Do You Need Medicare Part B?

Medicare Part B pays 80% of doctor bills, lab tests, emergency room charges, ambulance charges, chemo and radiation therapy, and many many more medical services.

The Tuscon Citizen:

I have met two women in the last two months who told me they are over 65 and collecting Social Security – but they are not enrolled in Medicare Part B because they can’t afford it. Can’t afford it???

I told them both that, without Part B, they don’t have health insurance – and if they get sick, or fall and break a hip, they will end up with very large medical bills.

Read the whole story at The Tuscon Citizen

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Comments

[Scholastica8]

12:27 PM on 05/08/2012

If they can't afford Part B, they can't afford Part B.... Here's the reality of those ladies' situation: odds are it's pay for Part B or not have enough money to cover rent or food or heat. Something else, some immediate need, will have to be sacrificed.

If they are getting only $800 or so per month from Social Security.... $99 is a big chunk out of that check.... and the way they are looking at it is this: If something happens... it happens.... and I die. I'll die sooner or later anyway.

My parents together qualified for SSI, which brought Medi-Cal, which paid for Part B. However, when my mom died, my dad alone had an income $14/mo too much to qualify as an individual. He lost SSI, thereform lost Medi-Cal, and Part B, but didn't tell anyone. He was secretive and difficult..

However, to have paid for Part B, he'd have had to had all utilities turned off and fasted on weekends. People don't realize how small the smallest SS benefit is... or that in some states the max amount of income you can have to qualify for SSI is barely above minimum SS. Many of your elderly homeless are homeless because they chose to have Part B and D... and eat.... but they can't afford housing..... many are camper people.

[tcburch]

10:12 AM on 05/08/2012

Why are there even two parts in the first place?

[Ralph DeLuca]

10:39 AM on 05/08/2012

There are more than two parts to Medicare...
Medicare Part A, Hospital Insurance;
Medicare Part B, Medical Insurance;
Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage), which was formerly known as Medicare + Choice; and
Medicare Part D, prescription drug coverage.

[tcburch]

11:10 AM on 05/08/2012

Thanks Ralph...of course, this still begs the question, why so many different parts? I mean, does it really have to be so involved, or could we all benefit from some simplifying of the overall healthcare programs?

[maryweinstein]

12:22 PM on 05/08/2012

I never realized that the Medicare Advantage programs had a Medicare letter designation!

Another thought crossed my mind as I read in the article about women saying they didn't have Medicare Part B because they "couldn't afford it".... I don't know if they are aware of this, but that Part B coverage becomes significantly more expensive if one does not sign up for it within three months after they first become eligible. There is a 10% penalty added to the premiums for part B for every year after that eligibility a person waits to sign up for Part B, and that penalty is added to the premiums for the life of that person's Part B coverage.
So if the part B premium is $99/month, someone waiting for five years can add $44.50 to that. The same thing happens with Part D coverage.

I don't know what these women do in the event they need medical care that is paid for by Part B Medicare- I know many people use Medicaid as a supplement to their Medicare, but I don't know that Medicaid will cover all the expenses that Part B would normally cover, or will just pay out as a secondary payer (like private supplemental insurances would). As I see it, these women run the potential of being a lot more in the hole financially in the event of medical issues, than they would be just paying for that Medicare Part B...