Discussion Let's Fix Medicare

[conehead433]

Let's fix Medicare. Having only recently become eligible for Medicare I was disappointed to find out that after paying for Medicare for my whole working life that I now have to pay $142 (2020) a month to receive Medicare Part B benefits, the benefits you need if you want to be covered if and when you actually go to a doctor. Additionally you have to decide what level of coverage you want by picking from an alphabet soup of plans that vary greatly in benefits and coverage. And then there are penalties for declining Part B and Part D (drug coverage). This entire scheme by our government should constitute as cruel and unusual punishment. It shouldn't be the business of the government to reward Healthcare companies for taking care of it's obligations, nor should millions of Americans whose only income is SS. So what we should do is raise the percentage of a workers paycheck paid for Medicare enough so that when they turn 65 they are completely covered for everything. No additional payments ever. No alphabet soup to pick from. Of course this may also involve establishing strict cost structures for everything including procedures and prescription costs and possibly eliminating the private insurance sector from actually benifitting from Medicare at all (oh the horror). Due note I don't claim to be nearly as smart as all the idiots that instigated this system, but hey, you probably voted for them. Additionally I'm not running for office. Your voice may make a difference.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Silly topic here.

Lefties will act as if Medicare is amazing and needs to be expanded to everyone because it is... sooooooooooooo amazing. We have to abolish any insurance companies and do Medicare for all and that will fix everything. Yay!



Neutrally though, the sane and rational answer is somewhere in the middle instead of the extremes.

 

[conehead433]

Silly topic here.

Lefties will act as if Medicare is amazing and needs to be expanded to everyone because it is... sooooooooooooo amazing. We have to abolish any insurance companies and do Medicare for all and that will fix everything. Yay!



Neutrally though, the sane and rational answer is somewhere in the middle instead of the extremes.

I was not in any way advocating Medicare for all , and I'm not sure why you would consider this a silly topic unless you are a twenty something year old. But your opinion is duely noted, regardless of how valueless it may be.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I was not in any way advocating Medicare for all , and I'm not sure why you would consider this a silly topic unless you are a twenty something year old. But your opinion is duely noted, regardless of how valueless it may be.

You will have to forgive him....he is totally against medicare for all!
For no real reasons other than Republican taking points!!

 

[BoomerD]

To a point, the OP is right. I've had Medicare for several years...and 2 years ago, had the opportunity to get Part C (Medicare Advantage). Helped quite a bit...co-pays went down, prescription coverage, etc., but it was a PPO-type of plan, so the coverage area was limited.
Since then, we moved, and at first, there was no MA plan on our area...which meant driving 125 miles each way for doctor visits and such...but as of 1/1, there is a MA plan here...and while it's not quite as good as the one I had...it covers me locally.

Medicare (A&B) isn't perfect, but it's better than NO insurance, is a fuck of a lot cheaper than buying comparable coverage on the open market, and despite the lies from the righties who want it to go away, it's one of the most efficient plans out there...(low admin overhead) Yes, there is a lot of fraud...crack down on that, and it will be much better.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

To a point, the OP is right. I've had Medicare for several years...and 2 years ago, had the opportunity to get Part C (Medicare Advantage). Helped quite a bit...co-pays went down, prescription coverage, etc., but it was a PPO-type of plan, so the coverage area was limited.
Since then, we moved, and at first, there was no MA plan on our area...which meant driving 125 miles each way for doctor visits and such...but as of 1/1, there is a MA plan here...and while it's not quite as good as the one I had...it covers me locally.

Medicare (A&B) isn't perfect, but it's better than NO insurance, is a fuck of a lot cheaper than buying comparable coverage on the open market, and despite the lies from the righties who want it to go away, it's one of the most efficient plans out there...(low admin overhead) Yes, there is a lot of fraud...crack down on that, and it will be much better.

The fact that the majority of folks here are too incompetent to realize that you pay for Medicare in every paycheck - and that it isn't just your CURRENT cost of using it speaks volumes.

Plenty of people are just simply too stupid to understand costs that are out of sight.

 

[JEDIYoda]

To a point, the OP is right. I've had Medicare for several years...and 2 years ago, had the opportunity to get Part C (Medicare Advantage). Helped quite a bit...co-pays went down, prescription coverage, etc., but it was a PPO-type of plan, so the coverage area was limited.
Since then, we moved, and at first, there was no MA plan on our area...which meant driving 125 miles each way for doctor visits and such...but as of 1/1, there is a MA plan here...and while it's not quite as good as the one I had...it covers me locally.

