Medical expenses post-retirement rising rapidly

In a recent article at the LA Times, they look at the troubling increase that couples retiring are going to have to face when they retire and turn to Medicare for insurance. Medicare will only pay 1/2 the medical fees, which is currently in jeopardy due to the increasing number of retirees. Fidelity estimated that a couple moving into retirement this year will have to have saved $240,000 to cover medical expenses. This counts on the man living 17 years and the woman 20, as well as their companies not providing insurance. Over the 7 years that Fidelity has been conducting this study, expenses have risen 50%.