Bridging medical insurance until Medicae age

[lenora]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

BTW - just curious - what kind of cell phone and cable TV do you have (not necessarily *you* personally but *you* in general). I'm not inclined to subsidize anyone who has more than a $100/year prepaid cell phone plan or basic cable. Robyn

Interesting. Most poor persons have prepaid cell phone plans, in lieu of expensive landlines. My landline is very basic; with ZERO outgoing calls, my bill is $185.40/year.

As for me, I'm not inclined to subsidize the Medicare Part B premium for millionaires, but I do.

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by lenora

As for me, I'm not inclined to subsidize the Medicare Part B premium for millionaires, but I do.

Please explain what you mean. There are five levels, or tiers, of Medicare Part B premiums, depending on one's "modified adjusted gross income" as reported to the IRS annually. The monthly premium levels are:
$115.40
$161.50
$230.70
$299.90
$369.10
You can see that the highest level is more than three times the lowest level. Are you arguing that the levels should continue to go up in order to increase the premium for the miniscule percentage of taxpayers who have even higher incomes that the $214,000 per year for a single taxpayer (or $428,000 per year for married filing jointly) which would trigger the highest premium? This would be a legitimate argument, I think, but it's not clear from the way you worded your post whether you are aware that wealthier people do, in fact, pay more, or whether you are advocating further tweeking of the system in that direction.

Since the rich do not receive a higher level of benefits from Medicare in return for their higher premiums, it could be argued that they are subsidizing the Medicare coverage which average Joe's and Jane's like you and me receive. It seems to me this argument has more merit than the opposite one which you advance in your post.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by lenora

Interesting. Most poor persons have prepaid cell phone plans, in lieu of expensive landlines. My landline is very basic; with ZERO outgoing calls, my bill is $185.40/year.

As for me, I'm not inclined to subsidize the Medicare Part B premium for millionaires, but I do.

I'm ok with a basic prepaid cell phone instead of a land line. I was talking about the fancier cell phone plans. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Escort Rider

Please explain what you mean. There are five levels, or tiers, of Medicare Part B premiums, depending on one's "modified adjusted gross income" as reported to the IRS annually. The monthly premium levels are:
$115.40
$161.50
$230.70
$299.90
$369.10
You can see that the highest level is more than three times the lowest level. Are you arguing that the levels should continue to go up in order to increase the premium for the miniscule percentage of taxpayers who have even higher incomes that the $214,000 per year for a single taxpayer (or $428,000 per year for married filing jointly) which would trigger the highest premium? This would be a legitimate argument, I think, but it's not clear from the way you worded your post whether you are aware that wealthier people do, in fact, pay more, or whether you are advocating further tweeking of the system in that direction.

Since the rich do not receive a higher level of benefits from Medicare in return for their higher premiums, it could be argued that they are subsidizing the Medicare coverage which average Joe's and Jane's like you and me receive. It seems to me this argument has more merit than the opposite one which you advance in your post.

In terms of the subsidy for part B - it is about 75%. So the $369.10 represents almost full payment for part B coverage. Robyn

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

In terms of the subsidy for part B - it is about 75%. So the $369.10 represents almost full payment for part B coverage. Robyn

Thanks for that information. It never occurred to me to crunch the numbers in that regard, but it makes the basic argument of my post even stronger.

[Robyn55]

And I don't know - but I assume - that the amount paid for Medicare through FICA when you're working goes only to Part A - since that is free for everyone - whereas Part B costs money for everyone.

I gotta say - don't think my husband and I paid enough for Medicare Part A (and my father didn't pay anything) - because Medicare FICA was a work in progress/transition when we and he were working. But I think people who are still working are pretty much paying their fair share in terms of Medicare Part A - total of 2.9% of gross income for employer/employee share - with no income limit on earnings.

Of course - there are games that some people play with this - like presidential candidate John Edwards did. But most people aren't in a position to play these games. Robyn