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Medicare News
Senior Citizens with Higher Incomes May Face
Problems Getting Info on New Income-Based Medicare Premiums
HHS wants IRS to help identify seniors
eligible for drug program subsidy
November 22, 2006 – The new income-based Medicare
Part B premiums, which means higher premiums for higher income
Americans, is headed for a problem, according to the KaiserNet.org daily
report on Medicare. The Social Security Administration may not have
enough people to answer the questions. And, on the other end of the
income scale, Health and Human Services wants the Internal Revenue
Service to provide records to help identify senior citizens eligible for
assistance with the Medicare drug program.
 Staffing Issues at Social Security Administration
Could Be Further Affected by Medicare Beneficiaries' Questions about
Part B Premium Increases, GAO Report Says
The
Social Security Administration -- which is responsible for
determining and assessing income-based Medicare Part B premiums that
take effect for fiscal year 2007 - has staffing problems that might
limit its ability to field questions from beneficiaries, according to
the
Government Accountability Office, the
Washington Post reports (Barr, Washington Post, 11/22).
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Just $5 Added to 2007 Medicare Premium for Most but High Income Means Higher Premium
Senior
citizens get first look at new Part B premiums based on income
September 13, 2006 – The new Medicare premiums and
deductibles for 2007 were quietly released yesterday in a Fact Sheet
issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The monthly Part
B premium – the most closely watched charge – will be $93.50 for the
vast majority of senior citizens. For the first time, however, seniors
with higher incomes will pay higher rates. Only seniors earning at least
$80,000 ($160,000 for couples) a year will be subject to this new
surcharge and CMS says it should only be about four percent of current
Part B enrollees. Read
more...
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.
Read
more...
Read more
on
Medicare
or
Medicare Drug Program |
|
Higher-income Medicare beneficiaries in 2007, for
the first time, will be required to pay higher Part B premiums, a change
that is projected to increase federal revenue by about $20.8 billion
from 2007 through 2016.
The higher premiums, which will be phased in over
three years, will affect about 1.2 million beneficiaries in 2007 and 2.8
million by 2013, according to the
Congressional Budget Office. Individual beneficiaries with adjusted
gross annual incomes of $80,000 to $100,000 will pay a surcharge of
13.3%, or about $13 per month, for a total monthly premium of about
$111.50.
For individual beneficiaries with adjusted gross
annual incomes of more than $200,000, the surcharge will be 73.3%, or
about $72 per month, for a total monthly premium of about $170.50 (Kaiser
Daily Health Policy Report, 9/11).
SSA began mailing notices about the changes Monday.
Beneficiaries may request that SSA recalculate their premium if they
believe the original figures are incorrect or if they recently have
experienced an income reduction because of a spouse's death, a divorce
or other "life-changing event."
GAO last week sent a letter to the
Senate Finance Committee "warn[ing] that Social Security is coping
with staff shortages and operating under a hiring freeze just as the
agency's workload is expected to jump because of the premium increases,"
the Post reports.
SSA is under a hiring freeze because Congress has
not completed the agency's FY 2007 appropriations bill and is unlikely
to do so until next year. Moreover, SSA officials have called for a
reversal of proposed budget cuts and have warned that workers might be
sent home without pay for as many as 10 days next year if the
appropriations bill is not changed.
SSA spokesperson Mark Lassiter "expressed
confidence that the agency's 1,300 field offices will be able to handle
any surge in work" resulting from the new Medicare premiums, the Post
reports. Workloads might be shifted if the agency determines that some
field offices are "getting disproportionately hit," Lassiter said
(Washington Post, 11/22).
Legislation Needed To Access Tax Records To Help
Identify Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries Eligible for Drug Benefit
Financial Assistance, HHS IG Says
Congress should pass legislation that would allow
the
Internal Revenue Service to provide
HHS with tax records that could help identify Medicare beneficiaries
who are eligible for a low-income subsidy that provides financial
assistance under the prescription drug benefit, HHS Inspector General
Daniel Levinson wrote in letter to acting
CMS Administrator Leslie Norwalk, the
AP/Albany Times Union reports.
About two million beneficiaries have been approved
for the subsidy, which is available to beneficiaries with incomes of
less than 150% of the federal poverty level and certain assets of no
more than $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples.
Officials estimate that about 6.1 million
beneficiaries are eligible for the subsidy, but Levinson said it is
impossible to know the exact number without the IRS records. He added,
"Without knowing the true population of potentially eligible
beneficiaries, it is difficult to judge the success of current outreach
and enrollment efforts."
Federal law does not permit IRS to share the
records for the purpose of identifying beneficiaries who are eligible
for the drug benefit. Levinson said Congress should pass a law allowing
IRS to share the information, adding that there is precedent because tax
records are used in cases to determine whether an insurer other than
Medicare should have paid for a patient's care.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he is
open to ideas that could help beneficiaries, adding that any changes to
tax laws must be considered carefully (Freking, AP/Albany Times Union,
11/21).
Stark Lays Out Medicare Agenda
Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), who is expected to become chair of the House
Ways and Means
Health Subcommittee, on Tuesday said he plans to begin hearings on
the Medicare prescription drug benefit as early as February ,
CQ HealthBeat
reports.
Speaking at a meeting of lobbyists at
Patton Boggs, Stark said Democrats are considering three potential
alternative changes to the drug benefit. The first would eliminate
language in the 2003 Medicare law that prohibits the HHS secretary from
negotiating with pharmaceutical companies over drug prices.
The second option, which Stark said he favors,
would direct the HHS secretary to conduct a first round of price
negotiations on covered drugs but allow insurers to negotiate prices
below those amounts.
The third option would create drug plan that would
be administered by Medicare and would compete with private plans. Stark
added that any decisions on Medicare would be made in collaboration with
incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and with the
House Energy and Commerce Committee, which shares Medicare
jurisdiction with the Ways and Means Committee. Pelosi has said that
Democrats would act within 100 hours of taking control of Congress to
authorize the HHS secretary to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies
(Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 11/21).
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