There is a lot of talk these days about “Medicare for all,” often referred to as “free health care for all.”
Just to be clear, Medicare, in its current form, is far from free. Medicare Part A is billed at $437 a month for those who have not paid into the system for at least 7.5 years. Otherwise, it is free. There is a charge for Medicare Part B of at least $135 per person per month, considerably more for people earning more than $85,000. Quality Medicare Supplemental policies without co-pays can add another $180 per month per person, often more.
Medicare Part D (drugs) can add another $30-plus, or up into the hundreds of dollars per month. There are co-pays for drugs, many extremely high or excluded entirely, and numerous health expenses that Medicare doesn’t cover at all. And there is the not-so-small matter of the 2.9 percent Medicare payroll tax (employee and employer combined) that most of us paid for well over 40 years before enrolling in Medicare at age 65, potentially representing tens of thousands of dollars.
With that in mind, most readers are probably thinking that for them, personally, “free health care” would be a much better option.
Stephen Keen, Salt Lake City
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