Toni:
My Medicare begins September 1st and I have received my first bill which is $536. I do not see this Medicare cost anywhere on the Medicare site or in any information I received when I came into the Toni Says office for my Medicare consultation.
Am I being charged the Medicare Part B penalty? I signed up before I turned 65. What is wrong?
This bill for Medicare is due September 25th and I am not starting my Social Security check until I turn 66, so I should pay this myself to Social Security. Look forward to what your thoughts are?
David from Houston, TX
David:
Great Medicare news for you David…. You are not being charged EXTRA!! You have been charged for 4 months of Medicare Part B premiums because you are not receiving a Social Security check to have your Medicare premiums taken out of.
Feel better now!
Most that are paying their Medicare premiums monthly have the premium taken from their Social Security check. Social Security will automatically take the Medicare premiums monthly from a person’s Social Security check. Social Security will send a letter informing the Medicare beneficiary that Social Security is deducting the monthly Medicare Part B premiums from ones Social Security check. David this is not your situation.
The average Part B premium for those who income is $85,000 or less as an individual or $170,000 or less as a couple is $134, and yours, David, if you divide your premiums of $536 by 4 months equals $134 per month.
Medicare has a program that can allow one to pay premiums on a monthly basis by either paying via check, bank draft, debit card or credit cards. The program is called “Medicare Easy Pay”.
One can GOOGLE “Medicare Easy Pay” online or search on the www.medicare.gov website which discuss different topics about Medicare Easy Pay such as how to pay Medicare Parts A, B, C and/or D, how to set up Medicare Easy Pay or form to download to pay monthly.
For those who do not have access to a computer, call 1/800-MEDICARE (633-4227) and request for the Medicare Easy Pay form to be sent by mail to you.
If one does not keep up with your Medicare premiums, whether it is Part A, B, C and/or D, then they can lose their benefits and may be charged a penalty when they re-enroll.(When one does not have 40 working quarters to qualify for Medicare, then they may have to pay a premium for Part A.)
It may take about 6-8 weeks to have the “Medicare Easy Pay” form processed and you should make sure that you keep up with your monthly premiums being paid, so that your Medicare Parts A, B, C and/or D are kept on a current basis.
David, I am proud to announce that the Toni Says Medicare team now has a Toni Says Medicare Call Center at 1/844-250-TONI (8664) to help America answer questions concerning the maze of Medicare.
Toni King, author of the Medicare Survival Guide®, which is a simple guide that puts Medicare in “people” terms, is on sale at www.tonisays.com. Email questions or to schedule a “Confused about Medicare Workshop” for your church, organization, or company lunch at info@tonisays.com or call the Toni Says Medicare team at 1/844-250-TONI (8664).
