Comments on: Medicare IS Means Tested

By: KTM

KTM — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 09:54:19 +0000

The tax rates are already means tested as well. According to every objective measure, as a group America’s rich already pay “their fair share”. That doesn’t stop the left from yammering on about it though.

A median income worker pays ~$80k into the Medicare trust fund during their career, then the average retiree takes ~$380k back out of the Medicare trust fund in benefits. Dems failed math and think that’s sustainable. They also think that because they paid $80k into the trust fund, they’re entitled to $300k of their kids’ and grandkids’ money.

By: Scott Kerby

Scott Kerby — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:02:01 +0000

What I don’t understand is that the means testing is done the prior two years….therefore if you have one increase and then the next two aren’t as profitable you still get stuck on just that one year!

By: Medicare supplement

Medicare supplement — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:55:41 +0000

You can get a Medicare supplement for two people for a lot less than $300. Plan F for two might, in an expensive area, come close to $300. But for most of the population your talking $90 – %140 each. If we can ever clean Medicare up those prices would come down. Plan G or N are less expensive.

By: Donald Kerr

Donald Kerr — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:23:47 +0000

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By: North Carolina Medicare Supplements

North Carolina Medicare Supplements — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:31:26 +0000

Good information. It’s funny you can look up anything on the internet. Guess I’ll quit rambling. Anyways, thanks for the backlink, and best of luck to you!

By: Dakota

Dakota — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:22:01 +0000

I, for one, would be very happy NOT to receive Medicare, but I have no choice, it seems. I am paying over $7000 a year, with a supplement, and am in a position where many doctors do not even accept Medicare. If I elect to see a specialist who will not take Medicare, I still have to pay out of pocket. I would much prefer to opt out of Medicare, and pay privately for my insurance, and I know a lot of people who feel the same way. For starters, why isn’t a study being done, among high earners, to ascertain whether they would be willing to buy their own insurance? It could be enlightening! Medicare is hardly a bargain for me, although many people seem to think it is so cheap, compared to private coverage.

By: Dakota

Dakota — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:17:22 +0000

Yes, but then you have to add the cost of a supplement, which will probably run around $300 a month, so you will not really be paying much less, if it is less at all.

By: denim

denim — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 17:47:28 +0000

Agreed. It is not wise to make new agreements with those who wish us harm as conservatives have shown us by their deeds.

By: urban legend

urban legend — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:53:06 +0000

I beg to differ vehemently. Under current circumstances, yes — with liars constantly on the prowl and 26 years before projected exhaustion of the Trust Fund surplus (under current projections that change every year depending on the health of the economy at the time), Social Security benefits, including retirement age, should be absolutely sacrosanct — and liberals should say so, and avoid at all costs their reflexive but destructive tendency to want to seem reasonable and negotiate with liars.

For the foreseeable future — probably at least 10 years — the one and only responsible option is to do nothing to the benefits, or, for that matter, to demand that anyone pay more into the system. For 20 years, the Trustees reports routinely have carried virtually the same pro forma statement that something should be done to bring the system into actuarial balance. Saying it is the prudent thing to do, after all. Their hair, however, has hardly been on fire. It is the job of the Trustees to monitor the health of the system, and they will tell us when their hair is starting to catch on fire. That will be the time to do something, and the American people have made it clear that touching benefits is absolutely the last thing to do. Liberals should make no compromise with that wish.

By: Peter H

Peter H — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 21:54:09 +0000

This is not a means test, it is a progressive tax. Even the people in the top bracket get FAR more in benefits from Medicare than they pay in premiums. (See the commenter 2 above me who is paying $3600/yr less than private insurance cost when he was younger) A means test would deny access to Medicare to people above a certain income or net worth, and would save quite alot of money.