Entries for October 2009

 An analysis by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare shows that health care reform proposals, which allow Medicare to negotiate the lowest drug prices for beneficiaries in Part D, would save $24 billion each year. That savings would be more than enough to close the Part D coverage gap known as the "doughnut...

For the first time since annual automatic cost of living adjustments (COLA) were established for Social Security and supplemental security income in 1975, there will not be an increase next year.  Raises in Social Security and SSI are attached to inflation. To determine the COLA, the third quarter inflation rate is compared to the one the y...

Here is some advice for seniors who may fall into the dreaded donut hole in Medicare Part D. Recently my wife fell into that hole. Two of her drugs for the next month went from $60 a month to over $600. These are life-saving drugs.  I finally convinced her to go online and check out the possibility of getting those drugs from Canada. It is ...

Next year is looking like a tough one for seniors. They will be forced to bear increases in premiums for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage in the upcoming year. Seniors will have a 45-day window from Nov. 15 until Dec. 31 to decide if they want to switch plans or stay with the program where they are currently enrolled. Medicare Part D prem...

The report that seniors won’t get a cost of living adjustment increase in their Social Security checks next year won’t be viewed as good news by many retirees, especially for those whose main source of retirement income are those checks.  But the law is the law, and the federal government bases the adjustments on inflation, which has declin...

Seniors get an opportunity to shop around for new prescription drug coverage once a year and can potentially switch into a lower cost plan. Each state will have 39 or more prescription drug plans to choose from in 2010, each with different prices and coverage options. In Florida, for example, monthly premiums will range from $19.80 to $100.40 next ...

Senior citizens may feel like they are being nickle-and-dimed each year on the cost of their prescription drugs. The alternative is to shop around for a different Medicare Part D plan. Information on prices and plans for 2010 for prescription drug coverage is available and premiums are going up an average of 11 percent for people enrolled in stan...

 Many seniors will see their Social Security check go down because their Medicare Part D (prescription plans) and their Medicare Part C (also known as Medicare Advantage) plans are expected to go up in cost. Since Social Security is not expected to provide a cost of living increase (COLA) this year for the first time in 25 years...

Q: I enrolled in a Medicare Part D drug plan last year. My co-payments have been reasonable until the other day. I went to the drugstore and was told I had to pay full price for my medicines. The pharmacist told me I was in the gap. I never heard of such a thing. What do I do? A: It is unfortunate that you had to learn about the Part D g...

Monthly Medicare drug premiums to rise 11 percent in 2010 for current stand-alone plans Monthly premiums for Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans will rise 11 percent on average to $38.85 in 2010 if beneficiaries stay in their current plans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. An analysis of the 2010 Part D prescription dr...

An amendment approved in the early hours of Friday allows changes that could lead to higher Medicare prescription drug premiums. Senator Chuck Grassley said that early Friday morning, during final hours of work on health care reform legislation, the Senate Finance Committee agreed to changes that are bad for seniors, veterans and workers. Grass...

Source: Kiplingers Brace yourself for no increase in your Social Security check next year. And some seniors’ checks may even shrink. For the first time since annual cost-of-living adjustments became automatic nearly 35 years ago, seniors will not get a raise in their Social Security benefits in 2010. And unless Congress steps in, some beneficiari...