Chapter 5: Medicare Coverage, Costs, and Concerns

68  Medicare book: Philip Moeller, Get What’s Yours for Medicare: Maximize Your Coverage, Minimize Your Costs (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2016), https://www.amazon.com/Get-Whats-Yours-Medicare-Maximize/dp/1501124005/.

68  Get What’s Yours: https://getwhatsyours.org/medicare/.

69  current enrollee costs: “Medicare Costs at a Glance,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance.

69  provides broad coverage: “What Medicare Covers,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers.

69  guide to Medigap: Choosing a Medigap Policy: A Guide to Health Insurance for People with Medicare, Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/pubs/pdf/02110-medicare-medigap-guide.pdf.

71  link to current rates: “Medicare costs at a glance,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance.

75  MA plans can include: “Medicare Advantage Plans cover all Medicare services,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/what-medicare-health-plans-cover/medicare-advantage-plans-cover-all-medicare-services.

75  four savings programs: “Medicare Savings Programs,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/help-paying-costs/medicare-savings-program/medicare-savings-programs.html.

76  projects: The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2020 to 2030, Congressional Budget Office, January 2020, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56073.

77  MedPACs reports: “Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System,” Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Report to the Congress, June 2020, http://www.medpac.gov/docs/deafault-source/reports/jun20_reporttocongress_sec.pdf?sfvrsn-0.

77  MACPAC: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, https://www.macpac.gov/.

78  annual maximum deductibles: “Yearly deductible for drug plans,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d/costs-for-medicare-drug-coverage/yearly-deductible-for-drug-plans.

78  current rules: “Costs for Medicare drug coverage,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/drug-coverage-part-d/costs-for-medicare-drug-coverage.

80  complete this Extra Help application: “Extra Help With Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs,” U.S. Social Security Administration, https://secure.ssa.gov/i1020/start.

81  Plan Finder: “Find a Medicare plan,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/home.aspx.

82  useful rundown: “Medigap Enrollment and Consumer Protections Vary Across States,” Kaiser Family Foundation, July 2018, http://files.kff.org/attachment/Issue-Brief-Medigap-Enrollment-and -Consumer-Protections-Vary-Across-States.

82  Medigap Finder: “Find a Medigap policy that works for you,” Medicare.gov, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, https://www.medicare.gov/medigap-supplemental-insurance-plans/.

83  set by rules: “IRMAA Sliding Scale Tables,” Program Operations Manual System (POMS), U.S. Social Security Administration, https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0601101020.

84  Turbo Tax: “What Is the Difference Between AGI and MAGI on Your Taxes?” Intuit Turbo Tax, https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/what-is-the-difference-between-agi-and-magi-on-your-taxes/L7kHckNS3.

85  COBRA: “Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA),” U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/health-plans/cobra.