Medicare isn't cheap...

[dkf]

If you had to pay the entire premium medicare looks pretty exorbitant to me

"Social Security Explained, 2012 Edition

Learn More »
CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 12/04/12
CMS announces Medicare premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance rates for 2013
Part A premium: Most individuals do not pay a monthly Part A premium because they (or a spouse) have 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment. However, for 2013, the Part A premium will be $243 per month for those individuals having 30-39 quarters of Medicare-covered employment and $441 per month for those who are not otherwise eligible for premium-free hospital insurance and have less than 30 quarters of Medicare-covered employment.

Part B premium: The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $104.90 in 2013, which is a $5.00 increase over the 2012 premium of $99.90."

http://hr.cch.com/news/uiss/120412a.asp

Okay so the unsubsidized cost of Part A is $441 a month. The part B premium of $104.90 only covers 25%.

So just for hospital and doctors and not counting drugs, we are looking at a premium of over $800/month for one person. Wow.

[democrattotheend]

1. The $800 is only for people who did not pay into the system

and did not have a spouse who paid in.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. Or for those whose spouses are not counted under the theocratic 'Sanctity of Petraeus'

laws. Don't forget us. No matter how much one of us pays in, the other is excluded. The injustice is staggering.

[democrattotheend]

3. You mean same sex couples?

If so, that is a big injustice. I will admit I hadn't thought about it. I guess this will become a bigger issue in the future, as more people have been married to same-sex spouses for long enough that they would qualify if the marriage were recognized for SS purposes.

[DURHAM D]

7. Yes it is.

I joined AARP in the run up to the election because I wanted to see what position(s) they were taking. It is just $16 a year. They constantly ask for feedback via email and printed questionnaires re: SS & Medicare. They also provide an easy way to write to them and to our members of congress. I even received a phone call from AARP and ended up having a long discussion on the phone about federal benefits for LGBT. I swear it seemed that no one had ever brought it up with them before.



Edit to Update: Right after I posted this I had an incoming from AARP asking us to call our Senators re: SS. They make it simple. Here is the message.

Dear XXX,

Right now, some in Washington want to cut your Social Security benefits as part of an eleventh-hour budget deal.

AARP volunteers are on Capitol Hill today – but your senators need to hear from you too.

Call 1-800-323-2230 today and tell your senators to reject cuts to Social Security as part of a last-minute budget deal!

It's been all over the news: Congress has to make a deal on the budget before the holidays. But some in Washington are pushing to cut your Social Security benefits as part of a last-minute budget deal.

Some proposals on the table would hurt current and future beneficiaries by cutting the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) – money taken directly out of your pocket.

Today, AARP volunteers from around the country are on Capitol Hill speaking out against these cuts. Making a phone call to your senators will make sure the message is heard loud and clear – don't cut Social Security in a last-minute budget deal.

It's quick and easy to make your call, and it will make a big impact. Here's what to do:


Dial 1-800-323-2230, and follow the prompts to enter your zip code. Then press "1" to connect to your first senator.
A staff person will answer the phone. Just tell that person where you're calling from, and that you strongly urge your senator to oppose any cuts to Social Security as part of a last-minute budget deal.
Your call could end here. However, if you like, you can add that:


Changing the way my COLA is calculated will take money directly out of my pocket – as well as the pockets of my children and grandchildren.

Any changes to Social Security should look to strengthen the program and be part of an open and thoughtful public discussion.

Since both of your senators have a stake in this debate, please call 1-800-323-2230 again to get connected to your second senator's office. Once again enter your zip code, then press "2" to be connected with your second senator.
Once you've ended your call, click here to tell us how it went!

Congress could cut your benefits any day. Speak up now.

[ProSense]

4. Is this an

"Medicare isn't cheap..."

...anti-Medicare OP?

Krugman: It’s Health Care Costs, Stupid
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021922243

[obnoxiousdrunk]

5. Yes it is..

[kestrel91316]

6. Yes, but you'd be naive to expect anything

different from this poster.

[ProSense]

14. Well, this was the

"Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021930202

...thread to rope everyone in, using the pretence of opposing this to stir up anti-Obamacare sentiments.

Hit Medicare and Obamacare!

Score!

[otohara]

13. Stupid Me Can't Change Health Care Costs

the future looks bleak.
I fear my health problems will deplete what savings we have since going into the Medicare system a few short months ago.
The RX drug plan is terrible.

