Question about Medicare... Is this possible? (plan, hospital, surgery, supplement)

[brava4]

I heard, from a friend, that one of her ex-co-workers who is retired is paying 700.00 a month for medicare. I thought, holy moly... is this really possible?

Seems this woman developed cardiac problems after retiring and needed surgery and is on several cardiac meds. She also has Part D for meds.

She told my friend that she pays 700.00 a month out of her SS to cover medicare.

Is it possible that Medicare can cost some this much per month? Could it be that the medications are making it so high?

Thanks

[brava4]

No one? No idea?

[NE Gal coming home]

I agree its hard to believe. I'm thinking this may be related to the "doughnot hole" in Part D coverage for drugs where after a certain amount the receipient provides out of pocket to a second level where coverage then kicks back in. Without more info that is all I can think of.

[newenglandgirl]

Medicare Part B is $115/month. It is deducted from the SS check.

Medicare does not pay for drugs if she has another plan that does.

This could be wrong, someone please check it out.

[Curmudgeon]

It could be that the individual didn't have enough quarters to get full Medicare so has a high share of cost for Parts A and B. At one time, CA teachers didn't pay into Social Security so they didn't qualify for Medicare until a change in the law permitted them to buy-in when they reached 65. That may have been what was behind splitting out SS from Medicare in deductions.

[Escort Rider]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Medicare Part B is $115/month. It is deducted from the SS check.
Medicare does not pay for drugs if she has another plan that does.
This could be wrong, someone please check it out.

Medicare Part B is indeed $115 per month for most people, but if your adjusted gross income on your federal (IRS) tax return is over $85,000 for a single taxpayer or $170,000 for married filing jointly, then the amount is more. In fact there are five tiers of premium amounts; the highest one is a Part B premium of $353.60 per month for single people with incomes above $214,000 per year or $428,000 per year for married filing jointly.

So I still don't know how this could add up to $700 per month for a total Medicare "cost". In addition to drug costs (already mentioned by several of you), some other costs could be a monthly premium for a Medicare supplement plan ("Medigap" I think it's called), or for a Medicare Advantage Plan, and/or various co-pays.

[Keeper]

I have to agree with everyone else.. I don't know anyone who pays that much in premiums. I suspect she is referring to the cost of her meds if she takes a lot of them and/or the donut hole.

[brava4]

Thanks. I have to see if I can find out more about what she has covered or not. She was in Nursing Admin so her income would have been fairly decent.. could have been over 85,000.

Thanks all for your thoughts.

[Jkgourmet]

Sounds like an exaggeration or a donut hole ussue to me. Or the combine premiums for basic Medicare, supplement and part D perscription coverage for her and her husband. THAT is certainly possible for two people.

If it's a donut hole issue, many drug companies will give discounts to needy seniors. Better yet, be sure she is taking generics where possible. Also check for drugs that are actually two different medications combined into one pill. if you get those same exact meds in two separate pills, there is a huge cost savings.

[BuffaloTransplant]

If somehow she has to pay for Part A (hospital) -- look on the ssa.gov site for that and why, most people do not AND she pays the $115 AND then buys the MOST expensive Part D RX plan AND gets a Medigap plan to cover anything else she doesn't have, it is possible.