[kabar]

I am telling you that there is NO limit on what Congress will charge, for Part D and Part B services, in the future, for the upper income groups.

I understand how they are changing the premiums for Medicare Parts B and D. I am on Medicare. But even raising the rates on those who are 65 and older and make more than $213,000 (individual) a year will cover just a small part of the total costs. Here are the 2013 rates. There are very few seniors making that level of income.

What you appear to be missing is that the premiums for these programs only cover 25% of the total costs. The rest of the costs must be funded by the General Fund. From the 2012 Trustees Report:

The Trustees project that Part B of Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI), which pays doctors’ bills and other outpatient expenses, and Part D, which provides access to prescription drug coverage, will remain adequately financed into the indefinite future because current law automatically provides financing each year to meet the next year’s expected costs. However, the aging population and rising health care costs cause SMI projected costs to grow rapidly from 2.0 percent of GDP in 2011 to approximately 3.4 percent of GDP in 2035, and then more slowly to 4.0 percent of GDP by 2086. General revenues will finance roughly three quarters of these costs, and premiums paid by beneficiaries almost all of the remaining quarter. SMI also receives a small amount of financing from special payments by States and from fees on manufacturers and importers of brand-name prescription drugs.

If you go to the table showing what were the sources of income to the Trust Funds in 2011, you will see that SMI (Medicare Parts B and D) received $222 billion from the General Fund and $65.4 billion from premiums. These costs will continue to rise as 10,000 people a day retire every day for the next 20 years. And Medicare will eventually consume the entire federal budget if not reformed.

Yes, the USG has been gradually changing the premium structure for Medicare Parts B and D since I started on the program five years ago. It is becoming more of a means tested program, but it has been under the radar since very few people are affected by the fee structure. It is worth remembering that one-third of retirees depend on SS as their sole source of income and for two-thirds of retirees, it is more than 50% of their retirement income. The vast majority of people will pay $104.90 for Medicare Part B in 2013.

I would also note that 9 out of every 10 Medicare recipients pay for supplementary insurance or Medigap.

[Kansas58]

You are still not understanding my point, you are talking past me but not really refuting me.

I state, clearly, that Social Security is TAXED as a benefit even for those who see little or no Social Security Check, in my line of work.

This is due to the fact that high income retired people OFTEN now pay a great deal for their Medicare benefits.

I predict that this will only get worse.

Social Security is turning into PHANTOM ICOME, income on which people are taxed but they do not ever see that income!