IF WE GOT A PRIVATE SECONDARY INS, THE 20 YRS HUBBY SPENT IN THE USN IS CANCELED. While there are some areas that need fixing why would we choose to lose the benefits he earned? Bad enough each year Medicare/Tricare cuts services, medicines, and Spouses don’t qualify for some services or procedures.
Better that you Decouple SS TAX INCOME FROM BEING PART OF EARNED INCOME THAT IS TAXED BY INCOME TAX, INCLUDE PENSIONS TO. Lower the Out of Pocket Medical deductions that Obumber raised.
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If I was in Congress I would offer two amendments to the bill Cruz is behind (S. 275).
My first amendment would abolish the Medicare Part D enrollment penalty.
When you do join Medicare, if you do not at that time also take Medicare Part D (the prescription drug coverage), then should you chose to enroll in Medicare Part D at a later date, you could pay a penalty.
The penalty amount is an amount that will be added to the monthly premium, as long as you are enrolled in Medicare Part D. The amount of the penalty is equal to 1% of the monthly Medicare Part D premium (whatever it is at the time) times the number of months you could have been enrolled in Medicare Part D and chose not to be.
Medicare does not make a big giant effort to warn folks of the penalty.
The penalty can be a lot, depending on how many months someone goes between starting Medicare Part A and a delayed start of Medicare Part D.
In my case the penalty amount was possibly going to be substantial. Instead of the basic $33.06 monthly Medicare Part D premium, I was going to have to pay more for the monthly premium than I was/am paying out of pocket - per month - for all the drugs I currently use.
In my case I escaped the penalty because there is an escape clause. The escape clause is, to avoid the penalty, you have to have had some other prescription drug plan coverage during all the months you did not have the Medicare Part D. In my case my Veterans health benefits - which I am enrolled in but rarely use anymore - counted as a qualifying plan.
However, the penalty makes no financial sense whatsoever. The penalty escape clause makes mincemeat of the idea that the penalty is meant to retrieve monies that would have gone to the Medicare regime - if you had been enrolled from the start of eligibility Medicare Part D - because you escape the penalty by having paid monies all that time to ANY PLAN OUTSIDE OF MEDICARE.
The Medicare Part D enrollment penalty should be abolished.
My second amendment would abolish income tests now used to decide your Medicare Part D premium. I don’t know when this income test was added, but here is what it now amounts to:
If you are single and your income is:
> $88,000 & < $111,001 add $12.30 to monthly premium
> $111,000 & < $138,001 add $31.80 to monthly premium
> $138,000 & < $165,001 add $51.20 to monthly premium
> $165,000 & < $500,001 add $70.70 to monthly premium
> $500,000 add $77.10 to montly premium
The five income brackets for couples covered by Medicare (that incur the same premium increase [per person] as for singles) and filing joint tax returns are:
> $176,000 and < $222,001
> $222,000 and < $276,001
> $276,000 and < $330,001
> $330,000 and < $750,000
> $750,000
For married couples with both enrolled in Medicare Part D but filing separate income tax returns, the penalties are steeper.
For joint income:
< $88,000 no penalty
> $88,000 & < $412,000 add $70.70 per month
> $412,000 add $77.10 per month
No ask you, would a private commercial insurance company charge individuals different premiums, for exactly the same levels of coverage, based on their incomes??
The income test for the Medicare Part D premium should be abolished and one uniform premium rate established.
I have heard conflicting information about whether you have to be signed up for Medicare in order to begin getting Social Security payments. I am fully employed and have health coverage through my employer, so I am still paying into Medicare and Social Security but not signed up to use Medicare or to get Social Security payments. I have been warned I could have to pay a penalty for not signing up for Medicare when I turned 65 (but don’t know how large that might be).