Receiving Medicare Benefits before 65
If you have reached retirement age, which is currently age 65, then you are automatically eligible for Medicare insurance coverage which will cover 80% of your medical and healthcare costs, with some small exceptions. However, some individuals will require Medicare insurance coverage before they reach the age of 65 due to various medical conditions and the inability to work or pay for their medical expenses out-of-pocket. If this is you, you might be eligible for Medicare under the right circumstances which typically include having a certain type of disease or illness that fall under Medicare’s exceptions.
If you have a severe illness, disability o injury that prevents you from earning a certain dollar amount each month due to not having the ability to sustain employment, you may be eligible for Medicare coverage. The dollar amount which gives you the eligibility for receiving Social Security benefits and therefore Medicare coverage is set by Medicare (Medicare.Gov goes over this) and may also depend on the age of you and/or your spouse. This pertains to individuals with an illness or disability that has provided them with Social Security benefits for 24 months total, but do not need to be consecutive. If Social Security has approved your benefits for at least 24 months, you can get Medicare the first month; you do not need to wait the entire 2 years until you can receive this medical coverage.
A request for benefits starts with an online application (if you’re under 65). You must have worked enough hours to qualify for Social Security benefits to have a chance at success, be a spouse of someone who has or be a dependent .
In addition, more than 7 million Americans younger than 65 qualified for early disability payments and Medicare by the middle of this decade, according to the 2006 Medicare Trustee Report, but a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a healthcare research foundation, estimated that 1.3 million are stuck at any given time in the lengthy Medicare waiting period. Of those, nearly 77% are poor or nearly poor by the time their Medicare comes through, and 12% die while they are in the waiting period. Original at About.com
Individuals who have Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, are eligible to receive Medicare coverage. You must be eligible for 24 months of Social Security benefits after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, but you do not have to wait until you have received those benefits for the entire 24 months. During the first month of being entitled to Social Security disability benefits, you can enroll in Medicare to give you insurance coverage under any of the Medicare plans including part A, B and part D which is their prescription drug plan.
If you have end-stage renal disease also known as ESRD and require a kidney transplant or regular dialysis, you have a condition known as permanent kidney failure. Individuals who have been diagnosed with permanent kidney failure and who have paid Social Security payroll taxes for a specific length of time may be eligible for Medicare insurance as this guide explains (specifically coverage benefits). This also applies to some spouses who have been paying Social Security payroll taxes for the same period of time. Eligibility for Medicare for individuals who have permanent kidney failure as a result of end-stage renal disease will depend on how long they have been paying Social Security payroll taxes and their age may also be a factor.
If you or your spouse has any of the above illnesses or suffer from an additional serious illness, injury or disability, you can contact Social Security for more information on your eligibility. Even if you don’t think you will be eligible for Medicare plans through Livingsenior.com, it may be worth it to find out especially if you have an injury, illness or disability which has allowed you to receive Social Security benefits.
Some Things to Expect From Medicare Insurance Plans for 2013
Even though some 2013 Medicare reforms have been announced, there is still an enormous amount of uncertainty about what the next year will bring. Unfortunately, even once we find out what reforms and legislation will be decided on by the debt reduction super committee, there is no telling what the medical community will decide to do if reimbursements are cut.
If you are planning to go on a Medicare managed care plan, or haven’t really thought much about your coverage, now might be a good time to start thinking about how you will manage your health care costs should deep cuts are made in the Medicare system.
Thanks to some important new features of the Affordable Care Act, Americans can rest assured that Medicare will continue to be there – better than ever – for our seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Today, my agency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, released a new report, Affordable Care Act Update: Implementing Medicare Costs Savings, demonstrating just how much – and how fast – important provisions of the Affordable Care Act will improve the financial health of Medicare. In 2010 and 2011 alone, these provisions will save Medicare an estimated $8 billion and almost $418 billion by 2019. These savings will protect the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund through 2027, extending its life by 12 years. Read more at Healthcare.gov.
