Medicare cuts to impact an estimated 2,000 Stamford residents
By Kat Russell, Reporter
Stamford Advocate
November 14, 2017
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Medicare-cuts-to-impact-2-000-Stamford-residents-12357477.php
By Kat Russell, Reporter
Stamford Advocate
November 14, 2017
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Medicare-cuts-to-impact-2-000-Stamford-residents-12357477.php
STAMFORD — As state lawmakers feel a sense of relief for finally reaching a budget agreement, thousands of low-income residents are bracing for significant changes to Medicare benefits.
About 68,000 seniors and disabled adults will lose access to the Medicare Savings Program, starting Jan. 1 when income eligibility requirements change under the state’s new budget. In Stamford, those cuts will affect more than 2,000 people, according to Christina Crain, executive director at the Stamford Senior Center.
“Basically, the state has cut the eligibility for the program in half, so a lot of people are going to lose that coverage,” Crain said. “And in losing eligibility for the Medicare Savings Plan, they’re also losing eligibility for the federal low-income subsidy, which helps pay for their medication co-pays.”
Crain said the loss of subsidies will cause prescription prices to rise from a few hundred dollars a year to several thousand dollars.
Through the Medicare Savings Program, the state Department of Social Services now pays Medicare Part B premiums for low-income elderly and disabled adults earning less than 246 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $29,667. Part B covers things like doctor visits, lab tests and outpatient care. Those earning less than 234 percent of the poverty level, or about $28,220, can receive additional help covering co-pays, deductibles and prescriptions.
In the new year, only those earning less than 100 percent of the poverty level — or $12,060 — will qualify to receive all benefits under the program, and those receiving subsidies for premiums alone must earn less than 135 percent of the poverty level to be considered.
“There are three tiers to the Medicare savings program,” Crain said. “The most generous tier, which is called QMB, not only pays for the individual’s Medicare Part B premium, which is about $134 a month, it also will pay the 20 percent co-insurance that Medicare Part B doesn’t cover for doctor’s visits, any kind of outpatient services, and it covers the Part A hospital deductible, which is pretty steep at about $1,300. So, people that are going to lose that are going to incur several thousand dollars a year in medical costs that they weren’t before. And these are folks that are living on less than $1,100 a month.”
“How do you live in Fairfield County on ($1,100 a month) and pay your housing costs, your food costs, your medical costs, transportation, etc.?” Crain asked.
The change, she added, will force some seniors and disabled people, a majority of whom live on fixed incomes, to make impossible decisions.
“So, what’s going to happen?” Crain said. “People are going to start cutting their medications in half, deciding what medications they’re going to take, and I know it sounds cliché, but some are literally going to have to choose between ‘do I pay for my prescriptions or do I pay for food or do I pay my rent this month?’”
When working with the center’s lower-income clients, Crain said the Medicare Savings Plan was considered an “ace in their pocket.”
“That was the one program that we had to offer to our lower-income clients,” she said. “When people come to us for help, saying they’re struggling to make ends meet, they’re struggling to pay their bills, the one thing we had in Connecticut that could help them was seeing if they qualified for this Medicare Savings Plan … and now we’ve lost that.”
In the short-term, Crain said the reductions may help save the state some money, but she believes cutting Medicare subsidies will ultimately result in higher costs.
“It’s kind of short-sighted,” she said. “Yes, the state will save a few million dollars now, but what happens when seniors or adults with disabilities stop taking their medications? It’s going to increase hospitalizations, it’s going to increase ER visits and in the long run, if they wind up in a nursing home, they’re going to most likely wind up on Medicaid, which is paid for by the taxpayers.”
For May Ann, a 67-year-old Stamford resident who depends on Social Security benefits, losing those Medicare subsidies means she might not be able to afford her prescriptions.
“It’s horrible,” said May Ann, who declined to provide her last name. “How do they expect us to live?”
“I don’t have enough money as it is, how am I supposed to live when they take my benefits away?”
Crain said the senior center staff will help clients enroll in health and prescription plans that offer the most coverage with the lowest co-pays. The center is also advising its clients to look into the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and local food pantries for help.
“We don’t have a lot to offer them,” she said. “That’s the scary thing. My end goal is to make sure that these people are able to continue to get the medications that they need and make sure they know what their options are.”
The Stamford Senior Center will hold an informational session for those receiving Medicare Savings Plan subsidies to outline how those benefits will change and who will be affected. The information session will be held at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Stamford Senior Center.
