers analysis on how older Americans contend with uninsured and unexpected medical costs. The key findings are:

Long-term care (LTC) costs are generally not well insured, posing a significant risk for older households as they age.

Using new survey data, the analysis compares what respondents say they would do if LTC costs exceeded their resources to what people like them actually do.

The key results are:

Many plan to rely on Medicaid, but, in reality, only a small fraction will meet its strict eligibility criteria.

In contrast, people do not expect to tap home equity, but typically end up doing so.

Among those who do need LTC services, few find it necessary to move in with their children, but they do expect to leave them less money.