KEY POINTS
·
About 60% of 65-year-olds were on Social Security in 2016,
compared with 92% in 2002, as more older people have kept working.
·
Consumer advocates expect that change to result in a growing
number of older individuals experiencing costly mistakes when they enroll in
basic Medicare.
·
The BENES Act, which cleared committee Wednesday, aims to
minimize the chance that beneficiaries get slapped with life-lasting
late-enrollment penalties.
Medicare
might become a bit easier to navigate.
A
congressional measure that would help prevent costly enrollment mistakes cleared a House committee on
Wednesday as part of a group of bipartisan-backed health-care bills. The next
step would be a vote by the full chamber, although it's uncertain when that
might occur.
"The
intent was for all those health bills in the committee markup to be nonpartisan
and noncontroversial," said Lindsey Copeland, federal policy director for
the Medicare Rights Center, an advocacy group. "We hope the [BENES Act]
makes it to the floor pretty easily."
A companion bill in the Senate continues
to idle in the Finance Committee.The Medicare-related measure in the House,
called the BENES Act, would
do several things, including eliminating certain delays between signup and
coverage, as well as offer outreach to people about their responsibilities
as they near the Medicare-eligible age of 65.
Roughly
62.4 million individuals — the majority of whom are 65 or older — are enrolled
in Medicare. While people who tap Social Security before that Medicare-eligible
age are automatically enrolled, a growing share of older folks are delaying
their benefits beyond that age, research shows.
In
2016, 60% of 65-year-olds were on Social Security, compared with 92% in 2002,
according to a 2019 report from the
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
The
upshot is that consumer advocates expect a growing number of older individuals
to run into costly mistakes when they enroll in basic Medicare, which consists
of Part A (hospital coverage) and Part B (outpatient care and medical
equipment). While there are no late-enrollment penalties related to Part A, the
same can't be said for signing up late for Part B.
That
penalty, which equates to 10% of the standard Part B premium for each 12 months
that you should have been enrolled but were not, also can increase each year as
the premium adjusts annually. Be aware that 65-year-olds who meet an exception
— for example, they have qualifying group health insurance at work — can delay
enrolling. However, down the road when they lose that coverage, they still have
deadlines to meet (or potentially face those same late enrollment penalties).
In
2019, about 764,000 people paid the Part B late-enrollment penalty, according
to recent congressional research. On average, that pushed their premiums up by
28%. Based on the 2020 standard Part B premium of $144.60, that would mean an
additional $40 monthly, or $184.60 total (although some beneficiaries either
pay more or less than the standard).
"It's
very complex and requires people to understand different rules, how other
coverage overlaps, and all the timelines," Copeland said. "The
consequences of any missteps in the Part B enrollment process are
significant."
The
BENES Act also would require coverage begin the month after signing up for
certain beneficiaries who currently experience a delay in their coverage.
For
those who sign up on their own during their seven-month "initial
enrollment period" at age 65, enrolling toward the end of that window can
result waiting months for coverage to kick in.
You
could sign up Jan. 2 and have to wait seven months for coverage to kick in.
Lindsey Copeland
FEDERAL POLICY DIRECTOR FOR THE
MEDICARE RIGHTS CENTER
There
also is a delay for those who have to sign up during the "general
enrollment period," — Jan. 1 through March 31 of each year — due to
missing their initial signup window. In that case, coverage doesn't start until
July 1.
"You
could sign up Jan. 2 and have to wait seven months for coverage to kick
in," Copeland said.
The
BENES Act also requires that the Health & Human Services Secretary submit a
report about how to most effectively align the early year general enrollment
period for Parts A and B with the annual fall open enrollment period, which is
for enrollment related to different parts of Medicare — Part C Advantage Plans
and Part D prescription drug plans.
An
earlier version of the bill would have made that change instead of requiring
further study on the issue.
The
BENES Act also would give the government the authority to declare a special
enrollment period for Parts A and B for people who experience "exceptional
circumstances" regarding an emergency or disaster, Copeland said.
No comments:
Post a Comment