Medicare Buy-In for Boomers 55+
It seems that the Boomer generation is in a no man’s land when it comes to many things. Too old for this, too young for that. And Medical coverage is at the top of the list. Especially if you are ready to retire.
The issue is that if you retire early and try to keep your health insurance, it costs a fortune that most people cannot afford. On the other hand, finding your own individual plan can also cost an arm and a leg and provides less coverage than your medical coverage from work.
There may be a solution coming soon. Medicare may shortly have a buy-in for individuals between 55 and 64 years of age. This could solve a great many problems. The doctors and hospitals would get paid. The insured would be able to continue with their services and with their personal physician in most cases and the Medicare system would have money coming in to offset the expense of treating this group of people.
In addition, statistics show that people age 55 to 65 usually have less medical issues and less medical treatment than most people 65 and older. As a group, they have taken care of themselves better, they are healthier – or at least, the onset of serious health issues that come with age haven’t set in yet – and they tend to see the doctor less, using prevention rather than a cure.
The Medicare Buy-In may take a little time to put into place. Lawmakers are working out the details that would help cover the over 5 million boomers between age 55 and 64 who are uninsured. There would be premiums on a monthly basis to the tune of a few hundred dollars, but the premiums should be less than keeping up with payments for the insurance from the old job and COBRA.
Though the idea has been discussed for years, conditions right now are just right for a program like this to start. For questions, contact the Medicare office nearest you.
Filed under: General-Medicare
9 Comments Add your own
1.
Kathy Briggs | March 2nd, 2009 at 10:31 am
Can someone get Medicare at the age of 62 years old?
2.
Deborah C. Daugherty | March 10th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Hello, Today I just learned of some type of Medicare pay-back plan which I would like more information about. I’ve been disabled since I was 50. Jan. 2009 I received an increase in my SS check which knocked me out of my Medicaid due to receiving $28.00 over the limit. This is worrying me so much so please send me anything you can about this pay-back plan!! Thank You So Much!! Deborah C. Daugherty
3.
Roberta Gregory | April 2nd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
This is a great idea. I hope it passes soon. I have had to buy individual private insurance and it is a joke–enormous premiums. Fortunately I have a job with benefits at the moment, but I do not know how much longer I will. Is there anyone I should contact to hasten this?
4.
Bob Reising | April 3rd, 2009 at 8:39 am
This makes so much sense, especially now that it gives me a stomach ache. No one is looking for free coverage anymore, people are smarter than that. The contracting power of the feds makes for affordable coverage and it gives competitive pressure to the private insurance companies. Some political leaders surely can see the wisdom here. Now is not the time to do nothing. We have been doing that for the last 8 years and it hasn’t worked very well.
5.
CJ Bon | December 8th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
It seems clear that doctors will NOT see Medicare patients where they get paid less. Get ready to be denied.
6.
JasonLee | December 9th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
MR. PRESIDENT PLEASE PASS THIS 55 AND OVER FOR BABY BOOMERS ! WERE GETTING KILLED WITH HEALTH CARE!!
i’M 55 AND MY KAISER HEALTH INSURANCE COST ME 495.00 PER MONTH AND I WORK PART TIME, CANT FIND A FULL TIME JOB AT MY AGE
WERE PAYING THE MOST PLEASE HELP MAKE THIS ONE FLY!!
7.
Debbie Blissmer | December 9th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Exactly how much per month is it going to cost us between 55 & 65 – and will the premiums halt when we turn 65? If this passes, it will allow me to retire at 59 1/2 – which is only 18 months away. I could stand this 2 hour commute each way for that long, but when I think of doing this for another 7 years, I get physically sick. I just can’t do it.
8.
Sandy Self-Employed | December 10th, 2009 at 11:01 am
i am looking forward to buying into Medicare .
i am self -employed so i have had to buy insurance on the open market. The cost for individual coverage is much more than a group at work can get , especially since at a typical job, the employer shares the cost
For over 20 years, i have been paying a well known private insurance company high premiums for a plan that does not cover me unless i am hospitalized . Even then, there are many procedures that are not covered . i have heard stories of many people who get dropped by the ‘health’ insurance company when they develop a serious illness. And here’s a question for you — how would i know if i have a serious illness , since doctor’s visits and blood tests are not covered ….. i spent my allocation of health care money on insurance premiums , now don’t have much left for preventative care –very frustrating situation…
Each time i send a check to pay my premiums i feel like a fool , but at this time, there is not another choice.
Last year, when i turned 55, they raised my premium by 35%.
Then, last week ,less than a year after the 35% increase, they sent a letter saying that the cost of health care has risen and raised my premium by another 25% !
So, i am truly looking forward to paying my money and actually receiving some health care for it !
Thanks for reading this and Best to You all — Sandy
9.
Chet Cuccia | December 11th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I sure hope this passes. I’m almost 52 and I’m one of the 47 million uninsured Americans. If it does pass and if I don’t get sick for three years, I’ll be OK.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed