Now I'm Getting Worried

[countrygirl2]

Yes, its proposed but without enough democrats to defend it, likely will happen. Late last night I was listening to Bloomberg before going to bed, well folks here it comes. The trump budget to be able to give all the cuts to the wealthy and big business is cutting EPA something like 45%, some other agencies not sure which other ones drastically, and MEDICARE, I thought I heard wrong so stayed up to hear it cycle again and yes MEDICARE, there were other things they were going to cut too. I saw on here about money from libraries. WHEN ARE REPUBLICANS GOING TO SAY ENOUGH? I KNOW HANNITY AND CLAN DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF, they are still beating on hillary to divert people away from what is happening, SO MAYBE THEY DON'T REALIZE OR MAYBE CUTTING MEDICARE WON'T HURT THEM. IT WILL HURT US and many others. And how long can our small rural hospital keep taking cuts, many have closed, this will get even more if it comes to pass, we need to fight this, call your representatives.

Our premiums went up $80 a month our third year on SS and medicare, my whole SS check is now going for insurance and meds, this is

going to effect our standard of living before long.  I have no idea how others are handling this. In retrospect we likely shouldn't have helped kids

with house, but didn't know it was going to start raising that much already in year 3 of retirement. We will be ok, we have a lot we can cut, but not my idea of a good retirement. With health issues I am thinking seriously of selling my motorhome anyway, likely can only use it a few more years anyway, though its worth very little.

[bean29]

I don’t know how hard this first budget hits medicare but I saw something about means testing medicare. I don’t like that. We will need it. Who knows what they will deem wealthy, but giving the average senior’s income, they could say if you have $80-100,000 in income no Medicare or something like 50% co-pay.

I saw cuts to education, affordable care, no DACA protections, community development block grants, after school care, public broadcasting, and he proposes spending 10 billion on Opioid addiction next year, but eliminating $5 billion in mandatory spending on opioid addiction, and it will be discretionary NEXT Year!

[countrygirl2]

If they do something like that with my increasing health issues already, it will drain us. We would have to cut everything, I

can, but when hubs was working we were deemed wealthy we sure aren't now. Honestly, I am starting to get scared,

we thought we set ourselves up for a decent retirement, how quickly they can take it away.

[countrygirl2]

It already is means tested, if we had not had the life changing event deal in it we would be paying out the rear

for the last 2 years till it changed. I hope it doesn't increase by the sale of the rent house last year. We never

had a problem paying taxes, but when your income is limited and you are in retirement it gets harder.

[giramomma]

I'm not surprised. This is what folks wanted, anyway. 

And, I don't think they will be able make cuts drastically to SS, medicare, etc. I'm sure it the cuts won't be a huge cliff for everyone starting the new fiscal year, but rather gradual.

I forgot how many billions he wanted to spend on infrastructure. That money has to come from somewhere.

At least grandma can move in with family and have them take care of her or buy her food and help pay her bills...our infrastructure doesn't have that option...

[bean29]

The infastructure proposal looks like a joke. I don’t understand it. It looks like Fed Gov’t pays 20% with the rest 80% coming from the state in matching funds. WI has already commmitted ridiculous amounts of $$ to FOXCON, they gave a tax break to the wealthy, promised Foxcon no property or Income taxes for something like 20 years, now to pay for the needed infrastructure the little guy taxpayers will be hit with higher state income & property taxes and next they will add toll roads.

[giramomma]

Feb 13, 2018 8:18:09 GMT -5 bean29 said:

The infastructure proposal looks like a joke. I don’t understand it. It looks like Fed Gov’t pays 20% with the rest 80% coming from the state in matching funds. WI has already commmitted ridiculous amounts of $$ to FOXCON, they gave a tax break to the wealthy, promised Foxcon no property or Income taxes for something like 20 years, now to pay for the needed infrastructure the little guy taxpayers will be hit with higher state income & property taxes and next they will add toll roads.

