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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 6,054
I noticed this for the first time:
Administration officials also are debating whether to permit people as young as 55 to purchase coverage through Medicare. That age group is particularly vulnerable in today's weakened economy, as many have lost jobs or seen insurance premiums rise rapidly. The cost would depend on whether recipients were offered a discount or required to pay the full price of coverage.
Administration officials also are debating whether to permit people as young as 55 to purchase coverage through Medicare. That age group is particularly vulnerable in today's weakened economy, as many have lost jobs or seen insurance premiums rise rapidly. The cost would depend on whether recipients were offered a discount or required to pay the full price of coverage.
Al, do you remember where that's from?
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Rich
Tampa, FL 99.1% ESR'd...
As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
Administration officials also are debating whether to permit people as young as 55 to purchase coverage through Medicare. That age group is particularly vulnerable in today's weakened economy, as many have lost jobs or seen insurance premiums rise rapidly. The cost would depend on whether recipients were offered a discount or required to pay the full price of coverage.
I'm afraid I may be the last to receive free or subsidized guaranteed issue health insurance. To summarize, all the following get government sponsored health coverage:
- Old people (medicare - over 65 - maybe over 55 now)
- young people - up to age 25 in some cases
- some disabled and problem kidney folks (medicare)
- government employees (provided as an employee benefit)
- prisoners
- military personnel
- poor people (medicaid)
- veterans and military/civilian retirees
Did I leave anyone out?
Who is not included are: middle class, middle-aged folks too poor to self insure and too rich to get free govt cheese.
- Old people (medicare - over 65 - maybe over 55 now)
Under that plan I will be able to get medicare next year.
I am now moving to a plan with a 7,500 deductible for 150/mo.
My mother - 89 pays 91/mo for the BCBS medicare supplemental plus 71/mo for the prescription drug part.
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Sometimes death is not as tragic as not knowing how to live. This man knew how to live--and how to make others glad they were living. - Jack Benny at Nat King Cole's funeral
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 5,319
...free or subsidized guaranteed issue health insurance. To summarize, all the following get government sponsored health coverage:
- Old people (medicare - over 65 - maybe over 55 now) - young people - up to age 25 in some cases - some disabled and problem kidney folks (medicare) - government employees (provided as an employee benefit) - prisoners - military personnel - poor people (medicaid) - veterans and military/civilian retirees and their survivor spouses and dependents
I erased the quotes (oops!) in the process of making a minor correction to the last sentence.
BTW, most groups including vets and mil/civ retirees pay for their insurance coverage at different levels. It is definitely not free.
I'm not sure about the rest of the groups who may get it free, perhaps the federal prisoners?
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"Happiness depends upon ourselves." - Aristotle
So the Stimulus Bill for more money than I can fathom gets passed, and before the ink dries, announce potential tax hikes. Yes sir, I just abandoned all hope of economic recovery. I can't imagine how the markets will react.
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 6,054
That medicare bit would be staggeringly good news for us early retirees who pay for our own coverage. We could save thousands per year, if my assumptions about how it would work are true.
I wish I hadn't seen that paragraph, since it probably won't come to be.
I suspect that announcing tax hikes in the middle of a recession will not be warmly received by investors, but I could be wrong.
To the contrary, this is what the article says about the tax increases:
Obama also seeks to increase tax collections, mainly by making good on his promise to eliminate some of the temporary tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003. While the budget would keep the breaks that benefit middle-income families, it would eliminate them for wealthy taxpayers, defined as families earning more than $250,000 a year. Those tax breaks would be permitted to expire on schedule in 2011. That means the top tax rate would rise from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, the tax on capital gains would jump to 20 percent from 15 percent for wealthy filers and the tax on estates worth more than $3.5 million would be maintained at the current rate of 45 percent.
IMO, this is about the best that investors could have expected. Remember, the Bush tax cuts are set to sunset in 2011. Apparently Obama is going to let them expire on schedule. The worry was that he might try to end them sooner. IMO, the markets may view this as positive.
That medicare bit would be staggeringly good news for us early retirees who pay for our own coverage. We could save thousands per year, if my assumptions about how it would work are true.
Not necessarily. Unless it is subsidized, this Medicare buy-in will not come cheap. I have seen estimates for this cost, without subsidy, to be at least $800 per month per person, just for Medicare parts A and B, which only cover about 80% of your expenses and do not cover drugs.
Or with relief, it will not be as bad as could have been - same thing. Still, either way, it is going to be an interesting day on CNBC - I know, don't watch.
__________________ Proud Vietnam Veteran: Cu Chi 66, 1 Bde, 25ID & Pleiku 66-67 41st Sig Bn 1st STRATCOM - Army Retired Jun 1979.
Not necessarily. Unless it is subsidized, this Medicare buy-in will not come cheap. I have seen estimates for this cost, without subsidy, to be at least $800 per month per person, just for Medicare parts A and B, which only cover about 80% of your expenses and do not cover drugs.
Still, given that those most likely to opt in are those with significant medical problems or pre-existing conditions, that might be pricing it too cheaply. I doubt that someone who is healthy and of appropriate weight with no preexisting conditions are the ones who would choose to buy in.
__________________ "Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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