Many still confused as Medicare deadline approaches

St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay Times ^ | December 1, 2013 | Stephen Nohlgren

[Cincinatus' Wife]

"........Medicare's open enrollment period for 2014 ends Saturday. Most people who fail to pick coverage by then will get locked into their current coverage for another year.

The Humana survey reinforces how complex their choices can be — particularly when the health care marketplace is in such turmoil.

Hospitals and medical practices are forming new alliances. Insurance companies are compressing provider networks. The Obamacare marketplace — though it does not directly affect people on Medicare — has sown confusion. It has later enrollment deadlines, and they have changed due to the rollout problems.

But again — the Medicare deadline is Saturday.

.......SHINE's call volume spiked this time last year, when BayCare Health Systems temporarily broke network ties with UnitedHealthcare, the insurance company that administers popular AARP Medicare plans.

This year was more of the same, after UnitedHealthcare dropped hundreds of Tampa Bay doctors from AARP networks and discontinued relationships with popular institutions like Moffitt Cancer Center.

"Increased copayments, dropping doctors and the Moffitt thing were a big deal for some people,'' Franckle said......."

[DeaconRed]

It's as clear as MUD.
Just like everything the idiot attempts.

[MayflowerMadam]

I “aged into” Medicare in October. Gathering info and attempting to understand the system was a process I began in February. I have to say that it’s a mess. The process is cumbersome, the printed information is a lot of bafflegab, and some is blatantly incorrect. I’m eligible to join Mensa, and DH is a Physicist, but this abomination had us tearing out our hair. Sadly, we’re still confused.

They have these government drones called SHIP representatives, and the ones who did our presentations were borderline retarded (I know, that word isn’t P.C. but still...). If a meeting attendee mentioned “Obamacare”, the gubmint chick would glare and shout, “Affordable Care Act!” And that’s when we knew Medicare would be in trouble, as the White Hut obviously is brainwashing the Medicare presenters.

The presenters provide a dollar amount for the cost of (free) Medicare — $104/mo. What they don’t tell you is that if you’ve been a responsible citizen and have made decent wages, you’ll pay a large additional amount on top of the $104. In the printed info, it’s a teeny tiny blurb in the Fed booklet. If you buy a Part D prescription plan for “X” dollars, they deduct that much again from Social Security. So an $11/mo. Part D plan costs $22/mo. Of course, this only occurs if you’ve been a responsible citizen and have made decent wages.

It’s absolutely maddening that the government hands you a book decreeing how you must handle your own wellbeing. You can do such-and-such; you are forbidden to do such-and-such. How dare they?

OK. I’m finished venting... for now.

[KSCITYBOY]

btt

[Yosemitest]

It was NEVER designed or intended to work!

Only idiots and the evil voted for Obama, or ANY of the Democrats.
They've lied to us, constantly, and really are "Collapsing the System".
And now, these "Useful IDIOTS" who voted for them, are buying the lies that "Obamacare was designed to work." ?
It was designed to fail from the start.
THEN ... THEY GO TO THE "SINGLE-PAYER SYSTEM".

Flashback: Obama's Campaign to Transition to Single Payer Health Care (VIDEO)


obama master plan on health careover the years in his own words--SINGLE PAYER!!! ( 3:38 )

They've been sucking our wallets dry for over four years now on the "Obamacare" LIE.
AND NOW THEY WANT MORE TAXES ?
Our Founding Fathers would have hung them already!

Lets review:

Who was it that cut future funding for Medicare by $575 billion?

...the president and the Democratic Party successfully bamboozle voters... The 2012 election could turn on this falsehood.
The truth is that the Obama health law reduces future funding for Medicare by $575 billion over the next 10 years ...

Mr. Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius frequently make that false claim.
Indeed, even Medicare's mailings to seniors repeat the claim that reducing spending on Medicare will make it more financially secure for future years.
The fact is that Mr. Obama's law raids Medicare.

Who was it that moved Medicare Trust Funds out of the "trust box" and into the General Revenue, replacing them with Government I.O.U.s?
"In early 1968 President Lyndon Johnson [DEMOCRAT] made a change in the budget presentation by including Social Security and all other trust funds in a"unified budget." "

Who was it that expanded Medicare and Medicaid to cover many, many more people than it was originally designed to cover?

