I thought Medicare was an entitlement that was already paid for with payroll taxes?

[Skink]

People here seem to say it costs alot of money.:shrug:

[Obamanaut]

1. I don't think it's that simple. n/t

[dragonlady]

2. The payroll taxes are designed to pay for the care of those over 65

That's how it has been up to now. If people under that age start using it, they would need to pay premiums until the usual age of 65 so the system wouldn't be immediately drained of funds.

[Skink]

7. So this is public option medicare.

Once you turn 65 then you are fully covered.

[Winterblues]

25. 80% only

:shrug:

[Bluenorthwest]

11. Except you do know that those 65 and over pay premiums

right? No one gets Medicare without a premium. Not the one third of beneficiaries who are disabled and under 65, not the two thirds who are over retirement age. So the 'until the usual age of 65' part is incorrect in the implication that premiums would cease at 65. It is not free to anyone, even now.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. More correctly, SOME of Medicare charges premiums.

Medicare is divided into "parts".
Part A is hospital coverage, no premium, but there are out of pocket expenses, cost depending on length of stay and extent of services.
.Medicare does not pay for a lot of hospital charges, so people get "gap" insurance on their own.
Everyone eligible for Medicare is automatically signed up for this, as far as I know.
The other 2 parts, below, are NOT mandatory...yet.

Part B is outpatient coverage, each Medicare recipient is billed a set monthly cost, which has risen over the years, is now 90.00 something, due to increase to ...102?

There is Part D, which is the prescription coverage, and was the infamous big Pharma giveaway.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield has a lock on that in our state, they offer a few different coverage plans, but few other competitors.
Part D was gift from Bush to Pharma, and a good preview of what we can expect if the Pharma written health plan sections are made into law.

At our house, for now, we have just A, since it is still cheaper to pay for the bi-annual outpatient visits and we have little prescription expenses.

[Bluenorthwest]

28. Thank you for typing all of those details!

[Mass]

3. The payroll taxes that you pay are not for you, but for seniors.

Adding people to the system will cost money, and people less than 55 will have to pay the premiums. If what was published is correct, the opening of Medicare would start in 2011, but the subsidies offered for lower income would only kick in in 2014, when the exchange starts. Until then, people would have to pay full price (though people do not seem to know what).

[Vincardog]

4. It is our money when they are taxing it. After they get it, it is corporate money not ours any more

[Mass]

6. Workers pay for retired people. It is how the system works. What is so hard to understand.

This is called solidarity and it is how Social Security and Medicare work. I thought that much was obvious to people on DU.

[Skink]

12. that's how I thought it worked...

I see now that the newly eligable people are going to have to pay into it along with what they pay now or is that just a rumor?

[Mass]

18. People between 55 and 65 are not considered retired. The money payed on payroll taxes

is already used to subsidize Medicare for people over 65. You need new revenue for people under 65. At this point, the proposal is that you have to buy in (first without subsidies, then without).

In addition, as somebody said earlier. Medicare part A and B are not free. They come subsidized for most seniors, but they are not totally free. Now, the point is that subsidies would not kick in for people of less than 65 before 2014, so the price in between would be high.

My MIL pays $92 for Medicare, $40 for prescription coverage, and $200 for additional coverage with a private company. The point is that, as it stands, people less than 65 would first pay something around $600 to $700 dollars instead of the $92, making Medicare for the first few years at least expensive.

[sinkingfeeling]

20. Those on Medicare today do not get it for 'free'. They pay at least $96.40 a month for Part B.

[Romulox]

16. It's not "solidarity" when the people paying for the services can't utilize them.

It's definitional. :hi:

[Vincardog]

19. What happend to all the SSI overpayments we have been making? They were used to "Buy" Tbills that

never mature. What is so hard to understand? I thought that much was obvious to people on DU.

[Mass]

22. What does SSI have to do with Medicare in the first place?

[Vincardog]

26. They are both examples of how the government takes our money and it becomes "Their" money.

[Mass]

27. Yes, this is how most European countries work as well. So what.

Except if you are a libertarian, this is how the system should work to help those who need it. Libertarianism sucks.

