Medicare Costs?

[Car-Guy]

Well, to begin with, we don't get "free Part A"... we prepaid for Part A over the 40 quarters + when we were paying payroll taxes.

+ A LOT,


Same w/SS

 

[athena53]

Your irritation is misguided.
I'm perfectly ok with letting low-income retirees have a discount on healthcare...

Well, technically the only ones who AREN'T getting a discount on Medicare B and D are those paying IRMAA surcharges of 3 X the regular premiums. The rest have their Part B subsidized to some extent by general revenues.

Well, to begin with, we don't get "free Part A"... we prepaid for Part A over the 40 quarters + when we were paying payroll taxes.

And, as was pointed out earlier, the same people who are paying IRMAA premiums are likely to have been the ones who worked longer and had higher wages subject to Medicare taxes.

I AM in favor of some of the Medicare/Medicaid hybrids and the Extra Help plans that enable very low-income people to have healthcare in retirement.

 

[pb4uski]

Your irritation is misguided.
I'm perfectly ok with letting low-income retirees have a discount on healthcare...

Well, technically the only ones who AREN'T getting a discount on Medicare B and D are those paying IRMAA surcharges of 3 X the regular premiums. The rest have their Part B subsidized by general revenues.

Po-ta-toe, Po-tat-oe.

I view it more as the Part B premium is the $164.90 in 2023 and that those who pay IRMAA pay a success tax or a surcharge because they have high income (or at least did 2 years ago).

 

[RetMD21]

Well, technically the only ones who AREN'T getting a discount on Medicare B and D are those paying IRMAA surcharges of 3 X the regular premiums. The rest have their Part B subsidized to some extent by general revenues.....

Check my math. My understanding is that 75% of part B is from general tax revenues.

The IRMAA payments top out at standard part B x 3.4 or
Standard part B + 2.4x IRMAA surcharge if you prefer

If I am right even the couples with > 750 k get a bit of a subsidy

 

[Car-Guy]

And where does the general tax revenue come from?

 

[athena53]

And where does the general tax revenue come from?

I know, I know.

"There is no government money- only taxpayer money"- my favorite quote from Margaret Thatcher.

 

[Carpediem]

Not trying to hijack the thread but quick question from a Medicare / Boomer Benefits newbie - if I want to sign up for UHC plan G, are there any advantages to going through the AARP website and signing up directly with UHC instead of using BB?

 

[KarenF]

Not trying to hijack the thread but quick question from a Medicare / Boomer Benefits newbie - if I want to sign up for UHC plan G, are there any advantages to going through the AARP website and signing up directly with UHC instead of using BB?

Boomer Benefits will help you with claims. I am not aware of anybody else that does that, certainly not AARP. For that reason I am going with Boomer Benefits. The cost is the same or very close.

 

[CRLLS]

There shouldn't be any issue with claims. If Medicare covers it, any Supplement must cover it within the terms of the Plan. Cost is the same. If you want 3rd party involved with potential claim issues then go with BB. I have not heard any bad things about BB or AARP/UHC supplement claims. For me, I went direct to AARP/UHC and have not had any issues over the time I've been with them with several trips to the ER and surgeries.

Again, any supplement provider, regardless of the plan you choose, does not have the option to decline coverage if Medicare covers it.

 

[teej1985]

Boomer Benefits will help you with claims. I am not aware of anybody else that does that, certainly not AARP. For that reason I am going with Boomer Benefits. The cost is the same or very close.

Boomer doesn't sell the UHC/AARP plans?

 

[audreyh1]

Boomer doesn't sell the UHC/AARP plans?

Yes they do.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Boomer doesn't sell the UHC/AARP plans?

DW went directly to AARP/UHC, was as easy as pie. The phone number is on the AARP site. You do have to be an AARP member to apply. But it is worth every penny. (866-274-1145)

 

[Carpediem]

Thank y'all for the info on AARP/UHC and BB. Just signed up for UHC Plan G using BB. Easy peasy.

 

[PatrickA5]

I signed up for Medicare, Supplement and Part D without the use of a broker. I even changed Supplement and Part D providers along the way. It is easy.

What I didn't like about the brokers I researched, and that includes Boomer Benefits, is that they don't always offer you all of the options available to you. Of course, it would be too big a list to do so. I do have trust issues. I'll admit it. Since Supplement providers pay different commissions for clients that they sign up, I don't trust them to be working in my best interest. It is me. I know it.

We used Boomer Benefits for Part G UHC/AARP and were pleased. But, when it came time for Part D, the cheapest plans were "non-commissionable" per Boomer and if we wanted the cheap plan we had to do it ourselves - which was easy enough to do.

 

[CRLLS]

We used Boomer Benefits for Part G UHC/AARP and were pleased. But, when it came time for Part D, the cheapest plans were "non-commissionable" per Boomer and if we wanted the cheap plan we had to do it ourselves - which was easy enough to do.

Did they at least mention the various cheap plans? Or did you already know what you wanted, mentioned it to BB, and they sent you elsewhere to sign up?

 

[audreyh1]

Boomer Benefits handled DH's initial Part D signup when they set him up for the Medicare supplement. But after that first year you are on your own with Part D. They do have helpful videos with tutorials on how to handle Part D, so that's handy.