Medicare (A&B) isn't perfect, but it's better than NO insurance, is a fuck of a lot cheaper than buying comparable coverage on the open market, and despite the lies from the righties who want it to go away, it's one of the most efficient plans out there...(low admin overhead) Yes, there is a lot of fraud...crack down on that, and it will be much better.

I agree!! But in my case I have been disabled since 2006 and I have Medicare part A and B and I also have medical, which is a California based program which supplements Medicare!
My disabled status was taken away for 3 months recently due to90 a clerical error so I was being hit for $182 a month for Medicare part B! Once they corrected the error and that was a hassle! My Chronic care mananger got ahold of a Social worker from the local hospital and she went with me to the local office and I signed a power of attorney so she could represent me! Within 2 weeks I have my coverage and a refund check for whet I had paid out of pocket for that brief amount of time!

 

[JEDIYoda]

The fact that the majority of folks here are too incompetent to realize that you pay for Medicare in every paycheck - and that it isn't just your CURRENT cost of using it speaks volumes.

Plenty of people are just simply too stupid to understand costs that are out of sight.

You could be correct! But until the powers that be come up with something that works -- Medicare is better than nothing!

 

[Vic]

Silly topic here.

Lefties will act as if Medicare is amazing and needs to be expanded to everyone because it is... sooooooooooooo amazing. We have to abolish any insurance companies and do Medicare for all and that will fix everything. Yay!



Neutrally though, the sane and rational answer is somewhere in the middle instead of the extremes.

Holy pre-emptive straw man, Batman!

The sane and rational answer would be to have honest people discuss the issue without intentionally dishonest distractions.

 

[Vic]

The fact that the majority of folks here are too incompetent to realize that you pay for Medicare in every paycheck - and that it isn't just your CURRENT cost of using it speaks volumes.

Plenty of people are just simply too stupid to understand costs that are out of sight.

Let's fix Medicare. Having only recently become eligible for Medicare I was disappointed to find out that after paying for Medicare for my whole working life that I now have to pay $142 (2020) a month to receive Medicare Part B benefits, the benefits you need if you want to be covered if and when you actually go to a doctor. Additionally you have to decide what level of coverage you want by picking from an alphabet soup of plans that vary greatly in benefits and coverage. And then there are penalties for declining Part B and Part D (drug coverage). This entire scheme by our government should constitute as cruel and unusual punishment. It shouldn't be the business of the government to reward Healthcare companies for taking care of it's obligations, nor should millions of Americans whose only income is SS. So what we should do is raise the percentage of a workers paycheck paid for Medicare enough so that when they turn 65 they are completely covered for everything. No additional payments ever. No alphabet soup to pick from. Of course this may also involve establishing strict cost structures for everything including procedures and prescription costs and possibly eliminating the private insurance sector from actually benifitting from Medicare at all (oh the horror). Due note I don't claim to be nearly as smart as all the idiots that instigated this system, but hey, you probably voted for them. Additionally I'm not running for office. Your voice may make a difference.

See bolded and underlined.

 

[Vic]

You could be correct! But until they powers that be come up with something that works -- Medicare is better than nothing!

That's right. Because nothing, even after years and years of paying for something, is exactly what some people want you to have.

 

[BoomerD]

I agree!! But in my case I have been disabled since 2006 and I have Medicare part A and B and I also have medical, which is a California based program which supplements Medicare!
My disabled status was taken away for 3 months recently due to90 a clerical error so I was being hit for $182 a month for Medicare part B! Once they corrected the error and that was a hassle! My Chronic care mananger got ahold of a Social worker from the local hospital and she went with me to the local office and I signed a power of attorney so she could represent me! Within 2 weeks I have my coverage and a refund check for whet I had paid out of pocket for that brief amount of time!

I became disabled in 2003 from a work comp injury. In 2013, (just before my work comp was settled) I qualifed for SSDI, then 18 months later, Medicare. I never qualified (nor did I want to) for Medi-cal. After my union insurance ecpired in...2005(?) the cost of healthcare insurance for us...with big co-pays and deductibles was $1200-$1500/mo. NOT affordable on my work comp pay...so wedid without health insurance until (a) I qualified for Medicare and (b) Obamacare for my wife.

