This widely circulating message is similar to a falsehood-filled screed that went around last year, urging "retribution" against members of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections. This message makes somewhat different accusations — also false — and urges voters to "remember" in November 2012.
§ It falsely claims "Congress gave themselves a $3,000 a month Cost of Living Adjustment," when the truth is that Congress voted to deny itself any pay increase at all, both for 2010 and 2011.
§ It wrongly blames Congress for disallowing any cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients. It’s true there was no COLA for Social Security recipients in 2010 or in 2011, but that was due to the workings of a long-standing formula and not the result of any vote by the current Congress or the previous one. We covered this in detail in 2009 and the Social Security Administration has an explanation posted as well.
§ It claims that "those of you who are on Medicare" can thank "Obamacare" for increases in the per-person monthly Medicare premium — "to a wonderful $247.00 in 2014." This is also false. The basic premium for Medicare Part B (which covers physician services) was indeed $96.40 in 2009. But the other numbers are all wrong. It was $110.50 last year, for example, and not $104.20 as claimed. And it is $115.40 this year, not $120.20 as claimed.
Actually, only 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are paying the basic rate. The rest — 73 percent — are paying less under a "hold harmless" provision triggered by the lack of a cost-of-living increase in Social Security this year or last year. Most are still paying $96.40.
As for the future, nobody can say with precision what the basic Part B premium will be next year or the year after, let alone in 2014. The premium is set each year at a level calculated to pay for 25 percent of the cost of the coverage. Medicare officials do keep close watch on the trends, however. And when we contacted Medicare’s Office of the Actuary, we were given these projections — the most recent available — which are current as of the president’s budget for fiscal year 2012 issued in mid-February:
Medicare Part B Standard Premium (projected, February 2011)
2012
$108.20
2013
$112.10
2014
$117.10
Source: Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Office of theActuary
(Note: These figures are unpublished but publicly available on request from the Office of the Actuary. They are actually a few dollars lower than what Medicare officials were projecting six months earlier, in August 2010, when the most recent report of the system’s trustees was issued. Those published projections, now outdated, can be found on page 234. Officials told us they lowered their projections because actual Part B costs in 2010 turned out to be somewhat lower than previously estimated.)
The actual premiums could turn out to be higher or lower than our table shows, but not by a lot. One major uncertainty is whether Congress will allow scheduled cuts in payments to physicians and other providers to take effect. Congress has already postponed those cuts every year since 2003, and did so again after the trustees issued their August report. The cuts have now been delayed until the end of this year at least. The projected premiums are based on assumptions that build in a "margin" to account for the high likelihood that Congress will not allow physician cuts to take effect, however. An official in the Office of the Actuary (OACT), who did not wish to be quoted by name, told us in an e-mail message:
OACT official: This margin includes an amount to account for the probability that the scheduled physician cuts will be legislatively overridden. Therefore, if the scheduled physician payment cuts are legislatively avoided, then the Part B premiums should not change significantly (depending on the nature of the legislative override).
From: WASP188@aol.com [mailto:WASP188@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 3:57 PM
To:
Subject: Medicare, Part B Premium for 2012
For those of you on Medicare, you need to read this.
Question
allan
FW: Medicare, Part B Premium for 2012
Partial reprint: http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/premium-nonsense-on-medicare/
This widely circulating message is similar to a falsehood-filled screed that went around last year, urging "retribution" against members of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections. This message makes somewhat different accusations — also false — and urges voters to "remember" in November 2012.
§ It falsely claims "Congress gave themselves a $3,000 a month Cost of Living Adjustment," when the truth is that Congress voted to deny itself any pay increase at all, both for 2010 and 2011.
§ It wrongly blames Congress for disallowing any cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients. It’s true there was no COLA for Social Security recipients in 2010 or in 2011, but that was due to the workings of a long-standing formula and not the result of any vote by the current Congress or the previous one. We covered this in detail in 2009 and the Social Security Administration has an explanation posted as well.
§ It claims that "those of you who are on Medicare" can thank "Obamacare" for increases in the per-person monthly Medicare premium — "to a wonderful $247.00 in 2014." This is also false. The basic premium for Medicare Part B (which covers physician services) was indeed $96.40 in 2009. But the other numbers are all wrong. It was $110.50 last year, for example, and not $104.20 as claimed. And it is $115.40 this year, not $120.20 as claimed.
Actually, only 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are paying the basic rate. The rest — 73 percent — are paying less under a "hold harmless" provision triggered by the lack of a cost-of-living increase in Social Security this year or last year. Most are still paying $96.40.
As for the future, nobody can say with precision what the basic Part B premium will be next year or the year after, let alone in 2014. The premium is set each year at a level calculated to pay for 25 percent of the cost of the coverage. Medicare officials do keep close watch on the trends, however. And when we contacted Medicare’s Office of the Actuary, we were given these projections — the most recent available — which are current as of the president’s budget for fiscal year 2012 issued in mid-February:
Medicare Part B Standard Premium (projected, February 2011)
2012
$108.20
2013
$112.10
2014
$117.10
Source: Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Office of theActuary
(Note: These figures are unpublished but publicly available on request from the Office of the Actuary. They are actually a few dollars lower than what Medicare officials were projecting six months earlier, in August 2010, when the most recent report of the system’s trustees was issued. Those published projections, now outdated, can be found on page 234. Officials told us they lowered their projections because actual Part B costs in 2010 turned out to be somewhat lower than previously estimated.)
The actual premiums could turn out to be higher or lower than our table shows, but not by a lot. One major uncertainty is whether Congress will allow scheduled cuts in payments to physicians and other providers to take effect. Congress has already postponed those cuts every year since 2003, and did so again after the trustees issued their August report. The cuts have now been delayed until the end of this year at least. The projected premiums are based on assumptions that build in a "margin" to account for the high likelihood that Congress will not allow physician cuts to take effect, however. An official in the Office of the Actuary (OACT), who did not wish to be quoted by name, told us in an e-mail message:
OACT official: This margin includes an amount to account for the probability that the scheduled physician cuts will be legislatively overridden. Therefore, if the scheduled physician payment cuts are legislatively avoided, then the Part B premiums should not change significantly (depending on the nature of the legislative override).
From: WASP188@aol.com [mailto:WASP188@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2011 3:57 PM
To:
Subject: Medicare, Part B Premium for 2012
For those of you on Medicare, you need to read this.
http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/premium-nonsense-on-medicare/
DonH
USN-ret
Visit Your Group
"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/
http://www.facebook.com/dan.cedusky
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