Tag: marketplace and Medicare

COBRA, Retiree Plans, VA Benefits Don’t Alleviate Need To Sign Up For Medicare

By Susan Jaffe  | Kaiser Health News | December 14, 2016 | This KHN story also ran on     

When Cindy Hunter received her Medicare card in the mail last spring, she said she “didn’t know a lot about Medicare.” She and her husband, retired teachers who live in a Philadelphia suburb, decided she didn’t need it because she shared his retiree health insurance, which covered her treatment for ovarian cancer.

Cindy Hunter, who is battling ovarian cancer, says she mistakenly thought she didn’t need to enroll in Medicare because her husband’s retiree insurance would cover her. (Steph Brecht/Courtesy of Cindy Hunter)

“We were so thankful we had good insurance,” she said. So she sent back the card, telling officials she would keep Medicare Part A, which is free for most older or disabled Americans and covers hospitalization, some nursing home stays and home health care. But she turned down Part B, which covers doctor visits and other outpatient care and comes with a monthly premium charge. A new Medicare card arrived that says she only has Part A.

Her story isn’t unique.

When Stan Withers left a job at a medical device company to become vice president of a small start-up near Sacramento, Calif., he took his health insurance with him. Under a federal law known as COBRA, he paid the full cost to continue his coverage from his previous employer. A few years earlier, when he turned 65, he signed up for

This KHN article also ran in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Medicare’s Part A. With the addition of a COBRA plan, he thought he didn’t need Medicare Part B.

Hunter and Withers now know they were wrong and are stuck with medical bills their insurance won’t cover. …Advocates for seniors and some members of Congress want to fix the problem, backed by a broad, unlikely group of unions, health insurers, patient organizations, health care providers and even eight former Medicare administrators.  [Continued on Kaiser Health News or NPR or The Philadelphia Inquirer]…

Officials Warn Some Older Marketplace Customers To Switch To Medicare

By Susan Jaffe  | Kaiser Health News | October 14 2016 |  This KHN story also ran in 

Ever since the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces opened for business in 2014, the Obama administration has worked hard to make sure Americans sign up. Yet officials now are telling some older people they might have too much insurance and they should cancehealthcare-gov-letterl their marketplace policies.

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is targeting two groups. First the agency is sending emails each month to about 15,000 people with subsidized marketplace coverage. The messages arrive a few weeks before their 6
5th birthday, which is also the age most people become eligible for Medicare. The email reminders will go to enrollees in the 38 states that use the federal marketplace.

“In most cases you won’t want to keep your Marketplace plan because once your Medicare coverage starts, you’ll no longer be eligible for any premium tax credits or other cost savings you may be getting for your Marketplace plan,” the notice says.  “To avoid an unwanted overlap in Marketplace and Medicare coverage … tell us you want to end your Marketplace plan.”

…Beneficiaries shoulder a lot of responsibility, even though there is no requirement they all be told what to do and when. Only the individual can terminate marketplace coverage when he or she becomes eligible for Medicare. Inaction means paying back any coverage subsidies received after they should have joined Medicare.  [Continued in  Kaiser Health News or The Washington Post]

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