It's not just FoxConn, it's also all the paper businesses in the Fox Valley, too.

I'm still meh.

We need details, and then we need to see how this shakes out.

It's a budget for one year. Eventually things will shift and it will get undone.

The parts that won't...I'm sure those will be the more modest cuts.

I think we all look at change and run around like chicken little..without really vetting to see what change is deserving of that and what isn't.

I lost $300/month from Act 10. Sure, it was unpleasant. But, it's not as bad, as say only getting one $500 raise in a decade. Stagnant wages have hurt me a ton more. In hindsight, I wish my counterparts would have said "Ok, we'll take our lumps, but we want it done strategically..."

[finnime]

Due to Paygo, cuts are automatic in Medicare, Medicaid and other social services when the federal budget is in this large a deficit. We will be seeing them. That happened when the new tax plan went into effect.  Yes, congress knew that when they passed the tax bill. Yes, call them. Each of them, no matter how they voted.

The proposed budget to increase dramatically defense spending (except on soldiers and veterans!) will accelerate those cuts if the budget is accepted.

[Deleted]

One of the recent stop gap efforts also suspended paygo. 

[finnime]

oped, TY, I didn't know that.

[andi9899]

I mean, this is what America voted for. His motives were never hidden. He's always been about making himself richer and his fellow rich people are going to get to take advantage as well. He promised a wall that any idiot had to know was never going to happen and there was no way Mexico was going to pay for it.

When you vote in a clown you get a circus.

[midjd]

If spending cuts have to come, and I don't think there's any question on that, I'd honestly rather them come from the generation(s) whose votes and representatives largely got us into this mess (I include myself in this group) instead of being kicked down the road, yet again, to be paid for by our grandchildren, who had no say in the drunken-sailor spending that has been taking place.* And I don't say that lightly, since if SS/Medicare are significantly cut, I'll end up supporting at least one parent within the decade. 

SS and Medicare have been untouchable for far too long, which is how we've ended up in this mess. If politicians had been more willing to say "hey, our expenses are out of control, time to put everything on the table" 20-30 years ago, perhaps we'd have tempered the spending sprees that have happened (on both sides of the aisle) since then. 

*(Well, ideally, they'd come from eliminating the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare fraud that is perpetrated each year, but I don't see that happening... too much work.)

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 13, 2018 9:39:39 GMT -5 midjd said:

If spending cuts have to come, and I don't think there's any question on that, I'd honestly rather them come from the generation(s) whose votes and representatives largely got us into this mess (I include myself in this group) instead of being kicked down the road, yet again, to be paid for by our grandchildren, who had no say in the drunken-sailor spending that has been taking place.* And I don't say that lightly, since if SS/Medicare are significantly cut, I'll end up supporting at least one parent within the decade. 

SS and Medicare have been untouchable for far too long, which is how we've ended up in this mess. If politicians had been more willing to say "hey, our expenses are out of control, time to put everything on the table" 20-30 years ago, perhaps we'd have tempered the spending sprees that have happened (on both sides of the aisle) since then. 

*(Well, ideally, they'd come from eliminating the hundreds of billions of dollars in Medicare fraud that is perpetrated each year, but I don't see that happening... too much work.)

I completely agree with this.

I also am not counting on SS in my retirement. Something has to give and I wouldn't doubt that those of us that were smart and saved for retirement will be means tested out of actually receiving SS.  Even in my early 20s when I started my retirement planning I always assumed SS would not be there for me. 

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 13, 2018 7:23:35 GMT -5 countrygirl2 said:

Yes, its proposed but without enough democrats to defend it, likely will happen. Late last night I was listening to Bloomberg before going to bed, well folks here it comes. The trump budget to be able to give all the cuts to the wealthy and big business is cutting EPA something like 45%, some other agencies not sure which other ones drastically, and MEDICARE, I thought I heard wrong so stayed up to hear it cycle again and yes MEDICARE, there were other things they were going to cut too. I saw on here about money from libraries. WHEN ARE REPUBLICANS GOING TO SAY ENOUGH? I KNOW HANNITY AND CLAN DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF, they are still beating on hillary to divert people away from what is happening, SO MAYBE THEY DON'T REALIZE OR MAYBE CUTTING MEDICARE WON'T HURT THEM. IT WILL HURT US and many others. And how long can our small rural hospital keep taking cuts, many have closed, this will get even more if it comes to pass, we need to fight this, call your representatives.

Our premiums went up $80 a month our third year on SS and medicare, my whole SS check is now going for insurance and meds, this is

going to effect our standard of living before long.  I have no idea how others are handling this. In retrospect we likely shouldn't have helped kids

with house, but didn't know it was going to start raising that much already in year 3 of retirement. We will be ok, we have a lot we can cut, but not my idea of a good retirement. With health issues I am thinking seriously of selling my motorhome anyway, likely can only use it a few more years anyway, though its worth very little.

To be fair, my insurance premiums keep going up, too.  Until we can figure out how to rein in the cost of healthcare, passing the buck to who pays for it solves nothing. Healthcare is extremely expensive and we all are feeling the pain of that. No one wants to address the cost side of the equation, though.

[Tiny]

Feb 13, 2018 9:35:00 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I mean, this is what America voted for. His motives were never hidden. He's always been about making himself richer and his fellow rich people are going to get to take advantage as well. He promised a wall that any idiot had to know was never going to happen and there was no way Mexico was going to pay for it.

When you vote in a clown you get a circus.

I don't think  America  thought about the not so hidden costs of getting what they wanted and voted for.  

[Bonny]

Feb 13, 2018 10:41:15 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Feb 13, 2018 9:35:00 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I mean, this is what America voted for. His motives were never hidden. He's always been about making himself richer and his fellow rich people are going to get to take advantage as well. He promised a wall that any idiot had to know was never going to happen and there was no way Mexico was going to pay for it.

When you vote in a clown you get a circus.

I don't think  America  thought about the not so hidden costs of getting what they wanted and voted for.  

Hidden schmidden. People think that the cuts should come from the other guy's pork.

,

I can't have a civil conversation with my Trump loving father who is a Medicaid and food stamp recipient who is mad that the illegal he hired from the street corner went to work for his neighbor who pays him more.

[phil5185]

Our premiums went up $80 a month our third year on SS and medicare

,

You may have gotten caught up in the Medicare Means Testing when you sold a rental house. We sold a rental a few years ago, that raised our taxable income for that year, our Medicare premiums went up $4800 a year later for one year, then back down to 'normal' the next year. (We were being punished for making too much money.)

[Lizard Queen]

Is that really punishment, or more fully reflecting the cost of the insurance you're receiving?

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2018 11:10:49 GMT -5 phil5185 said:

Our premiums went up $80 a month our third year on SS and medicare

,

You may have gotten caught up in the Medicare Means Testing when you sold a rental house. We sold a rental a few years ago, that raised our taxable income for that year, our Medicare premiums went up $4800 a year later for one year, then back down to 'normal' the next year. (We were being punished for making too much money.)

Yep- that's the IRMAA (Income-related Monthly Adjustment Amount). 

I can't see SS and Medicare being eliminated but I can see an increase in this type of means testing and further taxation of SS benefits for those who have income from other sources.  

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 13, 2018 11:12:33 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Is that really punishment, or more fully reflecting the cost of the insurance you're receiving?

[giramomma]

Feb 13, 2018 9:59:49 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

To be fair, my insurance premiums keep going up, too.  Until we can figure out how to rein in the cost of healthcare, passing the buck to who pays for it solves nothing. Healthcare is extremely expensive and we all are feeling the pain of that. No one wants to address the cost side of the equation, though.

This.

I think everyone should be on HDHP insurance for a few years to see how much places charge for things..

