I recently wrote about helping a number of people who continued working past 65 and were confused about enrolling in Part B of Medicare.  Apparently there is more confusion, and it has to do with people who use COBRA when they leave their job.

Do not use COBRA if you are over 65!  1) It is more expensive than paying for Medicare Part B plus a Plan F Medicare supplement; 2) Medicare doesn’t want you to use COBRA and will penalize you for not enrolling in Part B soon after your employment ends.

I received an alert from the Center for Medicare Advocacy:

Advocates are seeing an increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries who have delayed enrolling in Medicare Part B, thinking, erroneously, that because they are paying for and receiving continued health coverage under COBRA, they do not have to enroll in Medicare Part B.  COBRA-qualified beneficiaries who have delayed enrollment in Medicare Part B do not qualify for a special enrollment period (SEP) to enroll in Part B after their COBRA coverage ends. (They may, however, qualify for a SEP to enroll in Part D at that time if the drug coverage they had under COBRA constitutes creditable coverage.) Only individuals who delay enrolling in Part B because they are covered under an employee group health plan (EGHP) by reason of “current” employment may take advantage of the SEP rules. Individuals on COBRA do not meet the definition of having current employment status

Consequences

Medicare Part B – The consequences of delayed Part B enrollment can be severe.  Generally, the beneficiary who does not enroll during his or her initial enrollment period and who is not entitled to a SEP must wait to enroll in the next general enrollment period (January – March of the year), with benefits starting on July 1 of that year.  Further, there is a 10% late enrollment penalty added to the standard monthly premium for every 12 months of delayed enrollment in Part B.  The penalty has no durational limit.

Medicare Part D – Under Part D, the penalty is 1% of the national base beneficiary premium in a given year times the number of full, uncovered months of eligibility without other creditable drug coverage. A Part D eligible individual must pay the late penalty if there is a continuous period of 63 days or longer at any time after the end of the individual’s initial enrollment period during which the individual meets all of the following conditions: (1) The individual was eligible to enroll in a Part D plan; (2) The individual was not covered under any creditable prescription drug coverage; and (3) The individual was not enrolled in a Part D plan.

“Obamacare is a job killer”. This is the theme of the latest ads being run against Ron Barber, the Arizona Democrat running to replace Gabby Giffords in Congress. They claim the health care reform bill will result in 249,000 jobs being lost.  This number caught my attention because I had read and written about it in the past.

As it turns out, there might be 249,000 fewer people working as a result of Obamacare, but this is actually a good thing. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that hundreds of thousands of Americans will choose to quit working before they turn 65 and get Medicare. Apparently, there are many many people who continue to work into their 60′s just to hold onto employer health insurance. They can afford to retire early, but they would be refused coverage due to a pre-existing conditon, or the cost would be prohibitive due to premium rate ups.

Factcheck.org says the following about “job killing” claims.

The exaggerated Republican claim that the new health care law “kills jobs” was high on our list of the “Whoppers of 2011.” But the facts haven’t stopped Republicans and their allies from making the “job-killing” claim a major theme of their campaign 2012 TV ads:

• Five ads by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attack Democrats by repeating the “Obamacare will kill jobs” refrain.
• Seven other Chamber spots praise Republicans, using the same theme.
• An ad from the group Freedom Path, supporting Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, says the law is “devastating to small business.”
• Republican Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama features a large stack of papers he claims are “job-killing regulations and taxes” in one of his spots.

All of this is health-care hooey, aimed at exploiting public concern over continuing high unemployment, with little basis in fact.

As we’ve said before (a few times), experts project that the law will cause a small loss of low-wage jobs — and also some gains in better-paid jobs in the health care and insurance industries.

It’s also expected that more workers will decide to retire earlier, or work fewer hours, when they no longer need employer-sponsored insurance and can obtain it on their own with help from federal subsidies. But that just means fewer people willing to work — and it will free up jobs for those who want them. If anything, that could reduce the jobless rate.

Conservative groups have come up with their own studies to show how the health care reform law will devastate the economy – just like they did back in the 60′s when they campaigned against Medicare. But most “independent” economic researchers have come to different conclusions.

Politifact.com did their own analysis of the “job killing” claims:

A March 2011 analysis by the Urban Institute — an independent research organization — concurred, concluding that, on balance, the health care law is “unlikely to have major aggregate effects on the U.S. economy and on employment, primarily because the changes in spending and taxes are very small relative to the size of the economy.”

After watching the first debate between Jesse Kelly and Ron Barber (and the guy with the very strong Massachusetts accent), I had lots of questions about Barber.  I already know more than enough about Jesse Kelly from 2010 – and I’m not falling for his Mr. Moderate act in 2012.

Ron Barber’s performance in the first debate was okay but not great, and I wasn’t thrilled with his rather vague statements about where he stands on the Affordable Care Act. So, wanting to know who Ron Barber is and what he stands for, I attended last night’s Eastside Democrats meeting where he addressed about 50 people.

Ron Barber talked about having lived in Tucson since 1959. He talked about his work with the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities where he created new programs to help people and save government money at the same time. From the description of his work, Barber wasn’t a paper-shuffling bureaucrat, but an innovator who  solved problems and made government better.

Barber talked a bit about the small business he and his wife ran, but more interesting to me were his five years as Gabby Giffords’ district director. This job involved working with people all across southern Arizona and really understanding issues like border security, veterans’ issues, job creation challenges, and what it takes to make southern Arizona the solar capital of the United States. He clearly has the kind of experience and knowledge to make a difference for his constituents.

Barber talked about his positions on a long list of issues with clarity and conviction.  He talked about the need for border security, but also comprehensive immigration reform.   He said his first bill in Congress will address mental health issues and services for veterans who live outside urban areas like Tucson. He said veterans in rural areas need access to mental health services, and he has a plan to make this happen.

I asked Barber about his position on the Affordable Care Act and, to my surprise, he actually knew what was in it.  He talked at length about the good things in the bill and a bit about what needs to be changed.  He still would not say if he would have voted for the bill, stating that he wasn’t in Congress at the time.

When I left the meeting, I had a very positive impression of Ron Barber. He is very sharp and well-spoken. He knows his stuff. He knows the district. He may not be an attack dog in a debate, but he has worked on issues that affect people across southern Arizona. In comparing himself to Jesse Kelly, he said, “there’s a difference between wanting to do something and knowing how to do it”.

Ron Barber said he believes government has a role to play in helping people and protecting people. He also said he believes health care is not a privilege (the position of Jesse Kelly). Ron Barber believes health care is a right.

After listening to Ron Barber speak, I know he is not just a stand-in for Gabby Giffords.  And while he might be a bit more moderate than I am on some issues, I think he will make an excellent Congressman.