Medicare Rates Set to Soar - WSJ

For some Medicare Part B will raise by $55 a month is 2016.

I couldn't read the WSJ article you linked to, it needed a login or something, but there were other articles, including one from pbs.

I don't know why I hadn't heard of this, as the articles I saw were from several weeks ago! It shouldn't affect me, as I receive SS already and I get my Part B premium paid directly from my SS, so it should stay at $104.90.

However, it looks like it would affect my wife who starts on Medicare Dec 1 this year. She doesn't yet get SS, so comes within the group who will pay an additional $55.

However, as a NYS pensioner, I believe the NYS retirement system will pay her Part B premium directly to Medicare. So apparently the state will take the hit...

I'm also in the position of being on Medicare not yet drawing SS. However, we are reimbursed by the retirement system. Once I start receiving SS, we will be reimbursed for the reduction in benefit rather than for cash out of pocket.

So....I'm on SS spouse benefit, qualifying for Medicare in Feb 2016.
After endless research, I've been looking at medigap part F , thinking this is what I'll be going for.
Maybe I'll have to rethink? I'm back in the state of confusion I was in before I started researching DRAT !!!

Part B is the essential prerequisite you need to pay in order to qualify for any other part of Medicare (i.e. any part of Medicare beyond Parts A and B.) so if you like the idea of a plan F, you'll need;

Part A
Part B
Medigap F
And presumably a Part D policy too.

I myself chose to go a low cost, high deductible route;

Part A
Part B
Medicare Advantage plan (one for which there is no further premium, and it includes drug coverage, so no Part D is necessary.)

Yup this is really happening. My wife goes on Medicare December 1. Medicare will be primary, so her NYS retirees healthcare will become secondary.

Yesterday she received the invoice from Medicare for her first two months premium; $314.70. So $157.35 per month, approx $55 per month higher than it should be. One weird thing is, one month of this invoice is Dec 2015, yet the news articles say the increase shouldn't happen till 2016...

(Supposedly NYSHIP should reimburse the Medicare premium, but not sure yet how that'll happen.)

I received my invoice for $314.70 -- just the same as it has been for the last year. However that is for three months, and there was a note in with the bill that the new amount was not yet set, and that the amount I would owe for two of the months would be added on to the bill for the next quarter. Are you sure your wife didn't get the usual three-month invoice?

If you're already on Medicare your premium typically won't increase, because of an arcane law that prevents an increase if there's no cost of living adjustment to social security. So all of the increased costs are being dumped on a relatively small number of participants; hence the stinging increases for newcomers.

I am not sure what happens when there is next a cost of living increase to social security. Will things equalize and - potentially - those that see stinging increases for next year see a decrease in a forthcoming year?

Yes, and I'm one of that small number, because I am holding off until the latest possible time to collect SS. Those of us who aren't collecting and therefore having the premium taken directly from the pension, will get penalized -- which seems backhanded when we aren't taxing the system! Regardless, my December bill was at the 2014 rate, and I will get hit by the increase next March.

The recent budget deal has reduced this increase. Those not covered by the hold-harmless provision will be paying $120 per month, still more than $104, but a lot less than the $150+ figure that has been discussed.

That's good news, thanks!

Yes, I'm sorry, I looked at the invoice again, I now realise it is three months! And I now realise that $314.70 is exactly $104.90 times three! I really should use my reading glasses when looking at missives from the U.S. Government and such!

If you are already on medicare and not claiming social security, so you pay medicare direct, the increase will apply. It is only those who have it already
deducted from SS who will not see an increase.

Too late to edit, but of course I meant to say 2015 above.

I always read these threads as well aware that time in life is past approaching (58 now) and these threads although scary as hell, are informative. As it seems that there an increasing number of members coming up to retirement age, is there any chance of someone creating a wiki link on such subjects?