If you are a recipient of Medicare, you know that the Medicare Part B premium increased by 13.2% in 2006. Medicare Part B provides coverage for doctors, a small amount of medication, if prescribed and administered by the physician in their office, and some outpatient expenses. However, individuals with low income may be entitled to receive assistance for the Medicare Part B premium if they also qualify for Medicaid, which covers the cost of the Medicare Part B premium as deductibles and co-payments.
Medicare Part A will also be increasing. This covers inpatient hospital care, some nursing home care and some health care. There is really no money paid for this, but it is a deductible that is privately paid if you have no other insurance to cover it. The 2006 increase is $952.00 per year. Many disabled individuals and seniors who obtain Medicare Part A coverage pay the premium personally if they have not met the requirements for Medicare qualification.
Medicare Part D, the new drug prescription benefit, will not be discussed in any great detail here, since it is probably as confusing to this writer as it is to any of the participants, enrollees and administrators.
By: Hyman G. Darling, Esquire
Parents seldom speak to their children about the money that they are planning to leave to the next generation. In some cases this is a good decision because unscrupulous children may look “differently” at their parents if there is a significant inheritance and a parent is terminally ill. If that child has the decision-making authority regarding life support or removal of medical equipment to maintain a person’s life, and inheritance could affect judgment.
Tax season is safely tucked away for another year. You are probably either happy with your refund or still grumbling about what you paid in. The smarter concern would be in making an effort to adjust withholdings with the goal of reaching a break-even point on April 15th. If you got back a significant refund, then you probably had too much money taken out of your paycheck every week. Exceptions would be a large contribution, medical expense or other substantial change of circumstances that caused a one-year refund spike.