A word from our sponsor: subscribe, via box on right (requires email address only; you'll get 2-3 emails per week) P.S. See 2/24 update at bottom.
The Medicare at 50 bill introduced last week by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is a pretty bare outline that raises a lot of questions.
The bill allows people aged 50-64 to buy into Medicare. Those who qualify for ACA tax credits -- i.e., have incomes below 401% of the Federal Poverty Level and lack access to employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid or other public insurance -- can apply those credits to the Medicare premium. No new program is created; no adjustments to the over-65 Medicare benefit to make the program fit the needs of younger enrollees are specified. To note a few oddities:
1) Enrollees can choose traditional fee-for-service Medicare (Parts A, B, D) or a Medicare Advantage plan. No annual cap on out-of-pocket costs is added to traditional Medicare, so those who choose it will forgo that ACA marketplace benefit, which currently caps costs at about $7,900 per person -- unless they qualify for Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR), per the next point below. Enrollees in traditional Medicare can buy Medigap policies on a guaranteed issue basis. With no OOP cap, traditional Medicare would not qualify as ACA-compliant coverage -- except that the bill specifies that it shall.
The Medicare at 50 bill introduced last week by Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is a pretty bare outline that raises a lot of questions.
The bill allows people aged 50-64 to buy into Medicare. Those who qualify for ACA tax credits -- i.e., have incomes below 401% of the Federal Poverty Level and lack access to employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid or other public insurance -- can apply those credits to the Medicare premium. No new program is created; no adjustments to the over-65 Medicare benefit to make the program fit the needs of younger enrollees are specified. To note a few oddities:
1) Enrollees can choose traditional fee-for-service Medicare (Parts A, B, D) or a Medicare Advantage plan. No annual cap on out-of-pocket costs is added to traditional Medicare, so those who choose it will forgo that ACA marketplace benefit, which currently caps costs at about $7,900 per person -- unless they qualify for Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR), per the next point below. Enrollees in traditional Medicare can buy Medigap policies on a guaranteed issue basis. With no OOP cap, traditional Medicare would not qualify as ACA-compliant coverage -- except that the bill specifies that it shall.
