Did ya know: If you disenroll from Medicare, you give up your SS?

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords In 20 years, when spouse & I start drawing SS, this will all be a moot point because our Medicare premiums will be roughly equal to our SS deposits...

A stroke of genius by our legislators. I am in awe. Of course, I am also dead.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

I must be missing something... why would one opt-out? This luxury is only a consideration for the truly wealthy.

Dear clown ,

Some of us might opt out because we may live in (for example) Mexico and expect to pay for our health care privately.

I am back to considering my fall-back retirement option of robbing a bank in Canada. In the worst case, I will get away with it.

[RetiredGypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy I am back to considering my fall-back retirement option of robbing a bank in Canada. In the worst case, I will get away with it.

As long as you don't do it like these guys:

YouTube - Barenaked Ladies-Bank Job

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

By a Canadian group, by the way.

Some groovy pics in that video.

N.B., incarcerated criminals in Canada go to the head of the line for health care in a country where one can die in the waiting room.

I was wrong. The worst case is they would deport me. Very bad juju.

[chinaco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem I must be missing something. The wealthy should have the same rights and protections as other people. If they want to opt out of Medicare and allow more Medicare resources to be used for others, why should anyone stop them? Why should the receipt of one government benefit be contingent on acceptance of (not qualification for) another one?

You are missing something! The point... if medicare were to allow people to opt out... it would be a luxury that the wealthy could afford! Bottom line: somes group have an interest in destroying the program... why? Money! The middle class would be the group exposed to financial ruin.

It is a simple point... those of us that are not rich need that program. Our current system does not provide a viable alternative. I suppose the new health reform law offers one... we could purchase it... if the program survives.

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem I wish people would stop saying scary things about the Medicaid program. Half of the people who will be gaining health care coverage under the new health care legislation will get it by being pushed into Medicaid. .

I thought the working poor would get a tax credit to enable the purchase of insurance. I thought the new program was about private insurance health exchanges.

Well, I learn something new everyday. Could you post a link?

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco You are missing something! The point... if medicare were to allow people to opt out... it would be a luxury that the wealthy could afford! . . . It is a simple point... those of us that are not rich need that program.

Exactly. We're stuck with it, and the waiting lists are long. Don't you want more money in Medicare to help pay for the care of the elderly? Don't you want Mr and Mrs Richie Rich to get out of line so the line is shorter for you--while you wait to see one of the two doctors who are still willing to accept Medicare patients? These rich folks are NOT asking for their Medicare premiums back--they are offering to leave that money in the Medicare pot for someone else to use. How can you be opposed to that use of resources to help the elderly, unless we aren't really trying to get medical care to people, we're just trying to "make everyone equal."

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco I thought the working poor would get a tax credit to enable the purchase of insurance. I thought the new program was about private insurance health exchanges. Well, I learn something new everyday. Could you post a link?

Don't feel alone, lots of people are learning new things about this new law every day. As a legislator once said "We have to pass this law so you can see what's in it." The baby is on the doorstep now--she's not too pretty.
Anyway, Medicaid is a government single payer system, lots of the law's boosters should be thrilled that so many people will get their health coverage this way, through the much talked about "public option."

A link:
From the Kaiser Family Foundation: Understanding Medicaid's Role in our Health Care System

Quote:

Currently, Medicaid eligibility for adults is very limited in most states. In the median state, parents are not eligible unless they are below 64% of the poverty level ($14,112 for a family of four), and in most states, adults without dependent children are not eligible regardless of their income level . . . Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid will expand in 2014 to nearly everyone up to 133% of the poverty level, reaching 16 million more people by 2019 . . .

[chinaco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy Dear clown , Some of us might opt out because we may live in (for example) Mexico and expect to pay for our health care privately. I am back to considering my fall-back retirement option of robbing a bank in Canada. In the worst case, I will get away with it.

Don't misread my rant...

In any complex situation there are circumstances and situations that do not fit perfectly. Is that one... perhaps.

And if that were the real objective... well, I understand. I cannot say that I disagree. I don't wish to see anyone slighted... even the truly wealthy!

Forget about that article for a minute. Let's cut to the chase...

BS debate aside..

Do you believe Medicare should be chipped away and undermined... possibly destroyed?

If so, why? Help me understand how it benefits any of us.

[chinaco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem ... A link: From the Kaiser Family Foundation: Understanding Medicaid's Role in our Health Care System

Thanks.

[M Paquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco Do you believe Medicare should be chipped away and undermined... possibly destroyed? If so, why? Help me understand how it benefits any of us.

Maybe the IHOP will be less crowded for the Early Bird Special?

