Best Buys for Pharmaceuticals; Retirees Heading Back to Work
COLLINS: If your budget is tight, and whose isn't these days, you may be putting your health in danger in order to save money. "Consumer Reports" says people are not filling prescriptions, skipping doses and even sometimes cutting pills in half. On the "ROAD TO RESCUE," our Elizabeth Cohen is here now with a better way to make ends meet. It's almost like some people are getting a little careless. I mean, they're coming to be their own doctors.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they wouldn't think of it as careless. They would think of it as ways to save money. Pills are really expensive. And so when you don't have the money to pay for them, you try to come up with what you think are smart ways to save money. Really not so smart.</s>COLLINS: Yes, you're changing the dosage.</s>COHEN: Right. You're doing all sorts of things you shouldn't be doing. So let's look at what the "Consumer Reports" survey found. What they found when they polled Americans is that 28 percent of Americans are doing some kind of dangerous cost-cutting measure, they're not filling a prescription, they are skipping dosages. They are cutting pills in half without consulting a doctor. So the question becomes, if you don't have money for the prescription drugs that you need, what do you do? Here are a couple of tips. They're on cnnhealth.com, right now. I'll go over a few of them. Ask for a generic.</s>COLLINS: Yes.</s>COHEN: Always, always, always ask for a generic. It's going to be cheaper. There won't necessarily always be one that you can take, but there might be one. It's worth asking. Also, use the mail order services, buy in bulk, get a 90-day supply for much less. Maybe split your pills. This is a big maybe. The reason for that maybe, there are some pills that should never be split. But if you're taking ten milligrams of something, you can say to your doctor, can you give me a 20 milligram prescription, and then I will split them. It won't always work. But talk to your doctor about it.</s>COLLINS: Because it won't cost more if the dosage is larger.</s>COHEN: Correct. Usually or if they do, it's just a tiny bit more. So it's definitely worth asking. Also find a prescription assistance plan. On cnnhealth.com, we have a link where you can find one that's good. There's a lot of places out there that are waiting to help you find a way to save money on your drugs. So, again, cnnhealth.com.</s>COLLINS: You know, I've had pretty good luck with this, but I don't know that everyone has a doctor who is pretty aware of how much prescription drugs cost. When they go ahead and prescribe them to you.</s>COHEN: Right. The experts I've been talking to say doctors really don't know. They really don't know. For a couple of reasons. One, every patient is different. Some people have insurance, some people don't. Everybody's insurance is a little bit different.</s>COLLINS: Yes.</s>COHEN: So don't rely on your doctor. Don't assume, oh, if it my doctor is handing me a prescription, it must be for the cheapest thing that will work for me.</s>COLLINS: Yes. Right, right.</s>COHEN: No. They don't know.</s>COLLINS: Yes, not always. People have so many concerns, though. I mean, from where to get their prescription drugs, the best health care, all of that. The big questions to little. Where is the best place to go?</s>COHEN: Freeadvicefridays. That's the best place. That's what we're going to be doing tomorrow and every Friday -</s>COLLINS: And it's free.</s>COHEN: It's free. You just have to send us an e-mail. Empoweredpatient@cnn.com on Fridays, we will be asking your questions about how best to take control of your health care. Prescription drugs is just one area. So send that e-mail to empoweredpatient@cnn.com.</s>COLLINS: All right. Very good. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much. And now we are taking on the economy this week. Helping you figure out and handle the financial meltdown that's changing your life. We've got what you need to know to get to get to the tough times successfully. "Road to Rescue," a CNN survival guide. Wall Street's crushing losses. They have taken a big bite out of all of our retirement funds. And it may be retirees who are hurting the most. Some are being forced to go back to work to make ends meet. Here now, our Carol Costello.</s>CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eva Coffey is 60 and back at work. She drives a school bus, and while she enjoys it, it's not what she expected to be doing now. What would your life be right now if everything had gone as planned?</s>EVA COFFEY, RETIRED WORKER: I would have a smile on my face. I would be working at the clinics every day. I would be volunteering at the school every day, and I would just be on a daily basis doing my own thing and having a ball.</s>COSTELLO: In short, Coffey would still be a retired accountant, but she, like a growing number of people between 55 and 65, finds herself on the job again.</s>DANIELLE HOLALND, AARP: Many people have done the right thing. They have saved their money. They've had a plan in place. Yet here they are, going into their golden years, so to speak, and they have to keep working. They have to come back to work. Their retirement plans are kind of upside down.</s>COSTELLO: Like Coffey.</s>COFFEY: This is just my house.</s>COSTELLO: Coffey's retirement account is in free-fall, losing $53,000 so far. Plan B is worrisome, too. Coffey and her husband own two town homes. Their combined value, though is down some $400,000. So what is your goal to rebuild, because, you know, so many people have lost almost half of what was in their retirement fund.</s>COFFEY: That's what we've done.</s>COSTELLO: So you - can you possibly make that up?</s>COFFEY: You can't make it up. But what you can do is, you can minimize your loss.</s>COSTELLO: So, in addition to driving a school bus, Coffey plans to get another part-time job. It won't be easy. According to government statistic, the unemployment rate among people 55 and older is the highest it's been since 1984.</s>COFFEY: Thank you, John.