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Money Management and the Soaring Costs of Health Care - A Serious Concern for Retirees and SeniorsOn Sunday, May 18, 2008, The Chicago Tribune examined how easy it is for senior citizens living on fixed incomes to go over their monthly budget, especially with the high costs of gasoline, food, prescription drugs, and housing. Experts agree that seniors who depend on payments from Social Security, pensions, and money from their own personal savings accounts cannot possibly keep up with the rising rate of inflation. Due to trying to keep up with the costs of prescription drugs and health care payments not covered by insurance companies and the main senior insurer, Medicare, many retirees now have more debt than they have ever had in their entire lives. Several groups, including the Legal Aid Society and AARP, have responded to this problem by offering programs to help retirees and seniors experiencing financial difficulties. AARP spokesperson, David Irwin, said, "Seniors with tight incomes are getting hit even harder than everyone else. When you look at retirees and what insurance companies have done with senior health care plans, more costs are being paid out of the pocket of these retirees, especially with pension plans slipping away." Supervising attorney for Debt Counsel for Seniors and the Disabled, Jerome Lamet, said seniors are being targeted with pre-approved credit card solicitations because companies believe seniors will not default on payment. ![]() |