I'm sure there's some sort of Free Market or Rugged Individualist argument coming. If we just fix up the Demand side, why, things will be right as rain. Meanwhile, the Supply side of the equation quietly continues to be dominated by an old fashioned guild system and an oligopoly on pharmaceuticals.

I'm just here for the bacon.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco Do you believe Medicare should be chipped away and undermined... possibly destroyed?

No, not undermined. Destroyed, yes.

I am not against universal healthcare. On the contrary!

My objection is how we are doing it. Our expensive limited accessibility healthcare system is being propped up like the housing industry was being propped up, at great expense and to everyone's eventual detriment. I see a better model in other countries. Once again, the US has learned nothing from the experience of others and is acting to perpetuate special interests at all costs. And if the OP's conclusion is accurate, there is no escape for any of us (except members of Congress, who are immune from the consequences of their decisions). I guess the most generous thing that can be said is that our representatives thought that anything would be better than nothing. I have my doubts.

Quote:

Meanwhile, the Supply side of the equation quietly continues to be dominated by an old fashioned guild system and an oligopoly on pharmaceuticals.

+1

I agree with samclem's point. And I am in no way rich. When I turn 65 I will get $400/mo in pension and our income from SS will be much more than that from our investments.

[Brat]

Here is the issue I have had with both Fed. health insurance and Medicare. Medicare is always primary which means that health care providers who treat me must accept Medicare's rates. After our moved I had a problem finding physicians who would accept new patients where Medicare is primary. If I had refused Medicare that wouldn't be an issue.

If I opted out of Medicare A & B all I would loose would be co-pays.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Danger ahead, Brat.

[chinaco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy No, not undermined. Destroyed, yes. I am not against universal healthcare. On the contrary! My objection is how we are doing it. ...

Ok.

But Medicare is not the problem, per se... it is our overall approach to health care... our patch quilt system (with holes in it).

Destroyed... not a good idea unless there is a viable alternative...

I agree our system is broken, unfair, not meeting our needs, etc. I also agree that there is a better way...

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpy Don, So do I explicitly have to enroll in Medicare before I turn 65? or does that happen automatically?

When you get closer to 65 you will be getting all kinds of information in the mail about Medicare or if you would like to see it early go to their website and download their booklet . Basically they want you to apply three months before you turn 65 . I also have Federal BCBS the top plan but I am thinking of going to the basic BCBS plan once I am eligible for Medicare as there is a lot of overlapping benefits . Having the two insurances covers most of your deductibles and co-pays so it is worth having .

[Brat]

GEHA may be a better value than BCBS basic.

[Freein05]

I love Medicare. I went on it last year in June and my health care costs are less than half of what they were in a private plan and I have more choices of doctors and hospitals.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

But Medicare is not the problem, per se... it is our overall approach to health care... our patch quilt system (with holes in it). Destroyed... not a good idea unless there is a viable alternative... I agree our system is broken, unfair, not meeting our needs, etc. I also agree that there is a better way...

At this point, IMHO, destroyed would be better than what we have. And I do mean totally destroyed. To the point that our doctors and nurses (and hospital administrators--and legislators, with any luck) consider leaving the country. (They won't, but they would make a lot of noise. This is the best country in the world for someone working in the health care industry, and always will be.)

There is at least one system that I like better. (And it is not Canada, but I might go for Canada as an alternative to the American Way. I can do that. You can't. I have options that most do not have. It is not right, and I am sorry for that, but it is what it is.)

And, unless I get riled up again, that is my last word on the subject.

[GregLee]

When my wife and I reached 65, we could have applied for Medicare and gotten Part A for free. Well, at no extra charge, I suppose I should say. We didn't bother, because we both had insurance through work. But we seemed to pass into a strange limbo with regard to our health insurer (HMSA), which once a year would stop paying our medical bills. I'd call them up and ask why, and they'd tell me it was because I hadn't told them whether I had Medicare. (They hadn't asked.) So I'd say no, I didn't, and the billing person I was talking to would say, oh, then we'll pay the bill -- just have your doctor resubmit the claim. And they did pay. But the next year I'd have to do the same dance with them.

My best guess is that when you could have Medicare paying your bills instead of another insurer, that other insurer really, really doesn't want to pay (understandably), but is precluded from requiring you to apply for Medicare. My insurer wouldn't even suggest that I apply for Medicare Part A (I asked), though they did point out to me that I had that option.

[Brat]

When you are employed and have health insurance that policy is primary.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredGypsy There's no incentive to serve a large population of consumers by an insurance after a certain age? There was no insurance for anyone over 65 before Medicare in 1965?

Very little.