Another week, which means more bad Medicare information from PBS. As noted here, here, here, here, and here, the United-States-taxpayer-funded (what a waste!) United States Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has been producing reams of bad advice for American seniors concerning Medicare all during this so-called Medicare open enrollment period. Now the author is adding bad Social Security information to his or her now two-months-long messed-up Medicare mix. The author says:
"... the definition of signing up for Medicare in most cases means you need to sign up for Part B of Medicare... If you’ve worked long enough to qualify for Social Security retirement benefits (at least 40 quarters of covered employment where you’ve paid Social Security payroll taxes) you automatically get Part A hospital coverage at no cost."
PBS is just grossly wrong and misleading. Where to begin? (The above paragraph might set the PBS series record for most errors and/or misleading statements in one place.)
- The "definition of signing up for Medicare" means signing up for both Parts A and B of Medicare (if you want both Parts), not just Part B (but see point 4 below). The PBS paragraph implies that Part A sign up is automatic based on paying SS taxes. That's wrong two ways: It's not automatic and there is no direct relation between Medicare and SS taxes (other than that the SS Administration collects both taxes).
- As for working 40 quarters paying "SS payroll taxes," the author means 40 quarters paying Medicare payroll taxes. But 40 quarters is just the requirement to qualify for "free" Part A ("free" if you don't count 45-50 years of paying payroll taxes). People who did not work the 40 quarters -- typically legal immigrants -- can still get Part A; they just have to pay for it partially or wholly.
- The 40 quarters rule has nothing to do with taking or qualifying for Social Security benefits. Many people get Medicare without getting SS. And many people also get SS without getting Medicare
- If a person starts collecting SS prior to age 65 (full retirement age is now 66 and rising), he or she will get Parts A and B automatically and will not have to proactively sign up at all. But they would have to proactively opt out of Part B if they did not want it, which is often the case if they are still working, which is going to become often the case because of the rising SS full retirement age
At the beginning of the series, the PBS author said he or she couldn't get anyone at Medicare to answer his or her questions. He or she should have waited until Medicare was ready to talk. The information in this series is dangerously inaccurate.
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