[ProSense]

17. Yes, it is.

"The RX drug plan is terrible."

Bush and the Republicans made it so. The President's health care law is addressing some of the problems, but what needs to happen is for the government to negotiate drug prices.

[DURHAM D]

19. Could you provide more information.

Did your employer enroll you in the plan?

My brother retired six years ago. His former employee enrolled him and spouse in the company plan that had large deductibles and they increased each year and provided poor Part D coverage. For 2013 he is trashing their "help" (a Medicare Advantage program) and enrolling in regular Medicare and paying for a medigap supplemental policy and Part D policy out of his own pocket. It will be cheaper and better for him. A lot of companies are pushing away their legacy employees by screwing them over with their "benefits".

[Cleita]

8. Well, your source is suspect, but let's say for the sake of argument they are right.

Medicare is more expensive for seniors. If we extended Medicare to cover everyone, younger and healthier people paying into the system, it would spread the cost, which is the idea behind socialized medicine to begin with. Studies have shown even with the uneven playing field, Medicare still costs less to deliver than our privatized insurance sector that is one of the most expensive in the world and yet our outcomes are no better than many third world countries.

[ProSense]

10. That's not even true

"Medicare is more expensive for seniors."

...for most seniors, especially compared to private insurance.

" If we extended Medicare to cover everyone, younger and healthier people paying into the system, it would spread the cost, which is the idea behind socialized medicine to begin with."

Exactly!

[Cleita]

16. Seniors have more health problems. That's a fact. They cost more to keep healthy.

However, since Medicare doesn't have bloated administrative costs and isn't skimming profits, it's less expensive to run than privatized insurance. What's really killing Medicare are the privatized Medicare Advantage programs, that underpay the providers to make profits, so they are basically useless since most doctors refuse to take them. The bloated pharma part, also, which I hope gets fixed in the future.

[otohara]

9. I'm New to Medicare

I don't mind paying, but the coverage pretty much sucks.

I am considering stopping my allergy shots - or pay $200 per month. I am miserable with allergies, headaches every morning. I decided to commit to shots because I don't want to be 65 and dealing with this. Then my husband lost his job...and I went into the Medicare system.

The RX plan only pays for 1 of my 3 medications.

The future looks bleak.

[DURHAM D]

11. Sounds like your Part D is the problem, not Medicare itself.

Perhaps you need a different plan.

[Cleita]

18. Do you have Medicare or a Medicare Advantage program?

If you have the latter, you have signed away your Medicare rights to an insurance company and they can set the rules as to what they will pay, any way they want to. Although most pay for prescription drugs, they can pick and choose what they won't pay for.

If you can go to any doctor you want, you have traditional Medicare. If you have to go to one of their list of providers, then you have a Medicare Advantage program. I would get out of it and go to traditional Medicare in the next enrollment period. Also, you have to buy Part D separately and there are many plans out there. They cost about $30 a month. Find the right one that covers your medication.

[Capt. Obvious]

12. I get it

You're just doing performance art.

It's all just a big show.

Bravo

[dkf]

21. The point is "it's the healthcare system, stupid!"

Our healthcare costs are running rampant way ahead of other countries and with worse results.

You can't fix Medicare or Medicaid or Obamacare without controlling costs.

[Cleita]

22. Jacki Schechner, the news person on Current TV whose also

very interested in health care explained it this morning. It seems like the baseline is so bloated by profit motives that Medicare is often accused of not paying enough. She brought up the example of someone being billed $100 for a disposable scrubs for the doctor. Clearly, they shouldn't cost that much. I notice on my Medicare bills that they only approve a fraction of the billing so they really aren't overpaying. I was bill $10,000 for a surgical facility last year. Medicare only paid $2,500 (nurses, equipment and all) which the facility accepted.

I was so shocked I actually called them up and asked them why they billed so much? They said it was standard procedure to make sure they got full payment from various insurances and government health programs. However, what does the uninsured person do, who is made to pay the full charge of what is arbitrarily charged by care providers? Medicare is doing what it can to contain costs. We need better laws regulating this and I believe Obamacare is trying to address this.

So we do pay two to three times as much per capita for our health care in this country, but it's not Medicare that is inflating this. Look for another scapegoat.

[Javaman]

23. +1 :) nt