Affording Medicare

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by fletch460

Cat320, in 1959 I was sold an insurance policy that said if I paid into for 45 years I would recieve x amount of dollars. To say that someone made a mistake by relying on this is assinine. Who knows what has transpired in someones life where maybe they could not buy stocks or whatever and counted on the insurance they bought. All I know is it was not avaiable I would probably not be able to enjoy life, fading that it is.

Good point. None of us knows the situation of others and it is presumptuous to comment about that. We need to focus on the point of the thread...the cost of Medicare. (Which incidentally I know nothing about, so I'll move along. )

[hellojohnny]

Whether you are for or against universal healthcare in America it may not be feasible with your present debt and economy. I am not into starting a debate on a political issue but here is a little fact: when Canadians were polled and asked who the "greatest" Canadian of all time was they overwhelmingly responded: "Tommy Douglas" (the founder of Canada's universal health care system).

Adam

[Dunner]

Anybody a retired AT&T employee? I need to chose an option and I'm confused. I called and was told nothing changes.

[RVNeophytes2]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Factcheck might be right in this case but you must remember that it purports to be an independent source of factual info, but it very definetly has an agenda that I don't agree with. I don't depend on them for any real factual info.

Eventually, every facting-checking mechanism gets saddled with this charge. By definition, facts themselves have Liberal bias, eg are not altered by traditional/religious/political convention.

A good way to fight this tired and inevitable accusation: compare multiple sources. As with the media, simple logic dictates that all cannot be biased in the same manner.

One caveat: people and organizations which tend to spread misinformation like the Medicare scare piece above* have now erected faux fact-checking to support their own agenda.

That's pretty transparent, after awhile. Those with a reputation for being legitimate are listed below:


FactCheckEd.org An educational resource for high school teachers and students. Sister site to FactCheck.org and a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Created September 2005

PolitiFact.com A service of the St. Petersburg Times - Created August 2007, uses the "Truth-o-Meter" to rank the amount of truth in public persons' statements. 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winner.

The Fact Checker A project of The Washington Post, known for grading politicians on the factual accuracy of their statements with one to four "Pinocchios." Created September 2007.

Bama Fact Check: An Alabama-based, statewide partnership of newsgathering organizations which checks factual claims by politicians and public figures in Alabama. Partners in the project include The Anniston Star, The Decatur Daily, The Dothan Eagle, The Florence TimesDaily, The Opelika-Auburn News, The Tuscaloosa News and WVTM-TV in Birmingham.


* Of about 200 informative chainletters I've received, only one (concerning attempts to defraud jury selectees) was found to be accurate. They are almost always outright hoaxes. Some contain a kernel of truth, wrapped in fiction. Older people (that's us) tend to fall for them, since we were raised in an era where the printed word was generally produced by independent and professional media.

[LadyFitz...]

Originally Posted by RVNeophytes2

...* Of about 200 informative chainletters I've received, only one (concerning attempts to defraud jury selectees) was found to be accurate. They are almost always outright hoaxes. Some contain a kernel of truth, wrapped in fiction. Older people (that's us) tend to fall for them, since we were raised in an era where the printed word was generally produced by independent and professional media.

I had to chuckle at your sig comment. I agree the vast majority of chain letter warnings, etc. are fraudulent. I'm constantly amazed what people fall for, especially when it is so easy to check to check the veracity of what's being presented.

On the other hand, the older I get, the more cynical I become. Mayhap it has something to do with being from Missouri (Misery or Missoura?).

[D in Davie]

Dear Wagon Master;
There is another way to look at it. If you did not have Medicare you would be paying $20,000 a year for health insurance like me. I guess what I'm saying is that it is OK to complain but not to loud. I have to wait 2 more years before I get to pay what you are paying.

[Cat320]

Originally Posted by fletch460

Cat320, in 1959 I was sold an insurance policy that said if I paid into for 45 years I would recieve x amount of dollars. To say that someone made a mistake by relying on this is assinine. Who knows what has transpired in someones life where maybe they could not buy stocks or whatever and counted on the insurance they bought. All I know is it was not avaiable I would probably not be able to enjoy life, fading that it is.

What I said was "It is not, and never was, intended to be the sole source of income for your retirement." That is a true statement, regardless of someones personal situation. You can't rely on something that is not there, and SS has never, and does not now, guarantee a funded retirement.

