Lifestyle

Married 60 Years and Both Nearing Their Mid-80s, Judy Went Back to Work. The Reason: “Our Co-Pays Got to Be Really, Really High”

By Erica Coleman · November 11, 2026

Judy and David Koncak have been together since high school. In April 2024, Spectrum News 1 reporter Nick Bradshaw found them in the Dallas area still living by those vows, 60 years into the marriage and both approaching their mid-80s.

Judy was back at work.

“Our co-pays got to be really, really high,” she told the station.

David had a stroke about four years before the report, the station said, and was later diagnosed with prostate cancer. The couple had used all of their retirement savings on health care.

“He takes four of these a day,” Judy said, showing his medication. “And that is our co-pay 3,500 a month.”

She said the rest of their bills were climbing too, from hospital and doctor charges to utilities and gas, and that Social Security had not kept up.

“It went up a little, but not, you know, just 10 or 15, 20 dollars. You know, it doesn’t do it,” she said.

The station reported that the couple, after years of providing for others, were selling items and getting help from family, including a son-in-law trying to fix Judy’s car so she would not face a repair bill of hundreds of dollars. You can watch them tell their story in Spectrum News 1’s report on YouTube.

Judy still had faith that things would work out. “I think the Lord will rescue us, but I just don’t know how,” she said. “I don’t know the answers. I’m trying not to worry about the end.”

Her point about Social Security is a familiar one. The Social Security Administration pays an annual cost-of-living adjustment, but the size of that increase changes from year to year. There was no COLA in 2016 and only a 0.3 percent increase in 2017. When Spectrum News 1 spoke with Judy and David, the COLA then in effect was 3.2 percent, the January 2024 adjustment. (A much larger 8.7 percent increase had taken effect the year before.) Those official percentages do not tell us what was in their particular checks, but they help explain why a raise of 10, 15 or 20 dollars may not stretch far when medical bills are measured in thousands.

One change has come since that report. In 2024, Medicare drug coverage had no yearly cap on what you paid out of pocket. There is one now. Medicare.gov lists the Part D out-of-pocket limit at 2,100 dollars in 2026. Once you reach it, you generally pay nothing more that calendar year for covered Part D drugs. The cap applies to those covered drugs, including your deductible and certain payments made on your behalf. It does not cover every medical bill, such as many Part B doctor charges or hospital costs, so it would not automatically wipe out a monthly co-pay as large as the one Judy described.

If drug costs are straining your retirement budget, a few official programs are worth checking.

Compare Part D plans during Medicare’s yearly Open Enrollment, because premiums, deductibles and the drugs on a plan’s list vary.

If your income and resources are limited, you can apply for Extra Help, a Medicare program that helps pay Part D premiums, deductibles and other drug costs. Some people qualify automatically if they already receive Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program or SSI.

Your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program, which Medicare mentions on that Extra Help page, can walk you through the options at no charge.

This article is for general information and is not medical or financial advice. Details of Judy and David’s health costs and benefits are their account as reported by Spectrum News 1. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.