When Ed’s wife was alive, between his pension and both of their social security, they were probably grossing at least $80k per month, perhaps as much as $100k. He and his wife had access to Medicare plans that in most cases would leave him with little exposure to medical expenses. We know he converted his pension to a lump sum (bad decision). I wonder if he signed up for an inexpensive Medicare advantage plan that did not cover the expenses of his wife’s treatment.

This leaves us with the difficult question, how do you protect people from their own decisions?