Health care and seniors - inside the numbers

The Senior Market Advisor staff looked into the bill and its affect on seniors. Here are some of the highlights that were found:

• Eleven million seniors are still subject to rising premiums. Those affected are new enrollees in Part B, high earners, and seniors who are delaying receipt of Social Security benefits. Premiums for Part B increased by a staggering 72 percent between 2000 and 2005.
• Social Security represents half or more of total income for two-thirds of beneficiaries, and for one-third of beneficiaries, Social Security represents 90 percent or more of total income.
• Social Security provides 45 percent of income for seniors in the second-highest income quintile, and 18 percent in the top quintile.
• The average annual (Social Security) benefit for retirees in January 2009 was $13,900. By comparison, the federal poverty guideline level for a single person is $10,830 a year, and the recommended income to meet basic expenses as a retired homeowner (as calculated by the Elder Economic Security Index) is $16,300.

Source: The Economic Policy Institute

• The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which pays for Medicare Part A, is now projected to be exhausted in 8 years, sometime during 2017.
• It has been estimated that the typical older couple may need to save $300,000 to pay for health care costs not covered by Medicare alone.
• The average Part B plus Part D premium is estimated to equal about 12 percent of the average Social Security benefit in 2010, and 16 percent of the average benefit in 2025.
• Taken together, this means that if no action is taken, Medicare premiums and cost-sharing could eat up more than one-third of Social Security benefits in the next 15 years.
• A typical older couple in traditional Medicare will pay almost $90 next year on average to subsidize private insurance companies who are not providing their health benefits.

Source: Healthreform.gov