While Republicans continue to thwart President Obama’s proposals to increase taxes on people earning over $250,000 or even $1,000,000, House Republicans are expected to pass legislation that describes people earning over $80,000 (families earning over $160,000) as high earners who must pay far higher Medicare premiums. Current law sets higher Medicare premiums for individuals earning […]
Long term care can cost over $10,000 per month in the most expensive settings and even care at home with part time paid caregivers can cost thousands of dollars per month. Individuals without long term care insurance must look to savings or Medicaid to fund their care. To qualify for Medicaid, an applicant must meet […]
Beginning in 2013, people with higher incomes will pay a 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on net investment income such as interest, dividends, rents, net capital gains on investments, and certain other income. However, net investment income doesn’t include tax exempt municipal bond interest, annuity distributions, distributions from IRAs and qualified plans, and various other kinds […]
An individual who currently receives Medicare or reasonably expects to become eligible for Medicare in the next 30 months must protect Medicare’s interests when resolving a worker compensation (WC) or personal injury (PI)claim. In other words WC and PI recoveries rather than Medicare must fund care necessitated by a work accident or other injury. Medicare […]
The deficit reduction plan authorized this summer would automatically cut billions of dollars from Medicare payments to hospitals and other health providers unless Congress agrees to alternate budget reductions. Medicare typically pays hospitals and health providers lower rates than other health insurers pay. Thus, the hospital industry is lobbying Congress to raise the Medicare eligibility […]