Medicare started taking out $205 a month from my Social Security when I turned 65. When I asked what it was about they said it was a premium for Medicare part B and they assumed I wanted it. I told them to stop it I didn't want it. They did but they did not refund what they had taken. You pay into Medicare for health insurance your entire working career that provides no medical insurance until you turn 65 then when you qualify they want to take more premium, if a private insurance set you up for this it would be considered a scam.

You have no other alternatives to medicare when you get to 65 IF you want medical insurance at all.

You dont have to sign up for medicare as I understand it. If you do sign up, there is like a $107 per month fee for part "b" physician services (Part "a" hospital care is free)

Medicare pays only for 80% of covered expenses. To get the other 20% covered, you need a MEDIGAP policy (another $250 or so per month), and if you want prescription drugs partially covered, its another $50-100 per month. So one might think medicare is free, but it will cost you about $400+ per month at a minimum for decent coverage (If you make a lot of income, that part "b" fee is higher too).

Medicaid is essentially free of all costs, and I think personally that Sanders will gravitate to that as is "medicare for everyone".

Part of the con, HI payroll taxes only cover Medicare Part A expenses. Medicare Part B premiums cover less than 25% of Medicare Part B expenses, the rest comes out of the Federal General Fund (aka income taxes.) In addition is you have Part B but do not take OASI benefits until later, like 70, then your Part B Premiums increase faster than if you had them take them out of OASI benefits limited to no more than the OASI benefit increase for that year.

(If you make a lot of income, that part "b" fee is higher too). I lived with a woman. we both turned sixty five the same year. she had to pay twice as much as I did for the same Medicare coverage. she had converedt most of her rental properties to cash and that conversion was considered income so they charged her double. so if she goes to buy a car, do they ask how much money she made this year and base the price of the car on her income. this is wealth redistribution hidden in all the government programs.

Welcome to my world. I have Medicare part D plus Blue Care Network. I have a family and teenage daughter and also am self employed. To cover them I have Blue Care Network. My annual health care liability is 30K (insurance plus deductibles). I recently had extensive surgery with a hospital bill of 54K. I am still waiting for the "not covered" bills to arrive. The real problem is that decisions are based on insurance coverage - not what is in the patients best interest.

You can continue to use a private insurance after turning 65. I am doing this (Blue Shield). The Medicare Part A (which covers hospitalization expenses) is mandatory and automatic under the most common scenarios - but Part A does not require any additional payments. This does not bother me because Part A does not make any healthcare decisions, does cover many hospital costs, and is some return to me for the Medicare I have been (involuntarily) paying for all during my working career.

If you have private insurance through work (yadda yadda parameters) then you can opt not to go on Medicare Part B. This is the part about which 'brightwriter' was speaking. I agree with brightwriter: The government should not be making healthcare decisions, eg Medicaid used to not cover testing for syphilis if you were over 55 (I am not certain if this still is the case). Obviously, people over 55 never have sex...

I have had a problem, concerning eye and dental and medical bills after I turned 65: the first of each of these instances after I turned 65 assumed that I was now on Medicare and tried to bill MC instead of Blue Shield. In each case, I had to call the provider (and sometimes Blue Shield) and straighten it out. Now - a year later - the bills are being directed properly. I think.

brightwriter: I quite agree with you. Medicare is making poor healthcare decisions, and these decisions should not be theirs to make. On the topic of B12: A sub-lingual B12/Folate vitamin is easily available. I take one every morning. Always take the Folate with the B12 - low values of either may cause Pernicious Anemia.

Jan

Discussions about health care, which rightly challenge the existing mess, which includes PPACA Powerful Politicians Achieving Catastrophe Act, tend to overlook the opportunities to reduce health care cost directly through appropriate changes in what is provided. The emphasis should NOT be on who pays for it, although that is an important concept. My attack on the irrational thought patterns of women's-rights advocates is at http://www.jpands.org/vol22no3/corres... (one page), and its related video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veh14... (four minutes). My challenge to Obamacare is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCofa... (23 minutes). My presentation on nutritional medicine (doesn't cover everything, but I tried) is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2bwE... (38 minutes).

Medicare won't cover a blood test for B12 deficiency unless megaloblastic anemia is known. Declining brain function due to B12 deficiency will never be diagnosed in a patient who happens to have a condition that prevents megaloblastic anemia (iron deficiency, for example) unless the physician warns the patient that the blood test will not be covered by Medicare (about $15). Many patient refuse to pay on the grounds that insurance should pay. That's a dangerous attitude.

There are a few hiccups to Medicare coverage. If you elect to have part B outpatient coverage, the "premium" gets taken out of your Social Security payment. I also have Tricare, another government healthcare service for retired military, and that takes care of the 20% that Medicare doesn't pay, plus provides very low priced prescription. The premium for that coverage comes out of my military retirement each month.

The politicians spouting "Medicare for all" don't tell the gullible that Medicare isn't free, and that a fair number of physicians and hospitals don't accept Medicare payment. Forcing out private insurance would result in less care for all, except the very wealthy, who will pay cash for better coverage.

My understanding and the way my medicare works is pretty simple. At 65 Medicare is mandatory and becomes your Primary health insurance. If you are also on another employer provided plan it then becomes the secondary which should cover any costs not covered by medicare. You would not then need part C coverage like what the AARP tries constantly to sell you. In my case and being on my employer provided plan which I do pay for to cover my family my employer reimburses me each month for the cost I now pay for the medicare plan. I think it is $134 per month for medicare and my family plan is reduced by $134. I pay a $20 copay for doctor visits and $5 for prescriptions and have not paid a dime out of pocket for any other medical bills.

Thank you!

A guy was on my Satellite radio yesterday and said if the 'Loonies' have their way, Medicare for elders will be limited for them so the youngsters can stay healthier! Crazier and Frazier!

No, the whole thing is wrong. (I happen to be on Social Security and Medicare now, neither of which I am proud of, but I'm still trying to get a job and be self-supporting, as before).

We had a friend that hadto sign up, but she uses the companies insurance and does not have Part B or D which is what costs the most. I wouldn’t even venture a guess what they would charge for those since it is based on income. So some how Medicare is not her primary, but GaryL said his primary was Medicare even though he was employed and co ins was secondary so I’m confused

I am 71...no way out...and medicare will be bankrupt in 8 yrs or less...

I am really worried about them dictating where I can go, who I can go to and what drugs I can take. Why would I want to pay for that?

There are lots of people on Medicare who don't have other insurance. They pay for it, why not use it? It's not perfect but it's way ahead of not having any insurance.

I pay for Medicare and I'll never use it. I am covered under USFHP (Uniformed Services Family Health Plan). But I don't care. I don't need it. I have no copays and coverage you wouldn't believe.