I am a Medicare subscriber. I must supplement the coverage of a Medicare decision reported yesterday, September 27, 2022 by several news organizations.
CBS, NBC, and PBS—possibly others--all reported that Medicare Plan B premiums will be reduced by 3 percent in 2023. That’s it. With cheering and fanfare, and celebration on The White House web site. We’re all expected to cheer along.
Not. Three cycles ago, Medicare INCREASED the Part B premium amount by almost 30 percent. Giving us relief to the tune of 3 percent is a slap in the face. Reporting it as a measure we should embrace with gratitude, instead of also reporting the previous unconscionable increase, is journalistic malpractice.
I’m 70 years old. I’m not sure how much longer I can afford to carry Medicare insurance at these rates. I can’t afford supplemental insurance now as it is. I don’t have prescription drug coverage. Can’t afford that right now. I know many other over-65 Americans are worse off than I am. If this keeps up, we’re going to be seeing older Americans who cannot afford health insurance and cannot afford health care, at an age where people need it.
Would anyone want this done to their over-65 parents?
Driving a deluge of over-65 people onto Medicaid, I guess, can happen, as strained as Medicaid is now. Trouble is, if you have a little nest egg stashed away, you don’t qualify. You’re too well off.
No decent human being does this, imposing a steep increase in a critical service on vulnerable people who can’t fight back. This is the act of soulless monsters who have lost their humanity. There is no justification. And no news organization worthy of being called a reputable news organization publishes a half-account of what Medicare does to subscribers.
