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Keep Medicare Fair – June 2008

Op-Ed by Bob Bartholomew, State Director of AARP Montana

Congress will soon decide whether to increase Medicare Part B premiums even more to cover the cost of increasing payments to doctors.  People on Medicare have always been willing to pay their fair share for their health care coverage; premium increases are anticipated. And they understand that doctors who treat Medicare patients must be paid fairly. But forcing Medicare Montanans to pay even higher premiums because of a flawed physician payment system is just not fair.

The monthly Part B premium (covering doctors’ visits and other medical expenses) has more than doubled since 2000.  And paying an increase on top of a higher monthly Medicare Part B premium is only the tip of the iceberg for those who must also pay for other health costs out of their pockets.

Medicare covers, on average, only about half of a beneficiary’s annual health care costs – not including long term care. People in Medicare pay for about a quarter of their health care costs out of their own pockets. These costs include: coinsurance for doctor visits, hospital stays, and skilled nursing facility care; premiums and coinsurance for prescription drugs; and deductibles for basic health insurance and hospital stays.  The hospital deductible alone is over $1,000!  In addition, people on Medicare have to pay all of the costs for services Medicare doesn’t cover like eye care, hearing services, routine dental and nursing home care.

44 million Americans and 153,000 Montanans rely on Medicare every day for affordable health coverage, but excessive Part B premium increases discourage people on Medicare from getting the care they need. Medicare Montanans (including our elders and those with disabilities) know It's becoming very difficult for me to ‘make ends meet’ with all these increases because they may depend only on Social Security benefits to pay bills.  Montanans know it is critical for Medicare Montanans and their families who try to support them that premiums be set fairly while access to healthcare and quality of life are ensured.

Our members tell us that when they retired a few years ago they hoped to help their younger family members with education and finding jobs.  Then came the big increases in Medicare Part B premiums, and higher prices for medicines, food, gasoline.  Older Montanans are finding it necessary to return to work to makes ends meet.  We must contact our Members of Congress to urge them to keep Medicare [Part B] premiums fair.  Don’t make it harder than it already is.

Let’s keep Medicare fair for our elders and for thousands of other Montanans who depend on Medicare.  AARP stands ready to work with Congress in a bipartisan manner to find a better way to pay doctors for treating Medicare patients without shifting the burden onto premiums which are already scheduled for increases in 2009.

AARP Montana is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to healthcare and financial security for all Montanans as they age with over 162,000 members in Montana.

• Your annual income is less than $15,600 ($1,300 per month) for a single person or less than $21,000 ($1,750 per month) for a married couple living together; and
• Your resources and assets (savings accounts and investments) are less than $11,990 for a single person or $23,970 or less for a married couple living together. Income and asset limits may increase each year.

1. Go to www.aarp.org/quicklink and click on the tab that says, “Medicare Rx Extra Help” apply online; or
2. Go to www.ssa.gov/prescriptionhelp and click on “Apply for help” under the “Apply Online” heading; or
3. You can apply over the phone or by mail. Call 1-800-772-1213 to apply by phone or to request a paper application. Send all paper applications to: Social Security Administration, Wilkes-Barre Data Operations Center P.O. Box 1020 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-9910.