My OB clinic charged $250-300 for 20 minute procedures...like a NST and ultrasounds.

The NST boggles me... 5 minutes of the nurses time, a yard of paper, gel, and the use of a machine that is not brand new.

If I start pricing things out, assuming the nurse earns 60K a year, my treatment ran $10 of her salary, including benefits. We'll say the paper, and ultrasound gel ran $10. The OB office ladies salary during that time ran $25, just pay, no benefits.

NST machines run 4k, according to google. We'll say 5k, and they last 5 years. So 1K a year. I'd say it's reasonable to do 100 NSTs a year. So the machine runs $10/use.

So here's what I have for expenses:
$10 for the machine
$10 for supplies
$45 for personnel time, including the OB's time
$35 for heat/utilities for 20 minutes

I'm guessing $100.

So, does my OB's office need to make an extra 150 for a 20 minute procedure? I dunno.

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2018 11:12:33 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Is that really punishment, or more fully reflecting the cost of the insurance you're receiving?

OK, it's more reflective of the cost of the insurance- apparently Medicare B and prescription drug policies are also subsidized by Medicare or SS receipts, and if you are high-income you pay a bigger % of the cost, up to 100% if your income is above levels I have no hope of ever achieving (something like $500K?).

But keep in mind that the people paying these extra premiums were most likely high earners during their working years, paying the max in SS and Medicare contributions.  Your monthly SS check partly reflects higher earnings; Medicare benefits are the same whether you worked 40 quarters as a greeter at Wal-Mart or made the SS max the last 20 years of your career.

Many of my FB friends re-post the same meme that pretty much implies that all of their SS and all of their Medicare is paid out of a little bank account in DC that contains contributions from themselves and their employers and that "it's not an entitlement".  No, not completely, but there's a whole lotta subsidization going on and they don't like to hear about that.  One actuarial study I saw did an analysis of what it would cost to buy an annuity equivalent to SS in the market (including COLA, survivor and other benefits) and concluded that someone in my age group with my earnings history is getting 70% of what they could buy in the market.  And that's BEFORE it's taxed.

[Deleted]

Liability insurance. The next machine. Advertising. Computers.

And the fact they only get half tgdgnotovsblu from some patients.

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2018 13:33:03 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Feb 13, 2018 11:12:33 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Is that really punishment, or more fully reflecting the cost of the insurance you're receiving?

OK, it's more reflective of the cost of the insurance- apparently Medicare B and prescription drug policies are also subsidized by Medicare or SS receipts, and if you are high-income you pay a bigger % of the cost, up to 100% if your income is above levels I have no hope of ever achieving (something like $500K?).

But keep in mind that the people paying these extra premiums were most likely high earners during their working years, paying the max in SS and Medicare contributions.  Your monthly SS check partly reflects higher earnings; Medicare benefits are the same whether you worked 40 quarters as a greeter at Wal-Mart or made the SS max the last 20 years of your career.

Many of my FB friends re-post the same meme that pretty much implies that all of their SS and all of their Medicare is paid out of a little bank account in DC that contains contributions from themselves and their employers and that "it's not an entitlement".  No, not completely, but there's a whole lotta subsidization going on and they don't like to hear about that.  One actuarial study I saw did an analysis of what it would cost to buy an annuity equivalent to SS in the market (including COLA, survivor and other benefits) and concluded that someone in my age group with my earnings history is getting 70% of what they could buy in the market.  And that's BEFORE it's taxed.

You think the market wants to insure old people?

[milee]

Feb 13, 2018 13:14:05 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Feb 13, 2018 9:59:49 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

To be fair, my insurance premiums keep going up, too.  Until we can figure out how to rein in the cost of healthcare, passing the buck to who pays for it solves nothing. Healthcare is extremely expensive and we all are feeling the pain of that. No one wants to address the cost side of the equation, though.

This.

I think everyone should be on HDHP insurance for a few years to see how much places charge for things..

