Good (FInancial) News For Medicare And Social Security Recipients in 2012

I guess the key is patience. My gut feeling here is that since so many folks are turning 65 (the Boomers are coming) and will be paying in to the system for Part B coverage along with their deductibles, costs can be managed more efficiently.

First of all, beginning in January 2012, a cost of living (COLA) remember those(??) will go to social security recipients amounting to approximately $43 a month.

Additionally, the Medicare Part B Deductible (out patient/office visits/x-rays etc.) will actually drop from $162/year to $140/year. This happens about as often as Haley's Comet appears.

Last but not least, good people, Medicare Part B premiums (what's taken out of your social security checks each month) will be lower than early projections. In 2012, the standard Medicare Part B premium will be $99.90. So the COLA bump, the Part B deductible reduction and the Part B premium reduction should put a smile on social security/medicare recipient's faces, just in time for the holidays.

So seniors DO have some "skin in the game" rgardless of what politicans might spin. Seniors go into their pockets for Medicare premiums and a deductible or two (unless they have Plan F supplement).

After Medicare's "fees" to the senior, the senior must then seek out a quality supplement(they can be pricey depending on the plan and the carrier) that picks up where Medicare leaves off, so they don't lose their house and get the care they need, when necessary.

(The Part A Hosp deductible went up a bit from $1132 to $1156, but all supplements except Plan A pays that deductible.)

The seniors I've had the pleasure to serve in the last 22 years were not excited about going to doctors and hospitals, believe me. When they absolutely had to, yes. But otherwise...they had lots of other things going on.

Today's Boomers are healthier and more cognizant of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. With millions of healthy people paying in and simply having a few office visits or lab tests each year, the system should remain solvent for years.

***Again folks, you'll hear about AEP (Annual Enrollment Period) in the fall of each year. ONCE YOU HAVE MEDICARE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ENROLL EACH YEAR!! THAT'S JUST FOR SENIORS WHO JOINED AN HMO/MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN (MANAGED CARE).

It's "Annual" because that program/plan might not survive the following year. How could a plan offer you more benefits than what medicare offers and a quality supplement ofers, if you have to use their doctors and their hospitals? I can see why seniors are frustrated and confused. Sometimes it's what they don't tell you. The above info can be verified by simply visiting https://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp  202-690-6145 (Press Office CMS) I will conclude this blog with a "spot on" comment on "The Lowest Bidder"

"It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little.

When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that is all.

When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done.

If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run.

And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better."   John Ruskin                

Until next time good people of Niles.....Keep Smiling.

                                        Glenn