Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage For 250,000 Seniors

[GailL1]

KHN 06/06/2019 - Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage For 250,000 Seniors

This is all I know at present - if you are involved, handle it and pay the back -premiums.

IMPORTANT:

At least a quarter of a million Medicare beneficiaries may receive bills for as many as five months of premiums they thought they already paid.

But they shouldn’t toss the letter in the garbage. It’s not a scam or a mistake.

Because of what the Social Security Administration calls “a processing error” that occurred in January, it did not deduct premiums from some seniors’ Social Security checks and it didn’t pay the insurance plans, according to the agency’s “frequently asked questions” page on its website. The problem applies to private drug policies and Medicare Advantage plans that provide both medical and drug coverage and substitute for traditional government-run Medicare.

Medicare and Social Security said they expect proper deductions and payments to insurers will resume this month or next. Insurers are required to send bills directly to their members for the unpaid premiums, according to Medicare.

But neither agency would explain how the error occurred or provide a more exact number or the names of the plans that were shortchanged. The amount the plans are owed also wasn’t disclosed. A notice to beneficiaries on Medicare’s website lacks key details.