My OB clinic charged $250-300 for 20 minute procedures...like a NST and ultrasounds.

The NST boggles me... 5 minutes of the nurses time, a yard of paper, gel, and the use of a machine that is not brand new.

If I start pricing things out, assuming the nurse earns 60K a year, my treatment ran $10 of her salary, including benefits. We'll say the paper, and ultrasound gel ran $10. The OB office ladies salary during that time ran $25, just pay, no benefits.

NST machines run 4k, according to google. We'll say 5k, and they last 5 years. So 1K a year. I'd say it's reasonable to do 100 NSTs a year. So the machine runs $10/use.

So here's what I have for expenses:
$10 for the machine
$10 for supplies
$45 for personnel time, including the OB's time
$35 for heat/utilities for 20 minutes

I'm guessing $100.

So, does my OB's office need to make an extra 150 for a 20 minute procedure? I dunno.

Price out liability insurance for OB/GYNs and get back to us.  And then if you haven't died of a heart attack or shock, research what percent of billings medical offices actually collect cash - $$$ - for and how much money they invest in billing, software and collection services to do that... 

[milee]

Feb 13, 2018 13:34:30 GMT -5 oped said:

And the fact they only get half tgdgnotovsblu from some patients.

I love this autocorrect.     What many docs collect compared to what they billed truly is "tgdgnotovsblu".   

[Deleted]

Feb 13, 2018 13:36:12 GMT -5 oped said:

You think the market wants to insure old people?

I know darn well they don't. In the 3 years I had to buy private coverage after retiring early, my premiums doubled and every year my insurer would drop the plan I had and I'd have to go search for another- ALWAYS hard to find a plan that paid anything out-of-network except in emergencies, and they were crappy networks. Last year I paid $9,000 for coverage with a sparse network and a $6K deductible.

So- there's Medicare. The idea is that you pay for it in advance during your entire working career and it's there after you retire- which is how it works except that, as I noted earlier, we pay very differently for identical coverage.

By the way, those insurance companies made a mint on this over-60 lady. Medicare started 1/1/2018 (thank you, God!) but in the last 3.5 years the insurers paid for nothing but regular preventative care. My few Urgent Care visits, which included a couple of severe colds and some cases of poison ivy, were all paid for out-of-pocket.

[tractor]

Feb 13, 2018 13:14:05 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Feb 13, 2018 9:59:49 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

To be fair, my insurance premiums keep going up, too.  Until we can figure out how to rein in the cost of healthcare, passing the buck to who pays for it solves nothing. Healthcare is extremely expensive and we all are feeling the pain of that. No one wants to address the cost side of the equation, though.

This.

I think everyone should be on HDHP insurance for a few years to see how much places charge for things..

My OB clinic charged $250-300 for 20 minute procedures...like a NST and ultrasounds.

The NST boggles me... 5 minutes of the nurses time, a yard of paper, gel, and the use of a machine that is not brand new.

If I start pricing things out, assuming the nurse earns 60K a year, my treatment ran $10 of her salary, including benefits. We'll say the paper, and ultrasound gel ran $10. The OB office ladies salary during that time ran $25, just pay, no benefits.

NST machines run 4k, according to google. We'll say 5k, and they last 5 years. So 1K a year. I'd say it's reasonable to do 100 NSTs a year. So the machine runs $10/use.

So here's what I have for expenses:
$10 for the machine
$10 for supplies
$45 for personnel time, including the OB's time
$35 for heat/utilities for 20 minutes

I'm guessing $100.

So, does my OB's office need to make an extra 150 for a 20 minute procedure? I dunno.

Your forgetting the cost of liability/malpractice insurance

[dannylion]

My Medicare premiums are already $348 per month.  I don't even want to think about what is going to happen when all the "tweaking is done."

[Blonde Granny]

My Medicare premium is about $110, but I don't have much taxable income which is what our premiums are based on. You must make a ton of money to have a premium that high.