The fact that the majority of folks here are too incompetent to realize that you pay for Medicare in every paycheck - and that it isn't just your CURRENT cost of using it speaks volumes.

Plenty of people are just simply too stupid to understand costs that are out of sight.

You PAY INTO Medicare with every paycheck...as does your boss, but it's kind of like pre-paying part of your eventual monthly premiums...so that, when you finally retire, you don't have to fork over $500, $1000, or more every month for coverage.

the fact that some people are too stupid to be able to figure that out astonishes me.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I became disabled in 2003 from a work comp injury. In 2013, (just before my work comp was settled) I qualifed for SSDI, then 18 months later, Medicare. I never qualified (nor did I want to) for Medi-cal. After my union insurance ecpired in...2005(?) the cost of healthcare insurance for us...with big co-pays and deductibles was $1200-$1500/mo. NOT affordable on my work comp pay...so wedid without health insurance until (a) I qualified for Medicare and (b) Obamacare for my wife.




You PAY INTO Medicare with every paycheck...as does your boss, but it's kind of like pre-paying part of your eventual monthly premiums...so that, when you finally retire, you don't have to fork over $500, $1000, or more every month for coverage.

the fact that some people are too stupid to be able to figure that out astonishes me.

That's what happened to me...in 2003 (I hurt myself at work and after numerous sergeries and several years I was awarded by a Social security Judge my SSDI with n3 years of back pay and I was imm3ediately eligible for medicare and medical...…..had I not had a lawyer to see me through everything, I might have been up shits creek!!

Good Luck to you!!

 

[Meghan54]

The fact that the majority of folks here are too incompetent to realize that you pay for Medicare in every paycheck - and that it isn't just your CURRENT cost of using it speaks volumes.

Plenty of people are just simply too stupid to understand costs that are out of sight.

Please, point out all those incompetent people who don't realize that the govt. takes $ from each paycheck for Medicare. I honestly don't know where you get such ignorance laced ideas.....

Or maybe you're talking about conservatives who rail against govt. taxes on the one hand and demand that the govt. Keep your hands off my Medicare on the other....you know, like it's free or something.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Silly topic here.

Lefties will act as if Medicare is amazing and needs to be expanded to everyone because it is... sooooooooooooo amazing. We have to abolish any insurance companies and do Medicare for all and that will fix everything. Yay!



Neutrally though, the sane and rational answer is somewhere in the middle instead of the extremes.

A grand entrance into the thread, cheers!

Unnecessary inappropriate image removed.
admin allisolm

 

[Muse]

One single payer medical system for all. When? Eventually.

 

[IronWing]

OP, if you mean fix Medicare by going to a single payer system for all, that sounds reasonable. If you mean fix Medicare by zeroing out your premiums and placing the costs of those premiums on working people to cover what you didn’t pay while you were working and still not cover working people, well, hell no. You knew or should have known the system while you were working and demanded change back then, even if it had costed you more out of every pay check. To demand that change now sounds pretty spongy.

 

[ch33zw1z]

OP, if you mean fix Medicare by going to a single payer system for all, that sounds reasonable. If you mean fix Medicare by zeroing out your premiums and placing the costs of those premiums on working people to cover what you didn’t pay while you were working and still not cover working people, well, hell no. You knew or should have known the system while you were working and demanded change back then, even if it had costed you more out of every pay check. To demand that change now sounds pretty spongy.

More or less this, and would end up being another way the boomers take without contributing.

 

[Thump553]

Not to be insulting to OP, but you obviously have never actually paid for health insurance before Medicare. I'm guessing your health insurance was always paid in full (or nearly so) by your employer.

Welcome to the world of those that actually paid for insurance. I was self-employed several years before Obamacare-in the days of 50+ page insurance applications, having "risks" excluded from coverage as preexisting conditions (for me, having my tonsils removed was a preexisting condition, despite it being basically a rite of passage to us boomer children) and having health insurance premiums being my highest monthly bill (outside of the mortgage) even with a five figure deductible. And that was for a couple with no significant health problems or bad health history.

Obamacare (before the GOP deliberately wrecked it) was much better and far cheaper, but still had pitfalls-especially large deductibles.