The History of Medicare

In 1965, the Social Security Act established both Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare was a responsibility of the Social Security Administration (SSA), while Federal assistance to the State Medicaid programs was administered by the Social and Rehabilitation Service (SRS). SSA and SRS were agencies in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). In 1977, the Health Care Financing Administration was created under HEW to effectively coordinate Medicare and Medicaid. In 1980 HEW was divided into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The first U.S. President to propose a prepaid health insurance plan was Harry S. Truman [DEMOCRAT]. On November 19, 1945, in a special message to Congress, President Truman outlined a comprehensive, prepaid medical insurance plan for all people through the Social Security system. The plan included doctors and hospitals, and nursing, laboratory, and dental services; it was dubbed "National Health Insurance." Furthermore, medical insurance benefits for needy people were to be financed from Federal revenues.

Over the years, lawmakers narrowed the field of health insurance recipients largely to social security beneficiaries. A national survey found that only 56 percent of those 65 years of age or older had health insurance. President John F. Kennedy [DEMOCRAT] pressed legislators for health insurance for the aged. However, it wasn't until 1965 that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed H.R. 6675 (The Social Security Act of 1965; PL 89-97) to provide health insurance for the elderly and the poor.

On July 30, 1965, President Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid Bill (Title XVIII and Title XIX of the Social Security Act) in Independence, Missouri in the presence of former President Truman, who received the first Medicare card at the ceremony; Lady Bird Johnson, Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, and Mrs. Truman also were present. President Johnson remarked: "We marvel not simply at the passage of this Bill but that it took so many years to pass it."

Medicare extended health coverage to almost all Americans aged 65 or older. About 19 million beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare in the first year of the program. Medicaid provided access to health care services for certain low-income persons and expanded the existing Federal-State welfare structure that assisted the poor.

The 1972 Social Security Amendments expanded Medicare to provide coverage to two additional high risk groups disabled persons receiving cash benefits for 24 months under the social security program and persons suffering from end-stage renal disease.

...(continued at link)

So Democrats,

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE
FOR INSURING THE FAILURE
OF THE MEDICARE/MEDICAID PROGRAM,
and now YOU DEMOCRATS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTENTIONAL DESTRUCTION OF THE U.S.A. ECONOMY!!!

So DEMOCRATS ... SHUT UP!!!

You have no integrity!!!

Sen Mark Kirk's statement Thursday, Dec 1, 2011 ...

"There are 55 million Social Security beneficiaries that will see little or no extra cash from this 2012 tax holiday; instead, the dedicated payroll contributions meant to pay for future benefits are being diverted from the Trust Fund
and replaced with Treasury debt that does not even have a AAA credit rating.
Social Security was designed to be independent and free from the danger of Congressional manipulation,
and maintaining the firewall between the Social Security Trust Fund and general government funding is the best way to maintain the solvency of this important program.
Neither bill protects the Social Security Trust Fund
so I voted no. "

It's not our fault that DEMOCRATS raided the Social Security Trust Fund.
Let's remember ...

Not ALL are to blame for the empty lock box.

It's the Democrats Communists.

Let's take a deeper look.

Obama: "I Don't Want the Folks who Created the Mess to do a lot of Talking" "

Okay, then the DEMOCRATS need to shut up!!!

[chae]

I work in the Medicare supplement side with bcbs of Illinois, Texas, new Mexico, Oklahoma and Montana. If you have any questions, send me a private newsgroup and i will try to answer them.

[upchuck]

Medicare can be confusing, no doubt about it. Try this for information:
http://medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs/part-b-costs.html

Note that AFAIK, what you’ve made in past wages (years ago) doesn’t affect what you pay now.

[MayflowerMadam]

“what you’ve made in past wages (years ago) doesn’t affect what you pay now.”

Tell that to whomever it is at Social Security pulling extra $$ from my account. It’s either past wages, past income (includes investment income) from recent years, and/or current income including investments. Whatever it is, we’re being punished for earning and investing responsibly. When I get a break this morning I’ll review the info in the link you sent — although I believe I’ve read that doc before.

Thanks for sending the info. I do appreciate it.