</s>COSTELLO: Still, coffee is doing the right things: Looking for work, and leaving her investments alone.</s>DANIELLE HOLLAND, AARP: The 55 to 60 years old, you will have some time, given the markets, to recoup some of your money. So, AARP has been encouraging people to take withdrawals from your 401(k) as a last resort.</s>COSTELLO: Coffey hopes that's true. For now, she considers herself a survivor, one who still believes in the American dream.</s>COLLINS: Older workers working longer. Retirees going back to work. The financial crisis and our shrinking retirement income are changing the dynamics of the workforce. In today's "Snapshot Across America" -- easy for me to say -- we're talking with Rosemary Haefner of CareerBuilder.com and Beverly Goodman, senior editor of "SmartMoney." First, Rosemary, I want to go to you, because I know your company commissioned a survey of workers nearing retirement. The survey was really interesting in the results. What did you find out?</s>ROSEMARY HAEFNER, SENIOR CAREER ADVISER, CAREERBUILDER.COM: Very interesting. So, the workers we surveyed, 60 years or older, 60 percent said that they're going to be delaying their retirement. So, that's significant. Even more so, 73 percent said that delay is going to be at least six years before they can actually settle down and retire.</s>COLLINS: Wow. So, well over half of the people that you talk to say, yes, I've got to push this wonderful, golden years of retirement off, and I'm going to do it for at least six years. What does that say in the bigger picture?</s>HAEFNER: Bigger picture is, obviously, we know that the economy is struggling right now. But the hardest-hit seem to be those that were just on the brink of retirement, and so now they're back in really tough job market, competing against a lot of people that are also unemployed. Other situations are that they just need to talk with their employers about staying on longer than what they originally planned, so...</s>COLLINS: Yes, because is that always...</s>HAEFNER: ... there's a lot of...</s>COLLINS: Sorry. Is that always possible?</s>HAEFNER: In some cases, it is. And what we're really advising those mature workers is, start talking about it now with your employer. I think a lot of companies can see that there's value in that knowledge that the more experienced worker has. And they need to be very competitive when the market turns back up. One good way is to be able to retain those mature workers and use that experience to train some of the newer workers that are entering the workforce.</s>COLLINS: I hope so. But it does seem like there's always a push for new blood.</s>HAEFNER: Push for new blood, there is. But, again, you know, I think companies are being smarter in the last couple of years to say, in order to be successful, we do need to have people at different experience levels. We really do need to collaborate, work as a team, and so the mature workers are really a cornerstone of that strategy working.</s>COLLINS: OK. Understood. Interesting survey, indeed. Beverly Goodman, I want to bring you in now because I know that at "Smart Money," you guys actually did a series called Parents in Crisis. And you yourself are a child, and you are dealing with your own parents and having conversations with them about what to do in retirement and about retirement. How'd those conversations go?</s>BEVERLY GOODMAN, SENIOR EDITOR, "SMARTMONEY": Those are some tough conversations.</s>COLLINS: Yes.</s>GOODMAN: My mother and I have a very good relationship, and so those conversations sort of started in bits and pieces a way back. But, you know, even a financial journalist needs way more information...</s>COLLINS: Yes.</s>GOODMAN: ... than most parents are willing to share with their kid. And obviously, a professional financial planner would need even that much more. So, it's really hard to approach from sort of along the margins, just these bits and pieces that a lot of conversations are between parents and children.</s>COLLINS: Yes. It's a little nerve-racking, though, thinking that even someone like you, who has the experience you have, has a tough time talking with their parents about these types of issues. When do you start? It sounds like it shouldn't wait until they're already in retirement. You should start these conversations years and years before.</s>GOODMAN: Yes. Ideally, you start way before retirement so you know what the plan is to get to retirement, and you know what the plan is if something as we saw these past few months happens. A lot of people feel like their retirement plans have been thrown off track, as you were saying earlier. It's not necessarily the case. Sometimes you just need a dispassionate conversation and a thorough examination of your financial situation. And a lot of people have realized -- my mother was one of them -- that she was actually a bit better off than she thought. You know, it's easy to see the headlines and see your portfolio shrinking, but when you take a step back and think about your long-term plan, things look a little better.</s>COLLINS: How do you keep them from panicking?</s>GOODMAN: That's not easy. But, again, you really have to think long-term. You have to think -- my mother, for instance, loves her job and would love to work for another five years. That right there builds in a lot of time for her portfolio to recover. It's also a good time to start thinking about, you know, risk assessment, and a lot of people were a bit more heavily invested in equities than they really maybe should have been or really were comfortable with. And that's, you know -- it's not a bad time to sort of re-evaluate, do a gut check on your portfolio.</s>COLLINS: Yes, obviously what I hear both of you saying is keep the communication going. And do your research, definitely. Thanks so much to the both of you. Rosemary Haefner of CareerBuilder.com and Beverly Goodman of "SmartMoney." Thank you, ladies.</s>GOODMAN: Thank you.</s>COLLINS: From the moment he was nominated, Timothy Geithner has been underfire, but he has the biggest of supporters, the man in the Oval Office.