[Vincardog]

32. Do you remember the OP? The one I was responding to? It was about the ,money paid into Medicare

"I thought Medicare was an entitlement that was already paid for with payroll taxes?"

My response to that question was about the DC attitude that the money we pay in becomes their money to spend. Some posters want to lecture about funding mechanisms and then get out a straw man argument about Libertarianism.

Well excuse me. I do not want to be painted with that brush.

[sinkingfeeling]

30. No, Social Security and Medicare are both government programs that pool taxpayer money and then

distributes it back to qualifying individuals. One can qualify to receive SS either by becoming disabled or reaching retirement age (anywhere from age 62 onward). One becomes qualified for Medicare by reaching age 65 and then paying a monthly premium for Part B, and if elected, paying even more for Part D and Medigap or Medicare Advantage.

[napi21]

5. There IS a % taken out of your paycheck which helps fund Medicare,

but it doesn't cover it all. When you collect SS, $97 is deducted as your monthly premium for Part B which covers Dr. visits and non-hospital tests etc. There are co-pays with Medicare too. You can estimate them at 20% or all charges and you'll be close. Most people buy supplemental ins. to cover the copays, but the Sups. aren't cheap! They avg. around $150/mo.

[RKP5637]

23. Yep, My Medicare + Supplemental + Full Prescription Coverage comes to several hundred per month.

[Mass]

24. Yes, my MIL pays about $350 a year for that.

[kirby]

8. It works this way...

People working today, pay for their elder on medicare today. Right now there are 3 workers for every 1 retiree. The population is aging towards 2 works for every 1 retiree. Add the aging population to the increased lifespan, the epidemic of obesity, and the 10-20% per year increase in health care costs and you should see why the money coming in is not enough to keep up with what is paid out.

[Greyhound]

9. They were. The SS trust was judged "overfunded" and so on and so forth...

Of course the single (and simplest) solution is to remove the cap. SS fully funded beyond the point where forecasts have any meaning.

In short, this is just a scam to convince the flock that the wolves are the best stewards of their future.

[pnwmom]

10. The cost of the care most people get after the age of 65 is higher than the money

they paid in through payroll taxes, even accounting for inflation.

Also, the amounts people are currently paying through payroll tax were only planned to cover the costs of people over 65. If younger people are added to the pool, it will cost more to cover them (though since they are younger, the rate will be lower.)

[madfloridian]

13. Medicare payments are taken out of Social Security payments monthly.

The amount was $96, now going up to about $110, I think. Not sure of the exact amount.

Medicare Advantage plans, the private ones, get a thousand per person from the government....I think that is the figure.

I believe that is what they are talking about cutting back on...the private plans.

[sinkingfeeling]

14. Just Part A for hospitals and then, it's often subsidized. It's $96.40 a month for Part B. And extra

for the rest. Here's how it works:

http://www.seniorark.com/Misc%20Articles/A%20B%20C%20D%20Made%20Simple.htm

[OHdem10]

15. Did you ever hear of Privatization???

[Romulox]

17. It's not "already paid for"--it comes out of workers' checks every week.

:eyes:

[Cleita]

29. It's part of your FICA tax deduction.

HR676, John Conyer's house bill that Nancy Pelosi wouldn't bring to the floor for debate, outlines how Medicare could be expanded, updated and improved on to cover dental and vision as well; how it could be paid for; and how it could cover 100% of all American. It's really what should be considered not the POS wet kiss to the insurance industry Congress is shoving up our asses.

Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Health_Care_Act

Read the text of the act here:http://www.pnhp.org/nhibill/nhi_bill_final.pdf

[katkat]

31. here's what medicare costs me

I think I posted this already, but what the heck. Annual costs for me:

Medicare Plan A $0 (hospital stuff, more or less)

Medicare Plan B $1156.80 (doctors, more or less)

Medigap $1505.56 (AARP plan, covers more stuff A&B don't, reduces copays and deductibles to zero.)

Plan D $489.60 (AARP plan, prescriptions)

copays for (two per month) prescriptions on Plan D before I fall into the donut hole $1200

meds in the donut hole $3600

total: $7951.96, or $662 a month

[quiller4]

33. The payroll taxes don't generate enough income because medical

costs have been rising faster than revenue. The ceiling on income subject to tax needs to come off.