Looks like I won't get Medicare

[PasadenaTrudy]

I'm almost 50 and worried. To get Medicare, you have to have worked 10 yrs at least. I spent my entire life taking care of sick family members and managing our apt. bldg. I get $45,000 a yr. for doing this from money accrued through rents. This country does not care about its citizens, that's for sure. I'm not married either. I guess I'll have to buy the most expensive coverage in the new healthcare exchange here in CA. I won't get SS either. I'm so depressed right now!

[PoliticAverse]

1. Have you been paying self-employment tax on the income you've been receiving ? n/t

[PasadenaTrudy]

7. I'm not

self-employed. I get an income distribution every year.

[hollysmom]

2. I was self employed for 40 years and always paid my social security and medicare amounts.

[alfie]

3. Do you not pay into SS?

If you are just 50 you have plenty of time to get 10 years of payments in if you start now.

[newfie11]

4. Move to Mexico

They have national health insurance with the top cost of $200.

[PasadenaTrudy]

6. May have to

some day.

[PasadenaTrudy]

5. No

For some reason I can't pay into it. I get an annual income distribution from our property/trust. I can't work due to CFS/Fibromyalgia. I have a good tax guy, he would have figured this out by now.

[dkf]

8. He may be optimizing the trust for taxes, not to get you Medicare/social security.

Have you ever asked him specifically what you can do to change the structure? Are there others involved?

On edit: you can get Medicare you just have to pay for it.

http://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-04-2008/ask_ms__medicare_9.html

Otherwise, if you’re 65 or older, you can buy into Medicare by paying monthly premiums for Part A hospital insurance. You can also join Part B and pay the same premiums as other people. In both cases, you must be a U.S. citizen or a legal resident (green card holder) who has lived in the United States continuously for at least five years.

The amount you pay for the Part A premium in 2013 is $243 a month (if you have 30 to 39 work credits) or $441 a month (if you have fewer than 30 work credits). These amounts usually increase each year. If you continue working until you’ve earned 40 credits (about 10 years' work in total), you’ll no longer be required to pay Part A premiums.

If you buy Part A, you must also enroll in Part B. But you can enroll in Part B without having Part A. You can get Part D prescription drug coverage if you’re enrolled in Part A or Part B. To join a private Medicare Advantage plan or to buy Medigap supplemental insurance, you must have Part A and Part B.

[PoliticAverse]

9. Yes the poster might want to reconfigure things to be able to pay into SS/Medicare. n/t

[PasadenaTrudy]

14. Yes

My brother and I inherited this property and we share the income after expenses. I take more, because he already makes a lot of money and doesn't want to be in a higher bracket. Luckily, our property has been valued between $1.5-2.1 million a couple yrs ago, and property values keep rising for South Pasadena. We plan to hold on to our property as long as possible. Neither of us had kids, either.

[PasadenaTrudy]

16. When I see him in Feb

I will talk to him about this. Thank you so much for finding this info for me!

[dkf]

17. You are welcome!

[rickford66]

10. Medicare is not tied to SS -- oops

You get part A just for being 65 at no cost. Part B costs about $100/month. My wife is a British citizen who hasn't worked long enough to collect SS on her work record so she gets half of what I get. Her Medicare was not ties to this at all.

I looked closer and it seems she may not be eligible. I guess my wife was eligible because I was. It's easy to "assume" someone has worked 10 years by the time they are 65.

[PoliticAverse]

11. Right. Everyone at 65 can get Medicare, but if you don't have sufficient 'work credits' you must pay

for part A (currently a maximum of $441/month).

See:
http://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-a-costs/part-a-costs.html

[PasadenaTrudy]

12. Wow

That's what I pay for my health ins. now. Who know what things will be like in 15 yrs I guess.

[PoliticAverse]

13. You also probably would want Part B, currently $104.90/month.

http://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/part-b-costs/part-b-costs.html

[DustyJoe]

19. just buy off the exchange

Unless your income is so high, subsidized healthcare thru the exchange is cheaper than part B
...................................................................................................................
LA times excerpt --------------------------------------------------------------------

Premiums that normally would have cost $346 a month on average instead cost consumers just $82, with the federal government picking up the balance of the bill.
.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80541341/

[PasadenaTrudy]

15. Thanks for all your help!!

Really, I do feel less stressed now. My boyfriend and I may just marry someday too, just for this reason. We are just real nonconformists and don't like the idea of being married, but we may just have to!

[blackcrowflies]

20. does the boyfriend have a long enough work record

for you to qualify for benefits as a spouse?

[mdm646]

18. There is a reason for this problem

I just received his information from and email from Senator Al Franken:

Q. (Bob C.) Any chance of changing the law so Medicare can bargain for better prescription drug prices similar to what the VA does?

This is a great question, because letting Medicare negotiate for better drug prices is a great idea.

A little background: Medicare represents a lot of people, and so if it could negotiate directly with the drug companies, it would be able to deliver the same benefits for seniors at a lower cost. For instance: As Bob says, the Department of Veterans Affairs uses its size to negotiate, and for the ten most-prescribed drugs, the VA pays about half what Medicare does.

The only reason Medicare doesn't’t negotiate for better prices is -- get this -- it's literally against the law for the government to negotiate to get a better deal. That's an actual law that Washington politicians passed. It's a huge giveaway to big drug companies that don't need the help, and it makes zero sense -- especially when getting rid of that rule could save us up to $240 billion over ten years.

That's why I've fought to change that law ever since I got to the Senate, and why I'm going to keep fighting until we get it done.

Folks this ain't chump change we are talking about here but what do you hear about this travesty in the nation press or from the Congress? Right you hear nothing but how Medicare is going broke. Ever really wonder why.