[tncruiser]

Originally Posted by buck62

This has been the rumor going around that in 2014 Medicare premium will be $247.00 but if you go to FactCheck.org : Premium Nonsense On Medicare you will find the following information:

Medicare Part B Standard Premium (projected, February 2011)


2012 $108.20
2013 $112.10
2014 $117.10

Health costs are the most significant costs and greatest concern for retirees. When you add the costs we pay for the Medicare premiums plus the costs of our supplemental insurance policies to cover what Medicare does not cover and our Long Term Care policies we pay out a lot of our retirement funds for insurance.

i will not get political but if you research who fact check is (annanburg) they have heavy ties to leftist politcal leaders like bill(bomb the pentagon) ayres and i am skeptical of all fact checks and polls regardless of which side of the spectrum they come from I always try to get more than 1 opinion on all things .if this offends the mods im sorry just remove and send me my spanking and no hard feeling on this side of the keyboard
brianj

[Steve N Sal]

My Medicare goes into effect this March. My wifes was awarded immediately when she received her SS Disablity and believe me that was a welcome helping hand to our situation. As my Cobra from my employer was just to run out our health policies would have exceeded well over $1600/month. So what we have to contribute now for Medicare and a supplimental policy are a far cry from what we would have been paying. Even with the increases in the coming years if that even happens will still be way less then what we could be paying if on our own. Hopefully a cost of living increase will continue for people receiving SS so that will help with any increases in Medicare to a point.

[Scooter]

Is not fletch460's insurance policy and everyone else paying into Medicare............. ..............about the same as buying a RV extended service contract (which most folks say is a dumb idea) ???

[RVNeophytes2]

Originally Posted by tncruiser

i will not get political but if you research who fact check is (annanburg) they have heavy ties to leftist politcal leaders like bill(bomb the pentagon) ayres and i am skeptical of all fact checks and polls regardless of which side of the spectrum they come from I always try to get more than 1 opinion on all things .if this offends the mods im sorry just remove and send me my spanking and no hard feeling on this side of the keyboard
brianj

All fact-checking institutions eventually get this charge levied against them, for pretty much obvious reasons.

I guess the inevitable pushback means thinking people are obligated to check multiple sources, just like when we are looking for opinions about which rig to buy. Another aspect, in both realms: the bad guys erect fake fact-check sites (or consumer advocate sites in the RV biz), hope to be accepted as legit.

[greezykid]

Some of us were in great shape with what we had beside social security retirement until the crash a few years ago.I have a warehouse that brought in $45000.00 a year that has set empty for the last 3 years,plus the money I sat aside for retirement, I can now make 1% interest on instead of 7 or 8 that was game plan.Luckily I have enough savings it will probably last if I don't live to long,but it sure slowed my traveling down.I'm sure I'm not the only one in that boat.

[jzick]

Just some food for thought regarding this Medicare discussion. When I went to my doc yesterday, she had a new sign on her waiting room wall - no new Medicare patients accepted. When I asked her she said the coming decreases in reimbursements meant she could no longer afford to accept new patients. We have two successful physicians in our family. Both are seriously considering leaving medicine this year. The business of medicine is not nearly as rewarding as it once was, plus medical treatment decisions are more and more made by regulators instead of physicians.

The mixed senior golf league that I participate in during the winter has 38 players, all older than 65. More than half have had knee, hip, shoulder or other joints replaced with prosthetics. One player had an organ transplant a couple of years ago. Five players that I know of had major heart surgeries last year. Medicare paid for all these surgeries. I just wonder. As we age, our bodies, like our vehicles, need a lot of maintenance and repair. We demand first class care. We then turn around and whine about Medicare's costs rising. I am not smart enough to know the answers, but it kind of seems to me that what we pay for Medicare may be a bargain. JMHO.

[golden]

Originally Posted by demoon

If you paid $96.40 in 2011, you will pay $99.90 in 2012. You should have gotten a notice to the affect by now.

Your figure for 2012 is low by about $5+. I can't remember exactly what I pay, but it is in excess of $104. Before I turned 65 I used my military health insurance and was paying $230 per year for me and the same for my wife. I HATED then, and still do now, the fact that I was forced to get Medicare or have nothing at all. Now, Pannetta is recommending that TFL recipients will be required to pay a monthly fee (it currently becomes your secondary insurance when you draw Medicare and is free). Just one more in a long list of benefits military people were promised when we joined up that will be lost.

To the poster who accurately stated that SS is not meant to be the sole source of income for seniors, I can only say that while true, there are many who DO rely on it that way. It has been perpetuated that way for years and I see no change until the fund goes broke. I'd venture to say that an extremely small percentage of them own RVs, but there probably are some. To them especially, SS is an actual lifeline.