[TomGuy]

If you buy a Part D prescription plan for “X” dollars, they deduct that much again from Social Security. So an $11/mo. Part D plan costs $22/mo.

That is incorrect. If the plan charges $11, you are charged $11. If SS is deducting $22, that is because the plan charges $22. Recheck what you signed up for.

Medicare gets rather complicated because of the Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans. Those vary from state to state because states have different requirements and negotiations with insurance companies.

A good starting place is to check with their primary care doctor(s) and hospital(s) to see what plans they accept. Those may differ even from the insurance companies' provider listing.

Check the various differences in plans: they go from $0 plan premium up to several hundred dollars. Many include prescription drugs; many do not. Those that do not means one has to purchase a separate drug plan. Those that include drug coverage may have $0 deductible up to several hundred dollars deductible.

Medigap is an add-on to cover expenses regular Medicare does not cover. Usually, that is the 20% you are responsible for.

Medicare Advantage basically replaces Medicare with a plan administered by a private insurance company.

[Grampa Dave]

“The presenters provide a dollar amount for the cost of (free) Medicare — $104/mo. What they don’t tell you is that if you’ve been a responsible citizen and have made decent wages, you’ll pay a large additional amount on top of the $104. In the printed info, it’s a teeny tiny blurb in the Fed booklet. If you buy a Part D prescription plan for “X” dollars, they deduct that much again from Social Security. So an $11/mo. Part D plan costs $22/mo. Of course, this only occurs if you’ve been a responsible citizen and have made decent wages.”

Plus, you and your employer have been paying a Medicare premium for years before you became eligible. If you were self employed, I think that you paid the employer’s share.

Of course it never ends for those of us who have paid taxes, fica, state and Medi Care taxes all of our lives.

Last year during the Thanksgiving break, we got letters from our IRA adminstrators telling us:

That, we had a good year, and we needed to contribute more to our IRA’s yearly minimum distribution to avoid tax penalties for that year, and our monthly minimal distributions would be increased for 2013.

Our older son was visiting and was in the same room when I opened the letters and handed them to my wife. He looked at us asked what was wrong?

I handed him the letters, and told him this was another joy he had to look forward to.

If we could keep the increase in our IRA and not pay a penalty or have the minimum distributions, there would be more left over in when we left feet first to inherit. Now all withdrawals was being taxed at a high federal and state tax rate.

[MayflowerMadam]

“That is incorrect. If the plan charges $11, you are charged $11. If SS is deducting $22, that is because the plan charges $22. Recheck what you signed up for.”

Sadly, that is NOT incorrect. I pay $11 via automatic deduction from my checking account to the insurance company from whom I get my prescription plan. When I receive my SS check, an additional amount has been deducted specifially for prescriptions. That amount is actually more than the premium the insurance company charges me. Go figure. I have a letter from the Feds explaining what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it.

I have a similar letter from the Feds explaining why they’re deducting more ($48) from my SS check above and beyond the normal $104 for Part B.

I bought a supplemental/Medigap Plan G appropriate for my county in Tennessee. It’s through AFLAC. AFLAC deducts the monthly premium from my checking account. Considered both Advantage and Medigap options but chose Medigap.

[TomGuy]

You probably need to contact your insurance company.

The premium is an either-or. Either you pay it direct OR you have it deducted from your SS payment.

I bet your insurance co. sent you a payment book. You need to contact them to determine whether you need to make the payments or whether they are deducted via SS. Also, check your social security account and medicare account online to see what they are showing.

There is no reason to be paying twice — unless you just want to give the insurance company extra money.

[TomGuy]

Medigap differs from Medicare Advantage.

Medigap is in-addition-to that pays the 20% Medicare does not pay.

Medicare Advantage basically replaces Medicare with a private insurance.

==

The plans and premiums vary from state to state and within a state.

[MayflowerMadam]

Yes; I’m very familiar with Advantage vs Medigap. I’m blessed to be able to afford the Medigap/Supplemental option. Thanks!

My sister and my husband, both born in ‘51, are happy that I’ve done the hard work, know the drill, and can pass on my considerable knowledge to them when it’s their day in the barrel. Of course, by that time Obama will have revamped all of it — and not in good way.