>Answers to your Medicare questions!

Need answers about Medicare? Go to the official U.S. government site for people with Medicare.  This site,  by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides the latest information and answers to about any questions you may have.

Home page:  http://www.medicare.gov/

Q & A:  http://questions.medicare.gov/

Example question:  Will my Medicare premiums increase in 2010?

Answer     :Question 2262

>>A NYT article:  Basic Medicare Premium to Rise 15% Next Year by Robert Pear 10/19/09, discusses who pays the extra premium and who doesn’t.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/health/policy/20health.html?hp

While he starts off with the bad news, he does explain, that while “about 12 million people, or 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries, will have to pay higher premiums or have the additional amounts paid on their behalf. The other 73 percent (that is most of us) will be shielded from the increase because, under federal law, their Medicare premiums cannot go up more than the increase in their Social Security benefits.”

Here is another good resource: Medicare Rights http://www.medicarerights.org/

Consumer Hotline: 1-800-333-4114

Counselors are available Monday through Friday, between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Eastern, and are happy to answer your questions about insurance choices, Medicare rights and protections, dealing with payment denials or appeals, complaints about care or treatment, and Medicare bills.

Also, click on the page Healthcare/Medicare Resources for a list of sites you may find useful.