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My gripe is that if you don't have a retirement plan that provides medical coverage, you are driven to Medicare. You can't get insurance via Obamacare and no private company will provide an individual plan to someone over 65.
As Obamacare continues to reduce Medicare, this is going to be an issue in a few years.
My husband and I, not yet FRA, have Blue Cross, however, this is going up rapidly. We have just been told our plan may disappear and we pay almost $1500 a month which is terrible.
No major health issues either so this is ridiculous.
We looked into Obamacare and it's not much better.
We have been paying the highest rate for Part B since starting Medicare two years ago because my husband sold assets from his S-corp in 2013 and 2014. We reached FRA at 66 but didn't apply for SS for same reason--tax level. This year S-corp monthly gross dropped significantly and there will be no sale of assets in future. This is the info on second article about income levels:
High-income participants: More than 1.3 million people already pay higher Part B premiums because their annual incomes are above $85,000 for an individual or $170,000 for a couple. The trustees projected that single individuals earning up to $107,000 (and couples earning up to $214,000) would see their 2016 monthly premiums increase from $146.90 per person this year to $223 in 2016. For individuals earning more than $214,000, or for couples earning $428,000, the projected increase is $509.80 per person, up from $335.70 in 2015.
We will definitely fall under those levels this year/2015...maybe 45K gross before any deductions...my husband paid himself salary first 3 mo but stopped and drawing from savings now.
Is it possible that we can attempt to get Medicare to reconsider/recalculate our Part B premiums before we close the year and file taxes for 2015 in 2016?
Anyone have any idea what type of proof would be acceptable that ongoing income won't return to higher levels so we can do this before the year is over?
And I guess we would also need to file for SS to hold off the increase.
We have been paying the highest rate for Part B since starting Medicare two years ago because my husband sold assets from his S-corp in 2013 and 2014. We reached FRA at 66 but didn't apply for SS for same reason--tax level. This year S-corp monthly gross dropped significantly and there will be no sale of assets in future. This is the info on second article about income levels:
High-income participants: More than 1.3 million people already pay higher Part B premiums because their annual incomes are above $85,000 for an individual or $170,000 for a couple. The trustees projected that single individuals earning up to $107,000 (and couples earning up to $214,000) would see their 2016 monthly premiums increase from $146.90 per person this year to $223 in 2016. For individuals earning more than $214,000, or for couples earning $428,000, the projected increase is $509.80 per person, up from $335.70 in 2015.
We will definitely fall under those levels this year/2015...maybe 45K gross before any deductions...my husband paid himself salary first 3 mo but stopped and drawing from savings now.
Is it possible that we can attempt to get Medicare to reconsider/recalculate our Part B premiums before we close the year and file taxes for 2015 in 2016?
Anyone have any idea what type of proof would be acceptable that ongoing income won't return to higher levels so we can do this before the year is over?
And I guess we would also need to file for SS to hold off the increase.
Read over this post in the Health Insurance forum for some information & advice:
Thank you
I knew about the form and scheduling an apt vs a walk-in
I will need human to apply for my spousal benefit as well because I have special form that allows my spousal annuity to escape the offset provision normally associated with my teacher's pension. My husband needs to file/suspend as well.
I just didn't know what specific proof of continuing income we might need.
My husband's S-corp income is not salary from 3rd party employment but production payments from oil/gas interests...not straightforward tax filing...
Any idea if when you first file in 2016 for SS and then the medicare premium goes up because you have too much income that first year, does it go down again, if in subsequent years your income is SS only?
Any idea if when you first file in 2016 for SS and then the medicare premium goes up because you have too much income that first year, does it go down again, if in subsequent years your income is SS only?
To determine if you’ll pay higher premiums, Social Security uses the most recent federal tax return the IRS provides to us.
Since the medicare premium is set each year based on the most recent Federal Tax Return record, your 2016 medicare premium is based on 2015 Fed Tax return and 2017 is based on 2016 tax return. If you income goes down in 2017, you will pay lower premium for 2018.
Our Medicare premiums have been adjusted or at least referenced by govt based on our taxable income via income tax filings
You have to show proof of likely anticipated income
Check the link posted re my previous query
People I have spoken to about our Medicare premiums were very polite
SSA does not answer those questions
Please explain why that constitutes a "gripe". My Medicare has not been reduced at all - I have the same coverage and essentially the same co-pays I've had for the last six and a half years (since turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare).
I have had Medicare refuse lab tests that were paid for in the past. I have had my specialized doctor drop out of Medicare completely. To me, this is a reduction in Medicare benefits.
How does the increase in Medicare Part B effect someone who is filed and suspended? We pay quarterly for the Medicare Part B Premium. Will Medicare charge us the higher amount since he is technically not receiving a social security check yet? He filed and suspended and is thinking about when to take social security. I read the Medicare pamphlet and could not find a reference to what happens is you are filed and suspended ss but paying for Medicare Part B.
I have had Medicare refuse lab tests that were paid for in the past. I have had my specialized doctor drop out of Medicare completely. To me, this is a reduction in Medicare benefits.
Thanks for the examples. If any doctor of mine orders a lab test, it is paid for, period. That's one of the great advantages of having everything in-house. As for one doctor leaving, whether specialist or not, I don't know whether I'd call that a reduction in benefits or not. Any given doctor can become inaccessible to us for a number of reasons: retirement from medical practice, moving out of the area, moving from an HMO in our network to another HMO not in our network, or, as in your case, he stopped taking Medicare patients altogether. Must be frustrating to you if you liked him in any case.
While I, too, like going back to doctors I've had before - there is a certain comfort level in that familiarity - I don't mind having any of the hundreds (thousands?) of doctors who are employed by Kaiser in Los Angeles County. I haven't had a real dud yet in the several decades I've been with Kaiser (including two or three decades before turning 65 - before switching to their Medicare Advantage Plan - when I had them under my employer-paid health coverage).
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