'Meet the Press' transcript for August 16, 2009 (seniors can't get S.S. if they don't get Med.?)

MSMBC ^ | August 16, 2009 | Staff

[Sun]

snip REP. ARMEY: The Medicare law that was written by the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and the chief lobbyists of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, voted on without amendment as an amendment to Social Security, first imposes severe sanctions on physicians and medical providers that don’t comply with its requirements, and it says to seniors at the age of 65 you can no longer buy the insurance that you bought prior to 65. And now by virtue of an internal memo—not a regulation, not a law—they tell seniors today...

MR. GREGORY: All right.

REP. ARMEY: ...if you don’t sign up for Medicare you’ll lose your Social Security.

[danamco]

AARP is in the insurance business, homeowner insurance, car insurance, so where are their real interests???

[goldi]

They can do anything they want. This is America!/sarc.

[danamco]

http://www.examiner.com/x-17004-Dallas-County-Republican-Examiner~y2009m8d10-Galveston-County-Social-Security-opt-out—Solution-for-SS-and-health-care

It seems a few in Texas made the right decision???

[mass55th]

"I didn’t know that and I live in NYS, too. Thanx for the info.."

Just to make sure you understand that what I wrote was specifically regarding retirees in NY State's Retirement System. I worked in Corrections, so did my friend, and we were both in different retirement tiers at the time of our retirements.

[PhiKapMom]

When I worked at Wright-Patterson AFB, there was a guy who kept coming into the nurses station which who had an office within our large office trying to get a disability. Lazy was nice for what he was and he was a GS-14 with a so-called bad back.

The guy went over to the Medical Clinton in Area B and came back to the nurse so mad as she had done the referral. He accused her of calling ahead. It was hilarious as we could hear the exchange (we all went near the door when we heard someone yelling).

Turned out when he walked in complaining back problems were the reason he couldn't work, the physician's assistant dropped a $20 bill and the bad back guy bent to pick it up. He didn't get to even fill out his disability paperwork.

A few months later, I met the PA at our office Christmas Party. He said they do things like that all the time because having a bad back was the #1 issue Civil Serviced used to try and get a disability, #2 was a tennis elbow that affected their whole arm and shoulder and made it impossible to work.

Union stewards were the laziest of the lazy.

[Hanna548]

I thought you could not get medicare at 62. I do know that if you are on disability you HAVE to go to Medicare. Not only does the gov’t require it, but health insurance companies won’t insure you at that point.

[svcw]

You are correct I can not get Medicare until 64 but because I am 62 the feds can take my workers comp claim, for possible future medical costs related to the workers comp claim, if I had qualified for SS disability, which I did not. I was told that when I reached 64 I would be dropped from my health insurance as a primary and it would become a secondary plan because I would be required to have Medicare. My workers comp adjuster said this "taking" only started in the last six months and he just found out about it.

[Sun]

‘How about “We don’t want no Trojan Hearse.”’

That’s more accurate than mine (sadly).