Latest news with #Morton
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What Medicare doesn't pay for becomes hefty debt for millions of seniors
Connie Morton's husband died last November. The cause: complications from Parkinson's disease, which he had been living with for 18 years. 'During that time, there were multiple medical costs not covered by Medicare,' the Colonial Beach, Va., resident told Yahoo Finance. 'We paid what we could. For the last nine years of his life, he could no longer work. I became his caretaker, and we survived on Social Security and some help from his kids.' A growing number of retirees, like Morton, are grappling with healthcare debt due to medical bills. Medicare, which provides health insurance coverage to more than 66 million people, covers the lion's share of the cost of medical care, but not all. On average, a 65-year-old who left the workforce last year may need $165,000 in savings to cover out-of-pocket healthcare expenses throughout retirement. Earlier this year, Morton broke her ankle. 'That also added up to significant hospital bills,' she said. The combination of medical bills not covered by Medicare for the retired couple: roughly $90,000. 'I'm at a point now where I can't keep my house because the bills are much too high,' Morton said. 'I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do.' One in 10 people age 65 or older with healthcare debt owe $10,000 or more, according to a KFF study. 'That is a shocking number,' said Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of KFF. 'Some of it is credit card debt, some of it is just debt owed to a healthcare provider or a hospital. Some of it is debt to other family members.' Consider that half of all people on Medicare live on about $35,000 or less, Neuman added. 'So a $10,000 bill, or $10,000 worth of medical debt, can really be unaffordable for people and have serious consequences.' The bills that lead to the debt typically include routine healthcare services such as lab fees and diagnostic tests, dental care, and visits to the doctor, and long-term care services not covered by Medicare, according to KFF. Medicare often requires patients to pay out of pocket around 20% of their doctor bills. 'In-home care for people who are unable to take care of themselves and don't have family members that can drop everything to be there 24/7, is particularly big,' she added. 'It's a variety of healthcare expenses that can pile up and lead to medical debt.' One of the biggest culprits of credit card debt is out-of-pocket medical costs. The amount that people borrow increases dramatically with age. Half of adults 50 and older who report borrowing money to pay for healthcare in the past 12 months borrowed approximately $3,000 or more, according to a new West Health-Gallup healthcare survey. In contrast, the median amount was $750 for adults aged 30-49 and $300 for young adults aged 18-29. 'People often have higher healthcare expenses as they age, for things like dental, vision care, prescription medication, and doctor visits,' said Lori Trawinski, AARP's senior director of finance and employment. 'In many cases, healthcare costs are often charged on credit cards, which can lead to carrying that debt from month to month,' she said. That's real trouble. Anyone who has rolled over credit card balances is keenly aware of the debt that accrues when you can only pay the minimum on credit cards with interest rates topping 20%. Troubling, too, is that many people on Medicare say that they or another member of their household have delayed, skipped, or sought alternatives to needed healthcare or prescription medications due to costs, KFF found. Read more: The best ways to pay off credit card debt Anqi Chen, co-author of a brief from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, recently surveyed retirees with $100,000 in investable assets. 'They were largely unprepared for a medical shock,' she learned. One driver is that traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage do not cover the cost of long-term care in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. An apartment in an assisted-living facility had an average rate of $74,148 a year in 2024, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care — and costs go up as residents age and need more care. Units for dementia patients can run more than $94,000. 'If these shocks are big enough, they can devastate a household's finances,' Chen said. 'About 80% of those ages 65 and over will require some long-term care, with nearly 20% requiring high-intensity care for more than three years.'Here are some moves that can help you manage your money and avoid medical debt. Plan for healthcare expenses It's important to make healthcare costs a part of your budget and factor potential unexpected healthcare costs in your emergency fund, said Carolyn McClanahan, a certified financial planner and physician. Medicare's online searchable Plan Finder on the site allows you to review plan options. If you have a limited income, you might be eligible for Medicare's Extra Help, which covers Part D premiums and deductibles and caps drug costs. And for now, free one-on-one counseling is available through state Health Insurance Assistance Programs. Read more: What is an emergency savings fund? Don't be shy If you're having issues affording your care, ask your doctor if there is anything more cost-effective, such as changing medications or going to other facilities for testing, McClanahan said. 'And make sure you understand why your doctor is ordering tests and what they plan to do with the information. Sometimes they order tests based on 'protocol' and aren't really needed,' she added. Consult a financial adviser If you have a health shock, your financial adviser can help with a plan by reviewing your overall assets, cash flow, liquidity, and where you can rebalance investments to free up cash to cover future bills. Build a health savings account (HSA) If you're retiring soon, maximizing HSA contributions can be a smart move. An HSA lets you put money in on a tax-free basis, lets that money build up tax-free, and lets it come out tax-free for qualified healthcare expenses. (Some states assess state taxes.) In order to put money into an HSA, you must be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan. In those plans, you pay a lower premium per month than other types of health insurance plans, but a heftier annual deductible. Read more: HSA contribution limits for 2025: Here's how much you can save Check your credit report Get a free copy of your credit reports from In January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that bans the inclusion of medical bills on credit reports used by lenders and prohibits lenders from using medical information in their