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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 31, 2008 - 06:41pm PT
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I know we're not supposed to discuss things that belong to the sacred realm of the professional but this is an issue that our parents face and we will face.
Most retired peoples insurance doesn't cover dental care and neither does medicare. My Dad is a combat vet but the VA doesn't cover it either except in the problems started in the service.
Independent dental insurance often won't insure the elderly and inexpensive discount plans are available in limited localities.
HSA, medical savings plans could reduce elderly people's expenses but you're not eligible if you are on Medicare (which doesn't cover dental)
What are the old folks supposed to do? My mom got a tooth pulled from an oral surgeon last week and the bill was $1500!
Am I missing something. I like to find out info to help my folks but I'm stumped. At least you can think to plan ahead for this aspect of your retirement if you haven't thought of it. (Getting an HSA now could save you money when you no longer have dental insurance and don't qualify for an HSA in the future because you're on medicare)
Peace
Karl
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Indianclimber
climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 31, 2008 - 07:02pm PT
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I know a lot of elderly people going to Mexico for all their dental
needs,the bordertowns have as many dentists as pharmacies both at a third of the cost.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Jul 31, 2008 - 07:54pm PT
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do the candidates for pres have this issue in their plan?
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Moof
Big Wall climber
A cube at my soul sucking job in Oregon
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Jul 31, 2008 - 07:59pm PT
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$1500 seems steep for a tooth pull. I'm guessing there's more to the story. Was there special stuff about the tooth (broken root?), or did she need to get sedated? If she had to go to an oral surgeon instead of a normal dentist, it had to be something moderately special.
These days $1500 just isn't that much. Maybe the real lesson here is to make sure you hit retirement with enough savings to be able to take care of yourself and your expenses without expecting the state (medicare) to cover the little crap ($1500 is small on the scale of outrageous medical charges).
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Jul 31, 2008 - 08:15pm PT
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"$1500 is small on the scale of outrageous medical charges."
Having a tooth pulled is small on the scale of crap one has to have done, too!
Honestly, I don't know how on earth average people are going to manage with the skyrocketing cost of living. wages aren't keeping up and those on fixed incomes are really stuck.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 31, 2008 - 08:55pm PT
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My Folks have spent 10s of thousands on dental work in the past few years. $1500 for an extraction was just an example. Fortunately, they have decent pensions from school teaching and saved.
Took 45 minutes and included x-rays and follow up but she went to the oral surgeon because she was considering an implant and they used anesthesia.
Peace
Karl
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jstan
climber
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Jul 31, 2008 - 10:12pm PT
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Some friends have been having dental work done in Mexico. They say the equipment looks more modern than you see in the US and many of the practitioners were trained in the US. And the service is better. Implants require one make more than one trip but that may still be worth looking into.
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| Messages 1 - 7 of total 7 in this topic |
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