Claim: The federal government is withholding information on 2015 Medicare premiums and deductibles until after the 2014 midterm elections.
MOSTLY FALSE
Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2014]
READ THIS CAREFULLY ...
Did you receive your Medicare Handbook for 2015 yesterday? If you have already received yours in the mail please turn to
I did just that and talked with a Medicare representative. She told me that they probably would not have those figures in until the end of the first week or possibly the second week of November.
Now, let that sink in!
As soon as she stated that to me I replied, "My, isn't that convenient for the Obama Administration to actually hold off on those figures until after the 2014 election results."
There was dead silence on the other end of the line. I told her thank you and that I would call back.
You see on our Social Security increase for next year we are only receiving an increase of around 1%. Even the military are getting just over 1%. You can bet after the
So anyone voting for the Democrats in the forthcoming elections deserves to get the increases that are coming after
Origins: In
deductibles would not made be available to seniors until late in 2014, after the midterm elections.
In the weeks leading up to the 2014 elections, the Medicare Handbook
The e-mail was posted across the internet and in a few "letters to the editor" columns in late October 2014, often attributed to "a friend" or "a retired detective." As the writer stated,
The 2015 Medicare premium and deductible amounts weren't available at the time of printing. To get the most
Find out what you pay for Medicare (Part A and Part B)
However, the claims made after the "turn to
In fact, according to that site, Medicare 2015 Part A monthly premium rates are not only available for viewing now but will be lower in 2015 than they were the previous year; and 2015 Medicare
An article published on
Medicare Part B premiums will be $104.90 per month in 2015, which is the same as the 2014 premiums. The Part B deductible will also remain the same for 2015, at $147. The Medicare
Additional cost breakdowns for Medicare in 2015 are available on Medicare.gov.
In summary: While the 2015 Medicare handbook did not have specific rates at hand at the time it was printed, that information is readily available online via Medicare.gov; and it was released well before the 2014 midterm elections and not withheld until after voting had concluded.
Last updated: 31 October 2014
Sources: |
Lankford, Kimberly. "What You'll Pay for Medicare in 2015."
Kiplinger. 10 October 2014.