lending decisions Each of the three big credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and Transunion — provides these free once a year. Check for accuracy and be certain that it does not include medical debt. If you see a mistake, contact the credit bureau to report it and get it removed. Read more: 6 benefits of a good credit score Scrutinize medical bills and negotiate if need be Ask for a line-item list of charges from your providers. Mistakes happen. It might be possible to set up a low-interest payment plan with the hospital or medical provider. Credit card issuers might also lower your interest rate if you have a good track record of timely payments before the medical crisis. Tap retirement accounts If you're over 59½, you can pull from your tax-deferred accounts penalty-free, although you will pay tax on the amount you withdraw. For many people, this is a speedy way to eliminate debt. However, it comes with a red-light caveat: Using your retirement accounts to whittle down debt depletes your retirement savings, and you miss out on the possibility of returns on those invested dollars. Work with a counselor A nonprofit credit counselor may also be able to negotiate with your credit card issuers if your medical debt is part of a credit card balance. You will pay a fee for the service. The Justice Department website provides a list of approved credit counseling agencies. One source to get started: National Foundation for Credit Counseling Declare bankruptcy No one really wants to go there. But if there's no relief in sight for your medical debt, this can be a do-over. A bankruptcy attorney can walk through the details with you. In general, retirement accounts are off the table during bankruptcies under federal law. Pensions, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, SEP-IRAs, and qualified profit-sharing plans are exempt from creditors. Traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts worth up to roughly $1.7 million are also protected. Social Security payments are also exempt. Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including the forthcoming "Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future," "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work" and "Never Too Old to Get Rich." Follow her on Bluesky. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Partick Thistle announce Mark Wilson as new manager
The former Celtic defender was previously the interim co-boss, alongside Brian Graham, towards the end of last season. Despite Graham's discussions with club chiefs, he opted not to continue as manager due to reservations. Morton boss Dougie Imrie was also in the frame, but a statement confirmed his commitment to Morton. Wilson is now set to lead the Jags into the new season. Read more: 'I'd love to see Greg Taylor stay' - Former Celt makes Hoops claim West Ham set to sign Celtic wonderkid He told the club's website: "I am really pleased to be the head coach at Partick Thistle and I cannot wait to get started. "It is going to be a busy summer but one I am looking forward to." Chairman Richard Beastall acknowledged fans' frustration over the delayed announcement. He said: "We fully appreciate that supporters will feel frustrated it has taken us longer than we anticipated to make this announcement, particularly as there has been a great deal of speculation throughout the course of this week. "However, it is important that a thorough recruitment and interview process was carried out, and that public announcements are not made until contracts have been negotiated and paperwork signed." The club considered candidates with varying levels of managerial experience. However, the role of head coach is distinct from that of manager. Beastall explained: "A head coach will lead training, set the tactics, be responsible for squad development and play a part in the player recruitment decision-making process. "They won't be directly involved in contract negotiation which will be led by our sporting director, Ian Baraclough." Wilson's knowledge and commitment to promoting talent, as well as his leadership on the training pitch, in the dressing room, and during matches, were key factors in his appointment. Beastall added: "We held both preliminary conversations and formal interviews with a number of candidates and we believe Mark is the best fit for Partick Thistle. "It was always clear to us throughout the process that Mark was an integral part of our future aspirations."
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
How an admin error became an existential crisis for Morton
It was announced on May 1st, one day before their final fixture with Dunfermline Athletic, that Morton had been slapped with a Fifa-imposed transfer embargo. This came after the Championship side failed to submit documentation to the governing body regarding the transfer of Jack Bearne which stated that Liverpool had waived their right to a compensation fee. It was reported that efforts to contact Morton were sent to the email of a former director instead of the club. Onlooking rival supporters, even some Morton fans, had a good laugh about it and everyone assumed that would be the end of it. Instead, it's created a chain reaction which has led to a crucial vote which could massively affect the future of the club. I'll try to be as succinct as possible in laying out the background in all of this. Morton are a fan-owned club but, similarly to Hearts and Motherwell, they are not fan run. There is the MCT (Morton Club Together) board and there is the Greenock Morton Football Club board (GMFC). MCT own 90 per cent of the club's shares. They have two representatives on the GMFC board. The problem is that neither of them told MCT about the embargo, which had been in place since mid-March. So the owners of the club only found out about it at the same time as the general public. This, understandably, caused a lot of consternation among MCT and the fanbase at large. It was felt the position of the two representatives had become untenable and they were asked to resign. When they didn't, MCT board members resigned in protest. Now let's introduce another player in this sorry mess: Dalrada. Founded by Brian Bonar, born in Greenock, the American-headquartered financial corporation has been the stadium and front-of-shirt sponsor since 2022 and has put around £1 million into the club over three years. However, it has been reported that payments were missed earlier this year, roughly around the time it was reported that Dalrada's stock price had plummeted. They've stepped between the warring board factions and offered a new sponsorship package of £540,000 per season, a not insignificant increase on the roughly £333,000 they've been spending already. So what's the problem? Well, two