Obama Budget Medicare Hike Could Hit Some In Middle Class

[avaistheone1]

WASHINGTON — Retired city worker Sheila Pugach lives in a modest home on a quiet street in Albuquerque, N.M., and drives an 18-year-old Subaru.

Pugach doesn't see herself as upper-income by any stretch, but President Barack Obama's budget would raise her Medicare premiums and those of other comfortably retired seniors, adding to a surcharge that already costs some 2 million beneficiaries hundreds of dollars a year each.

Due to the creeping effects of inflation, 20 million Medicare beneficiaries also would end up paying higher "income related" premiums for their outpatient and prescription coverage over time.

Obama administration officials say Obama's proposal will help improve the financial stability of Medicare by reducing taxpayer subsidies for retirees who can afford to pay a bigger share of costs. Congressional Republicans agree with the president on this one, making it highly likely the idea will become law if there's a budget deal this year.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/13/obama-budget-medicare_n_3075556.html

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Thank you Max Baucus.

Notice the new job his girl friend has,CEO of Wellpoint. Same old shit just a new day. Max is going out with his Golden Parachute. Got to pay for his new digs back home you know.

[madrchsod]

2. boy oh boy that`s a big load of bullshit

i guess if you are old do`t count what ever you have because someone thinks you have it all.

i guess it`s an equal screw job by the democrats and the republicans...wait a minute ...they actually may agree?

we old folks are really screwed now.

[newthinking]

3. Don't like CCPI, but someone retired on >85k income..

can't pay a little higher premium than someone on $900 a month? Did you read the entire article? That was what it was about.

[newthinking]

4. Single retired on > $85,000, couple > $170,000.....

have to pay a little higher premium for medicare than those living on (often much) less. I don't see a problem with that.

[ProSense]

5. This is the MSM again trying to protect high-income earners.

From the link:

Currently only about 1 in 20 Medicare beneficiaries pays the higher income-based premiums, which start at incomes over $85,000 for individuals and $170,000 for couples. As a reference point, the median or midpoint U.S. household income is about $53,000.

Obama's budget would change Medicare's upper-income premiums in several ways. First, it would raise the monthly amounts for those currently paying.

If the proposal already were law, Pugach would be paying about $168 a month for outpatient coverage under Medicare's Part B, instead of $146.90.

Then, the plan would create five new income brackets to squeeze more revenue from the top tiers of retirees.

The article is pure spin. First, if the median household income (not AGI) is $53,000 (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-02-09/income-rising/53033322/1), how on earth is a household with an adjusted gross income of $170,000 middle class? Secondly, the median individual wage is about $26,000 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/20/us-incomes-falling-as-optimism-reaches-10-year-low_n_1022118.html). In terms of AGI, the $85,000 number is likely four times the media AGI for an individual. This is like comparing someone earning an individual earning $25,000 to one earning $125,000 or a couple earning $50,000 to one earning more than $250,000.

On top of that these are incomes of seniors on Medicare. People have spent years arguing that the majority of Social Security recipients are living on $15,000 to $20,000 a year.

Now these reports are trying to claim that a senior with an AGI of $85,000 is middle class (but they have no problem with chained CPI)? How many seniors do you know whose AGI is more than $7,000 per month?

Here is the chart showing the existing premiums (the increases will apply to this).

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/media/pdf/EN-05-10536.pdf