"My Dad loves Medicare! Heck, there isn't a test he doesn't like! It seems as he gets older that's he and his wife can think about. Once he had a pain in his butt and his doctor ordered an MRI just to tell him what he already suspected: that he pulled a muscle. And to think he didn't have to pay a thing..."Yep. No wonder everyone wants government-run health care - it's the bomb!
-Wes
Some people know no shame.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever it's worth, the unfunded mandate for Medicare as of 2008 stands at $85.9 trillion.
ReplyDeleteFor comparison, the global domestic product for 2007 was around $60 trillion.
This person would need to be a dually-eligible Medicare/Medicaid beneficiary not to have a cost-sharing responsibility (i.e., old or disabled and very poor). In those cases, it’s Medicaid that picks up the secondary costs and they would have to be very, very poor to qualify. Only about 7 million people are dually eligible for both programs.
ReplyDeleteAll other people on Medicare have 20% cost-sharing requirements on top of their ~$96/month Part B premium payments. People in Medicare Advantage (aka Part C, or the managed care program) still pay their Part B premium and may have different cost-sharing requirements (e.g., $10 instead of 20%).
I’m diappointed that a doctor would spread this kind of mis-information about Medicare on a blog. One thing he’s right about: People love Medicare—including a lot of doctors. They get paid on time and they used to get paid a fair amount until Republicans started f-ing around with the payment schedule the past few years.
You can check out the 2009 Medicare & You (benefits guide) for more info.