Holy crud! This is an important development on health care!!!!

[Questor]

When I worked at Mayo about five years ago they were really struggling to figure out how to deal with their relationship with government health care payments.  Today's news story is very ominous:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHoYSI84VdL0&pos=9

[Graybeard]

I confess to having VERY LITTLE knowledge of medicare cuz when I worked I was told I was not going to be eligible for it at age 65. I know lots of local doctors including my own refuse to accept medicade whatever that is.

Now that I'm down to less than 3 months away from age 65 I have all these insurance companies and the government telling me I must hurry and sign up for medicare and that I might be penalized if I don't. While there might be something I'm missing in all this hoopla since I admittedly know next to nothing about it.

But pardon me why the heck do I care and why should I sign up? I am satisfied with my Blue Cross health insurance plan and it covers me, Faye and our youngest son Phil. Even if I signed up for medicare and it really did cover me unlike what I was told before I retired it wouldn't cover Faye and Phil so I'd still have to keep my BC coverage for them. I'm not even sure why now all of a sudden I'm eligible when I am not covered under social security and never will be.

[Redtail1949]

obama is going to collaspse the heath care system in the US thats what they set out to do and by george they will.

[Questor]

GB:

You need to learn about this. I don't know much about it either, but I do know of people who specifically want to stay out of Medicare. These are people who can afford their own insurance. Apparently being in Medicare limits your options legally in some way. Sorry for the vague answer, but I think it's important that you look into this.

[Questor]

GB:

Maybe this will help. I remember reading about this case recently and it's going to be a landmark court case:


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574446831381142174.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27091854/

[Graybeard]

I'm NOT eligible for Social Security. I have only paid in 6 quarters in my late teens on a salary at the time of less than $2000 a lot less if memory serves me correctly. I don't anticipate ever paying anymore in.

Even if I did tho the Civil Service offset would more than take away any potential benefits I might qualify for.