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Medicare News
Medicare Premiums Expected to Jump 450 Percent for
Some Seniors as Means Testing Takes Effect for First Time in History,
Says Senior Group
50,000 senior citizens predicted to abandon
Medicare for private insurance in 2007, leaving system burdened with
oldest and sickest – TREA Senior Citizens League
 September 11, 2006 - The Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) will announce Medicare Part B premiums for 2007
later this month, which will increase significantly for all seniors and
dramatically for seniors with incomes of more than $80,000 per year.
Excluded from their announcement will be the fact that some seniors will
see their premiums jump by as much as 450 percent in just over two
years, according to a news release from the TREA Senior Citizens League.
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Major Medicare Change Slipped in Without Senate or
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September 11, 2006 - A Republican dominated
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Read more...
Opinion: Medicare Means Testing a Costly Slip
By Ralph McCutchen
Note: The following was written by Ralph McCutchen, chairman of the TREA
Senior Citizens League, and first published September 1, 2006.
September 11, 2006 - For the first time since Medicare's creation 41
years ago, seniors will no longer pay the same amount for the same
services. Premium rates for Part B - expected to be announced later this
month by the Department of Health and Human Services for 2007 - now will
be means tested, that is, determined based on income.
Read
more...
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Medicare
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For the first time since Medicare's creation 41
years ago, Medicare Part B – which covers doctors' visits, tests, and
outpatient hospital care – will be "means tested," meaning seniors with
incomes of more than $80,000 per year will pay more for services than
lower-income seniors. As many as 2.3 million seniors will be affected by
means testing, according to government estimates.
Although HHS will only release figures for 2007,
TREA Senior Citizens League is estimating that the cost of premiums will
almost double by 2009 for beneficiaries with incomes of $80,000 each
year, from $88.50 a month today to an estimated $172.80 per month in
2009.
Seniors with incomes of $200,000 will see premiums
skyrocket by close to 450 percent in fewer than 2½ years – from $88.50 a
month today to an estimated $395 per month in 2009. Estimates are based
on the average annual increase over the past five years.
"At first glance, it may seem fair to salvage a
failing system by having the wealthy carry a larger share of the load,"
said Shannon Benton, Executive Director of TREA Senior Citizens League.
"But as wealthy seniors abandon Medicare as it becomes more expensive
and choose private insurance instead, only the poorest and sickest will
be stuck in Medicare, driving up costs for everyone left behind."
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an
estimated 50,000 seniors are expected to drop their Medicare Part B
coverage next year when their premiums begin to rise – a number expected
to increase in future years – opting instead for private insurance.
Those seniors tend to be the ones without preexisting health problems,
since they have fewer problems switching health plans. They also tend to
have an easier time affording private insurance out-of-pocket.
Seniors earning less than $80,000 per year will see
their Medicare Part B premiums jump from $88.50 a month today to at
least $98.40 a month next year, an 11 percent increase – far greater
than their annual Social Security cost of living increase, which has
averaged less than three percent over the past five years.
Note: The following chart is subject to slight
change, says the League.
|
Income: Individuals |
Income: Married couples |
Monthly premium in 2006 |
Monthly premium in 2007 |
Monthly premium in 2008 |
Monthly premium in 2009 |
|
Under $80,000 |
Under $160,000 |
$88.50 |
$98.40 |
$110.20 |
$123.40 |
|
$80,000 - $100,000 |
$160,000 - $200,000 |
$88.50 |
$111.50 |
$139.60 |
$172.80 |
|
$100,000 - $150,000 |
$200,000 - $300,000 |
$88.50 |
$131.20 |
$183.70 |
$246.90 |
|
$150,000 - $200,000 |
$300,000 - $400,000 |
$88.50 |
$150.90 |
$227.70 |
$320.90 |
|
Above $200,000 |
Above $400,000 |
$88.50 |
$170.60 |
$271.80 |
$395.00 |
Note: The Congressional Budget Office estimates
that means testing will save barely three-tenths of one percent of
Medicare's total budget over the next ten years, according to the League.
Conversations between members of Congress and TREA
Senior Citizen League representatives suggest that many members are not
aware of this law due to the way it was passed. Means testing for
Medicare Part B was inserted into the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act
(MMA) drug legislation, and was not in either version of the law
originally passed by the House and Senate.
TREA Senior Citizens League supports legislation
introduced by Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the "Medicare Part B Premium
Fairness Act," which would repeal means testing for Medicare Part B.
>> The organization's home page is
http://www.tscl.org/index.asp.
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Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
September
11, 2006 - For the first time since Medicare's creation 41 years
ago, seniors will no longer pay the same amount for the same
services. Premium rates for Part B – which covers doctors' visits,
tests, and outpatient care – will now be determined based on income,
or "means testing".