Retirement and Healthcare

My husband and I have developed what we believe is a pretty sound financial plan for retirement . He is 59 and I am 61. The one big issue we've, so far, not been able to figure out is the healthcare, which as some posters have mentioned, could be the most crucial one and put a big dent in the best laid plans!

Regarding this issue, I have made an observation in the past few years that I believe is affecting a lot of people my age. I have been blessed with perfect health most of my life. A few years ago, during a routine physical, I mentioned a minor ailment and was given a medication to control it. Well, it seems the side effects from that medication kicked in, and little by little more medications were added to address even more side effects( anxiety, weight gain, etc.etc.) Now I find myself on several prescription drugs which I deem pretty unnessary, and am slowly trying to ween myself off of them. I've also been to the ER a few times because of these drugs, which resulted in my having mandatory heart and lung scans, which it seems the hospitals routinely do if you go in with any chest pain (mine was gerd) and are over 55. Not only did my insurance company have to pay out thousands of dollars because I was also kept "for observation" on 3 occasions, I was also exposed to needless cat scans, xrays (lots of unnecessary radiation, as one cat scan was botched and had to be repeated!) After all of that, I was deemed perfectly fine!

I have finally learned my lesson, and there will be no more ER visits, (I hope for a long time, as I know my heart is "perfect" as the last cardiologist proclaimed), and will treat the chest pain as indigestion! I am also on a mission to lose weight and get fitter, as I believe this is the key to the majority of ailments most people experience as they get older!

It seems I have been on a roller coaster ride with no end in sight. Ironically, had I not had excellent health insurance, I most likey would have treated that initial minor ailment with an 0TC drug and avoided all of the ramifications!!

My mother is 87 and in excellent health except for dementia. Up until a couple of years ago, she had never taken anything more than an aspirin and has never had any surgeries, been hospitilized for an illness, etc. She did not even go to a doctor for 45 years!!