things. One, they want a seven-person GMFC board to be made up of two Dalrada representatives, two MCT members and three others who are agreed upon by all parties. The club's articles of association currently state that MCT representatives should always represent a majority on the board. And secondly, they insist the two current MCT representatives remain in place (though later stated through a Q&A that one of them would be a Dalrada representative) along with chairman John Laird, who isn't on the board but is another who has been called on to resign after the transfer embargo mess. A vote on the proposal will be tallied after the deadline next Tuesday. Fans who are MCT members have to decide whether to accept the proposal of a fresh sponsorship deal, with the existing one expiring later this summer, but at the cost of the fans giving up at least some control of the club. Not everyone is against the proposal. First of all, without Dalrada's sponsorship, at this late stage, Morton would be severely impacted financially ahead of next season and would likely have to go part-time or adopt an aggressive hybrid model to avoid financial disaster. They would therefore be expected to struggle mightily at a time when they're looking upwards at potential promotion under the guidance of the excellent Dougie Imrie. Secondly, many are happy to take Dalrada at their word when they say they're only interested in giving back to the local community by propping up the football club. And their only reason for trying to take greater control is that they want to see better governance after the farce witnessed at the end of the season. I doubt very highly that there are too many Morton supporters who will be swayed by what this writer thinks about the situation, but I have to say – this stinks to high heaven. If Dalrada are to be believed and they only want better governance of the club, then why are they insistent on the people essentially responsible staying on in their roles? It's all well and good wanting to know that your investment is in safe hands, but when it's folk who landed the club with a transfer embargo and didn't feel like telling the owners about it, there isn't much evidence to suggest they're the right people for the job. (In the Q&A the reason stated was that they didn't want to derail the promotion push. Aye, sure.) That argument is also undercut by Dalrada's actions themselves with all of this happening in late May/early June. That is no way to prepare for a new Scottish football season with the League Cup only six weeks away. Centre-backs Jack Baird and Morgan Boyes have already left, with the former saying a big reason he bolted for St Johnstone was because he didn't know what was going on with his now-former employers. Even if their proposal is voted through, they'll still be hamstrung next season because they've had a later start at squad building than everyone else. There's also no guarantee that Imrie, who opted to stick with the club yesterday after a flirtation with the Partick Thistle job but remains on the radar of other clubs, is going to stick around through all of this. This is no example of improved governance. Then there's the greatest fear: that Morton could be taken out of the hands of the supporters. The GMFC board cannot sell shares owned by MCT, but they could, in theory, put out a share issue. MCT would have first refusal but fans would have to dig very deep to come up with that kind of money. If they didn't, their stake would be diluted. There's even some suspicious wording in the Q&A where it says if Dalrada ever decided to withdraw from the club then 'it would be expected' that the boardroom set-up would revert back. What kind of guarantee is that? It's very possible that Dalrada are only trying to sort everything out and have went about it in a cack-handed manner. But this is what fan ownership is all about: to be certain that your club is not going to fall into the hands of people who don't have its best interests at heart. Voting yes will elevate some short-term pain, but long-term it's really not worth the risk.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dalrada CEO issues statement to Morton fans as crucial sponsorship vote looms
DALRADA Technology's chief executive has issued a statement to Morton fans as a crucial vote on the company's continued sponsorship of the club looms. In a statement published on the football club's website, Dalrada boss Brian Bonar addressed the members of Morton Club Together (MCT), the club's fan ownership group, and the side's wider fanbase. His comments come as MCT members are set to vote on whether to accept the terms of a new Dalrada sponsorship deal, which could be worth around £700,000. More sport: Morton issue statement on Dougie Imrie's future at club Morton open to offers for one of eight in-contract stars for next season Morgan Boyes seals Morton exit to reunite with teammate at Championship rival Mr Bonar said: 'I wanted to send a message to the MCT members and the wider Morton fanbase regarding the ongoing vote for Dalrada's proposed partnership with the club for the upcoming season. 'Many have asked what's in it for Dalrada and speculated about various motives. 'I can categorically tell you that the only motive I have is to give something back to a community and club I love. "Alongside that I want to see a stable and professionally run operation off the park and it is clear work needs to be done to achieve this." Dalrada's current three-year sponsorship deal, which has seen the company plough more than £1 million into the club since the summer of 2022, is due to come to an end on June 30.
STV News
3 days ago
- Sport
- STV News
Brian Graham rejects offer to become Partick Thistle manager
Brian Graham has turned down the Partick Thistle manager's job after having reservations following the interview process. STV understands Morton boss Dougie Imrie, former Dunfermline manager James McPake and ex-Hereford boss Paul Caddis have also been interviewed for the post. Since Graham turned the job down on Wednesday, STV has learned the club interviewed further candidates and that process is now complete. Veteran striker Graham stood down as manager of Thistle's women's side when he and Mark Wilson were placed in charge as the interim management team following the sacking of Kris Doolan in February. Graham, who has 12 months remaining on his contract as a player, has stated previously he couldn't return to the Jags dressing room unless he was permanent manager. His rejection of the manager's job raises questions over his future at Firhill. Graham and Wilson had guided the team to fourth place in the Championship table but saw their promotion hopes ended by play-off defeat to Livingston. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
