My So-Called Retirement: Margaritas and Medicare
March 15th, 2010 © by Susan Swartz
Two friends turned 65 and threw themselves a Medicare birthday party. We drank margaritas, played bocce ball and frolicked long past our bedtimes. It was hard to imagine our friends being 65. Or any of us ageless agile people who all looked gorgeous by candlelight.
But that’s what happens. You look up one day and you’re old enough for Medicare. Which makes being 65 something to shout about. At least loud enough to put your age on a government document and celebrate with sympathetic contemporaries. It means you have made it to the finish line. At least one of them. You can stop worrying about health insurance.
It’s not exactly the same thrill as being old enough to take your driver’s test or vote or order a drink. But it’s a definite rite of passage. Sixty five – the new 21. Bring on the black balloons.
I remember being at a dinner party a few years ago and realizing that our conversation had been dominated by deductibles, COBRA and pre-existing conditions. When did health insurance get to be so sexy, I asked the silver-haired marvel on my right.
Back then we griped about employers switching to health plans that didn’t include our long-time family doctor. We talked about co-pays going up. About sticking with a job just for the benefits. Things weren’t as grim as they are now, but the concern was starting to creep in that something a lot of us had taken for granted all our working lives was eroding.
Sixty five – the new 21. Bring on the black balloons.
Now that health insurance has turned into a huge, slippery pile of lies, threats and insecurity, you can turn 65 and be glad to be over that particular hill. No more worrying that you’ll lose your coverage. And the doctor finds something awful which costs bags of gold to fix. And you have to sell your home and move in with the kids.
Bad economic times color one’s perspective on many things. Suddenly it’s not so bad to be getting older. The worst recession in 80 years can make a person grateful to have lived long enough to climb into one or two life boats. Medicare and Social Security may be leaking but at least you’ve got a seat.
Well, at least for the time being. The relief could be brief, because there are mighty forces trying to torpedo the life boats. Opponents of Social Security and Medicare would like to undo both, leave it to individuals to find their own best deals. Critics, including members of Congress, sneer at these government guarantees like they’re some kind of public assistance. They call them entitlements. But wait a minute. Social Security and Medicare are no more entitlements than members of Congress get with their own socialized health insurance, made in the USA.
For us regular people, they’re a return on our long-time investments. We’ve had money taken from our pay checks for Medicare and Social Security ever since we started working. It’s been our deal with the government, that there’d be this sure thing when we needed it.
Not that it’s enough. You have to buy a supplement if you want more than bare bones Medicare. And Social Security is a nice allowance but you can’t live on it. Most people expect to also rely on their greater savings, investments and pension. But look what’s happened to them. No sure thing there, either. Plenty of retirees turn around and go back to work.
When I asked in a bookstore for books on retirement the clerk, in gray ponytail and Birkenstocks, said, “Who can afford to retire?” I’m starting to worry that he might be right. Maybe we need to change the lyrics in the song from, “I hope I die before I get old,” to “I hope I die before I go broke.”
Susan Swartz is an author and journalist in Sebastopol. You can also read her at www.juicytomatoes.com and hear her Another Voice commentary on KRCB-FM radio on Fridays. Email is susan@juicytomatoes.com
Tags: boomers, Juicy_Tomatoes, Medicare, retirement, Social_Security, Susan_Swartz
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March 16th, 2010 at 7:53 am
Thank goodness for the National Health Service!! I was born in 1947, just before the introduction in 1948 so have no experience of how it must have been without such an institution. One however that so many people in England take for granted and sometimes abuse. I spent most of my career in the NHS and was always amazed by the numbers of people who don’t turn up for booked appointments, who request home visits for minor complaints and who demand packets of over the counter pain killers on prescription because they don’t pay prescription charges – only a few examples.
Although criticised on occasions the NHS has continued to deliver an excellent service for many citizens – especially in urgent and emergency situations. No one asks us for credit card or insurance details before we get treatment. (Does this really happen when you having a heart attack in the States?)
We are told the NHS remains a priority for investment but the lack of funding under previous Conservative governments was minimal leading to poorly maintained facilities and long waiting times.Waiting times have fallen dramatically under our current government. Some years ago a patient phoned me and asked if it was true that he would receive his hip replacement within 6 months – he had waited 7 years for one under our previous regime. Waiting times for many are now even shorter.
Health care is so important for all of us and often a source of anxiety and worry when we get older. We have an automatic right to free health care whether we pay taxes of not. I have no concept of how it must be to fall ill and be unable to get the treatment I need unless I have paid into a state or individual insurance system.
March 16th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Thanks so much for this post. I turn 65 in three days! I will continue working for awhile since my social security retirement age is 66 and so I won’t access Medicare for now. I am hoping that SS and medicare will be available next year. The most exciting thing about this birthday is the fact that I now qualify for a senior discount bus pass! Honestly I really am excited about this – and look forward to using the bus as much as possible!
March 16th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Bring on the black balloons, I like that image in most ways though don’t know if they’re too kind of thick and dark, but then I never have been one for butterlies and smiley faces either. I just had a ‘complete’ physical in the new medicare era–you don’t get the usual annual stuff unless something’s wrong. Basically, my doc looked at the computer rather than me, didn’t know much about me really.
March 17th, 2010 at 6:32 am
there certainly are some mighty forces opposing universal health care. I’ve just seen a couple of documentaries which explain it all very clearly (although they gave me quite a headache).
The Corporation
http://www.thecorporation.com/index.cfm?page_id=10
Capitalism: a Love Story
http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/capitalism-love-story
we need to watch our elected officials very carefully and be sure we know who’s funding their campaigns.
Jacqueline’s comments on the NHS much appreciated! Of course there have been problems, but we really must make a start.
June 29th, 2011 at 4:40 am
I love this article! So many people think once they hit 65 the end is upon them, but it isn’t – they have so much more to do and should enjoy having the time off!