Government run health care

[Edwina's Secretary]

I agree with you Pomtzu...I stopped going to a dentist because I resented paying for the granite countertops, flat screen tv and all the other fancy stuff. And I felt I was being "marketed to" every time I went there.

[cassiesmom]

I agree with you Pomtzu...I stopped going to a dentist because I resented paying for the granite countertops, flat screen tv and all the other fancy stuff. And I felt I was being "marketed to" every time I went there.

I went to one of those! I found his name on a sedation dentistry Web site. I didn't get the work I needed - instead, I got a major marketing pitch for a fortune's worth of cosmetic work, and a sales pitch for nutraceuticals to give me a healthier mouth. It's going to take a heck of a lot more than nutraceuticals to make my mouth healthy again, because I avoided the dentist for a lot of years. Boo on the flat-screen with direct TV.

Yesterday I attended a meeting of a volunteer group to which I belong. The woman next to me - retired after 32 years of teaching - is not yet eligible for medicare - nor is her husband who also retired from teaching. They are in good health - she had just completed a 110 mile bicycle trip. Medical insurance is available to her as a retiree. The co-insurance (what she must pay each month to continue the insurance) is $2,200 each month.

This makes me steaming mad. That is not right. There has to be a better way for people to get the health insurance they need.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

To make things even more fun, we on Social Security won't be getting even a tiny cost of living raise for the next two years, but we have the honor of paying higher Medicare premiums.

What really makes me mad is Congress will get their big fat yearly raise, they can spend billions for the banks, auto industry, and big businesses AND probably mess all our lives up with the new health care they will force us to have. But give us a teeeny raise? no way!


And if that wasn't bad enough, they want to tax junk food, one of our only remaining affordable comforts. Who will determine what is a junk food? Will we have a junk food tzar? If they tax cookies will they also tax the flour, sugar, and other ingredients so we can't even make them ourselves? Inquiring mind needs to know. I need a cookie!

[pomtzu]

To make things even more fun, we on Social Security won't be getting even a tiny cost of living raise for the next two years, but we have the honor of paying higher Medicare premiums.

I heard that there will be no increase in Medicare premiums in 2010 since there will be no cost of living raise for SS. Where did you hear that there will be an increase? Geeze - I certainly hope not!

[momoffuzzyfaces]

I heard that there will be no increase in Medicare premiums in 2010 since there will be no cost of living raise for SS. Where did you hear that there will be an increase? Geeze - I certainly hope not!

It's been on several of the news channels last night and this morning. Local channels as well as Fox and CNN.

It was also on Yahoo yesterday. The ones of us who pay Medicare premiums will actually have a smaller check because of the increase in premiums.

[Grace]

The rise in Medicare premiums will NOT affect everyone. In an article from the Dallas Morning News, there is this -

Three in four Medicare beneficiaries are protected by a "hold-harmless" provision in the law that ensures that their Medicare premiums won't go up any more than their Social Security benefits, said Kaiser policy analyst Juliette Cubanski.

So next year, if they get the same amount from Social Security, they'll pay Medicare the same $96.40 per month they do today.

That won't be true, however, for the remaining 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, Cubanski said. They include:

•Higher-income beneficiaries whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $85,000 for individuals and $170,000 for couples in 2009.

•New enrollees who didn't collect Social Security benefits or weren't covered under Part B a year earlier.

•Low-income individuals whose Medicare Part B premiums are paid by Medicaid.

Source

[pomtzu]

The rise in Medicare premiums will NOT affect everyone. In an article from the Dallas Morning News, there is this -




Source

I'm safe!! Thanks Gretchen.

[lizbud]

The rise in Medicare premiums will NOT affect everyone. In an article from the Dallas Morning News, there is this -

Source

So, am I right in thinking only those with Medicare part D will be affected?
Only those who signed up for the Medicare Drug coverage?