When I moved to Medicare, my health coverage costs probably dropped to a quarter or less than under Obamacare (even with the add-on Meidcare parts), with a far smaller deductible and far more extensive coverage. For example, my wife and I now both have dental coverage for the first time in our lives.

Frankly most people I know really look forward to their 65th birthday being able to get on Medicare.

 

[IronWing]

If we are going to stick to our ridiculous, inefficient, byzantine employment-based health insurance scheme I would like a law requiring employers to disclose their cost of covering employee health insurance benefits on every pay stub. My employer does this so I know what portion of my labor goes to health insurance. Remember, those "employer-covered" premiums are coming out of your labor and nowhere else. It isn't a freebie to employees.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

If we are going to stick to our ridiculous, inefficient, byzantine employment-based health insurance scheme I would like a law requiring employers to disclose their cost of covering employee health insurance benefits on every pay stub. My employer does this so I know what portion of my labor goes to health insurance. Remember, those "employer-covered" premiums are coming out of your labor and nowhere else. It isn't a freebie to employees.

Everyone can already see that every year. It's called Box DD on your Fed. W2.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Let's fix Medicare. Having only recently become eligible for Medicare I was disappointed to find out that after paying for Medicare for my whole working life that I now have to pay $142 (2020) a month to receive Medicare Part B benefits, the benefits you need if you want to be covered if and when you actually go to a doctor. Additionally you have to decide what level of coverage you want by picking from an alphabet soup of plans that vary greatly in benefits and coverage. And then there are penalties for declining Part B and Part D (drug coverage). This entire scheme by our government should constitute as cruel and unusual punishment. It shouldn't be the business of the government to reward Healthcare companies for taking care of it's obligations, nor should millions of Americans whose only income is SS. So what we should do is raise the percentage of a workers paycheck paid for Medicare enough so that when they turn 65 they are completely covered for everything. No additional payments ever. No alphabet soup to pick from. Of course this may also involve establishing strict cost structures for everything including procedures and prescription costs and possibly eliminating the private insurance sector from actually benifitting from Medicare at all (oh the horror). Due note I don't claim to be nearly as smart as all the idiots that instigated this system, but hey, you probably voted for them. Additionally I'm not running for office. Your voice may make a difference.

The part of Medicare that really has the significant penalty for not enrolling is the supplement to cover the 20% of insurance not taken care of by Part B. Companies offering Part G are only required to accept you at the standard fee for your age and location in your initial signup period (eg I think the initial six months or so after you're Medicare eligible). After that they can look at your medical history and decide to not cover you or decide to charge you a higher rate. I figure it's probably similar if you go for Medicare Advantage too instead of B + G.

Picking a Part G is a clusterfuck because prices are all over the place for the same exact insurance. And then you can't ever change it without being subject to your medical history being taken into account unless your insurance stops being offered (then I believe you get another guaranteed issuance period for your supplement if your Part G plan stops being offered). Part D is a pain in the ass to choose too. When picking a plan for my mom I just basically asked her what drugs she was taking and then checked around with a billion different providers asking what price they charge for refills of each drug at their preferred pharmacies, though I did find a very affordable plan for her that covers everything she takes.

Also if Trump and the GOP's activist judges manage to kill the ACA you're going to have a big donut hole open up in your Part D drug coverage that will make you end up paying nearly the entire cost of your drugs for a while once you + your insurance have spent X amount of dollars until you and your insurance have spend Y amount of dollars for the year on your drugs. So if you have to take Tier 3 or Tier 4 drugs be prepared to get royally fucked if the ACA dies.

 

[IronWing]

Everyone can already see that every year. It's called Box DD on your Fed. W2.

Show of hands, how many people here know that Box DD on your W2 shows what your employer took out of your earnings to cover your health insurance?

Put it on the pay stubs.

 

[fskimospy]

Medicare and Medicaid are already the most efficient health insurance in the country. When people talk about fixing them because they think they are too expensive that’s because the cost of service in the US health care system is astronomical. The way you ‘fix’ that is the same way you fix the rest of our health care system, which is by lowering service costs.

 

[fskimospy]

Show of hands, how many people here know that Box DD on your W2 shows what your employer took out of your earnings to cover your health insurance?

Put it on the pay stubs.

I agree they should put it on the pay stubs and label it clearly. The ACA mandates its inclusion on W2 forms but as you mention that’s not obvious unless you read the fine print.