Medicare Insurance 2012 Premium and Deductible Changes
As you may be aware, many people were concerned about the fact that Medicare in 2013 was going to include a monthly premium increase of approximately ten dollars. While many are relieved to find that the actual rise in Medicare insurance 2013 will only be around 3.50 per month. Many people may be surprised to find that their yearly deductible will actually drop from 140.00 a month to 118.00. At this
Meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Domestic Policies.
time, it is still expected that Medicare will still retain the 20% balance assigned to the patient after Medicare makes payment.
Where is the Super committee Going?
Perhaps it can be said that the most troubling news will likely emerge sometime in November when the super committee on debt reduction announces its plans to cut spending. A number of people fear that Medicare will limit high cost services, as well as drop reimbursements to providers. In fact, there has been a good bit of speculation that Medicare insurance for 2012 will most likely come with major cuts for nursing homes and long term care. While many people do not realize it, well over half the nursing homes in operation now are already running at a deficit. Chances are, if 2013 plans includes cuts in payments to these facilities, the vast majority of them will close down.
On the Provider Front of Medicare
If you do some research, you will find that the vast majority of medical providers in this country look to Medicare as the lifeline of their business. This includes hospitals, private doctors, and diagnostic facilities. Therefore, when you reduce Medicare payments, you might just as well start talking about job cuts in everything– from medical facilities right on up to pharmaceutical companies that develop and dispense medications – learn about the costs of Medicare for 2013.
On another front, few people realize that medical providers can choose whether or not they participate with Medicare or recent healthcare reform. As reimbursements go down, a significant number of providers are seriously considering not providing services to Medicare patients. This can easily have catastrophic consequences in rural areas where there a shortage of doctors already creates a decreased level of care.
There is no question that 2012 Medicare reforms can have a drastic impact on both consumers and the overall economy. At the very least, it can be said that trying to cut costs in this area can easily disrupt employment growth, as well as create a very real human crises in terms of health care shortages. Therefore, while you are thinking about Medicare insurance 2012, it might also be of benefit to start thinking about some type of health savings account, or some other means that you can gather together in case you wind up paying more money out of pocket than expected.
All About Medicare Supplemental Plans
Many people that are about to enroll for Part B may not realize that medicare supplemental plans are extremely important. Even if you are perfectly healthy, you never know when a visit to the emergency room, or the need for extensive diagnostic testing might leave you with thousands of dollars in medical bills. As may be expected, if you already have chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol levels, not having a medicare supplement plan could easily cost you far more than you ever dreamed possible.
Health Risks Vs Medicare Supplemental Plans
No matter how you look at it, increased longevity still takes a toll on your body. This includes creating a higher risk of stroke, heart attack, cancer, and many other serious diseases. Since Medicare only pays 80% of their contracted fee schedule for medical care, paying for a adequate health care can be well beyond your budget if you do not have medicare supplemental plans to back you up. In fact, if you already have certain health conditions, or know of illnesses that tend to run in your family, buying secondary insurance as a retiree can easily give you peace of mind even if you do not need to use the insurance right away.
Protecting Your Financial Assets in 2012 with a Medicare Insurance plan
Even though the vast majority of senior citizens see the benefits associated with enrolling in Medicare Part B, far too many do not look for Medigap or even Advantage plans for your family. Consider a situation where you just retired, and now have Medicare for health insurance instead of the coverage you had at work. Do you remember when you could just go to the emergency room and pay a $50.00 co pay? Unfortunately, with Part B Medicare, you will pay far more. Even if you only have one or two x-rays taken after falling, the total emergency room bill will run around $4,000.
Assuming you have not met your deductible of $110.00 for 2012, you can expect to pay approximately $910.00 for one single visit to the emergency room. Needless to say, if you wind up being diagnosed with a serious medical condition, you may easily wind up with several thousand dollars worth of bills in a very short time. If you worked your whole life to pay off a mortgage and have a little bit of savings, it will be gone in medical bills unless you buy insurance to supplement your medicare.
Today, many people still look forward to signing up for Part C coverage for this coming year because it means they will finally have some kind of safety net in case they get sick. While Medicare truly does serve the needs of many people, the remaining 20% of medical bills that get assigned to the patient tends to be too expensive. Without a question, if you are disturbed by the extreme escalation in the cost of health care services, then you owe it to your business to shop for supplemental plans in order to protect your financial future as well as ensure that you will always be able to choose the kinds of care that you want to receive.