“People are very worried about how they’re going to make out,” Stamford resident William Lazarus said. Though Lazarus said he does not qualify for Medicare subsidies, he called the impending cuts an “absolute disgrace.”
“People who cannot afford medical care are going to have it be deprived,” he said.
kat.russell@stamfordadvocate.com
About 68,000 seniors and disabled adults will lose access to the Medicare Savings Program, starting Jan. 1 when income eligibility requirements change under the state’s new budget. In Stamford, those cuts will affect more than 2,000 people, according to Christina Crain, executive director at the Stamford Senior Center.
“Basically, the state has cut the eligibility for the program in half, so a lot of people are going to lose that coverage,” Crain said. “And in losing eligibility for the Medicare Savings Plan, they’re also losing eligibility for the federal low-income subsidy, which helps pay for their medication co-pays.”
Crain said the loss of subsidies will cause prescription prices to rise from a few hundred dollars a year to several thousand dollars.
Through the Medicare Savings Program, the state Department of Social Services now pays Medicare Part B premiums for low-income elderly and disabled adults earning less than 246 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $29,667. Part B covers things like doctor visits, lab tests and outpatient care. Those earning less than 234 percent of the poverty level, or about $28,220, can receive additional help covering co-pays, deductibles and prescriptions.
In the new year, only those earning less than 100 percent of the poverty level — or $12,060 — will qualify to receive all benefits under the program, and those receiving subsidies for premiums alone must earn less than 135 percent of the poverty level to be considered.
“There are three tiers to the Medicare savings program,” Crain said. “The most generous tier, which is called QMB, not only pays for the individual’s Medicare Part B premium, which is about $134 a month, it also will pay the 20 percent co-insurance that Medicare Part B doesn’t cover for doctor’s visits, any kind of outpatient services, and it covers the Part A hospital deductible, which is pretty steep at about $1,300. So, people that are going to lose that are going to incur several thousand dollars a year in medical costs that they weren’t before. And these are folks that are living on less than $1,100 a month.”
“How do you live in Fairfield County on ($1,100 a month) and pay your housing costs, your food costs, your medical costs, transportation, etc.?” Crain asked.
The change, she added, will force some seniors and disabled people, a majority of whom live on fixed incomes, to make impossible decisions.
“So, what’s going to happen?” Crain said. “People are going to start cutting their medications in half, deciding what medications they’re going to take, and I know it sounds cliché, but some are literally going to have to choose between ‘do I pay for my prescriptions or do I pay for food or do I pay my rent this month?’”
When working with the center’s lower-income clients, Crain said the Medicare Savings Plan was considered an “ace in their pocket.”
“That was the one program that we had to offer to our lower-income clients,” she said. “When people come to us for help, saying they’re struggling to make ends meet, they’re struggling to pay their bills, the one thing we had in Connecticut that could help them was seeing if they qualified for this Medicare Savings Plan … and now we’ve lost that.”
In the short-term, Crain said the reductions may help save the state some money, but she believes cutting Medicare subsidies will ultimately result in higher costs.
“It’s kind of short-sighted,” she said. “Yes, the state will save a few million dollars now, but what happens when seniors or adults with disabilities stop taking their medications? It’s going to increase hospitalizations, it’s going to increase ER visits and in the long run, if they wind up in a nursing home, they’re going to most likely wind up on Medicaid, which is paid for by the taxpayers.”
For May Ann, a 67-year-old Stamford resident who depends on Social Security benefits, losing those Medicare subsidies means she might not be able to afford her prescriptions.
“It’s horrible,” said May Ann, who declined to provide her last name. “How do they expect us to live?”
“I don’t have enough money as it is, how am I supposed to live when they take my benefits away?”
Crain said the senior center staff will help clients enroll in health and prescription plans that offer the most coverage with the lowest co-pays. The center is also advising its clients to look into the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and local food pantries for help.
“We don’t have a lot to offer them,” she said. “That’s the scary thing. My end goal is to make sure that these people are able to continue to get the medications that they need and make sure they know what their options are.”
The Stamford Senior Center will hold an informational session for those receiving Medicare Savings Plan subsidies to outline how those benefits will change and who will be affected. The information session will be held at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Stamford Senior Center.
“People are very worried about how they’re going to make out,” Stamford resident William Lazarus said. Though Lazarus said he does not qualify for Medicare subsidies, he called the impending cuts an “absolute disgrace.”
“People who cannot afford medical care are going to have it be deprived,” he said.
kat.russell@stamfordadvocate.com
