Nobel Laureate Sells Medal for Medical Costs

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Discover how a Nobel Laureate sold his medal to cover medical expenses. Learn about retirement healthcare solutions at SafeMoney.com. Photo Credit: Associated Press. All rights reserved, source link . Nobel laureates are certainly top achievers. In 1988, Leon Lederman won a Nobel Prize for his work in physics. Apart from award-winning research into subatomic particles, he is famous for coining the infamous name of the Higgs bosin: the “God particle.” Lederman passed away in a nursing home in Idaho on October 4. He was 96, according to the Associated Press . The AP describes him as a “giant in his field who also had a passion for sharing science.” While Lederman’s contributions to science speak volumes, another striking story of him emerges from a past headline by NBC News. And what happened? In 2015, the physicist was forced to auction his Nobel medal so he and his family could cover healthcare expenses . The medal sold for $765,000. It was a winning bid of $633,335 plus a buyer’s premium that drove the medal to its $765k sell price. It’s yet another example of how high-cost retiree healthcare needs can change the financial situation of any of us. Changing Health, New Challenges Back when he received a Nobel Prize in Physics, Lederman used his winnings to buy a log cabin near the small Idaho town of Driggs. The cabin was intended as a vacation home. But Lederman and his wife moved there as full-time residents in 2011, when Lederman started having significant memory loss issues. In time, they turned to an online auctioneer to sell his Nobel medal. From that they would use the proceeds to pay for care services relating to his dementia. Speaking to NBC News at the time, Ellen Lederman, his wife, observed that the diagnosis of dementia had raised the prospect of costly medical bills and uncertainty for them. “It’s terrible. It’s really hard,” she explained. “I wish it could be different. But he’s happy. He likes where he lives with cats, dogs, and horses. He doesn’t have any problems with anxiety, and that makes me glad he’s so content.” Lederman’s uphill battle against costly medical bills is one of many examples of how healthcare expenses can add up in retirement . Healthcare Cash Register Just Keeps Ringing According to the Bur