Senior Citizen League Petitions to Stop Higher
Medicare Premiums Based on Income
Petition to Congress opposes means testing,
supports repeal law
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". As a result, as many
as 2.3 million seniors will have to pay dramatically more for a
benefit intended to help protect the hard-earned assets of these
older Americans, says the TREA Senior League.
An estimated 50,000 seniors are expected to
drop their Medicare Part B coverage next year when their premiums go
up. Those seniors are likely the ones without preexisting health
problems, who find it easiest to qualify – and pay for – private
insurance. Left behind will be the sickest and oldest.
Means testing will save barely three-tenths of
one percent of Medicare's budget over the next 10 years. With
looming budget deficits, it is only logical to presume that this is
just the first group of Medicare recipients that will be targeted
for means testing. Next could be those with $60,000 in income. Or
$40,000.
Their petition says, "We, the undersigned, support Congresswoman Nita
Lowey's 'Medicare Part B Premium Fairness Act,' H.R. 5147, which
would repeal means testing, helping to ensure the long-term
viability of the system."
The petition can be found at
http://www.tscl.org/action/medicaremeanstesting.asp
The organization's home page is
http://www.tscl.org/index.asp.
