COMMENTARY | For years, baby boomers took their eventual enrollment in Medicare Part B for granted. Now that it's time to sign up, the decision to enroll is pretty murky.
Medicare Part B pays in part for the services of doctors and other health care providers, according to Medicare.gov. Unlike Part A, which is free, it has a monthly premium. What do enrollees pay? It depends.
Federal law prohibits any increases in Part B premiums in years when there's no cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security benefits, AARP reports. In 2009 and 2010, seniors already under Part B continued to pay $96.40 a month.
About 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries weren't so lucky. These folks paid Medicare directly instead of having the premiums deducted from Social Security benefits, were new enrollees, or paid elevated premiums linked to high incomes. The law doesn't apply to them. Each paid $110.50 a month for Part B in 2010 and at least $115.40 (more with a high enough income) in 2011.
This is supposed to change in 2012. All Medicare Part B beneficiaries are slated to pay $99.90 -- an increase for some but a significant decrease for the rest.
That's a small consolation to some prospective enrollees. Many of those who retired or will retire from public service will receive Social Security benefits reduced due to public pension offsets. Others aren't eligible for any monthly benefits.
If they're no longer working, the question is where to get the money to pay for Part B premiums. This dilemma also affects boomers eligible for Medicare at 65 but who want to wait to collect Social Security benefits at their full retirement age of 66 or older.
Another potential deal breaker for many prospective Part B enrollees is the physician reimbursement issue. Doctors consider the Medicare physician payment formula a failure and want its permanent repeal, the American Medical Association insists.
While Congress struggles with a two-month vs. a 12-month stopgap measure -- or none at all -- would-be Part B enrollees are getting pretty vocal responses from their doctors. A Virginia husband and wife, both retired feds, just turned thumbs down on the coverage. Three of their five doctors announced that due to potentially lower reimbursements, they're no longer treating patients with Medicare Part B even if the individuals also have private health insurance.
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