Articles about Medicare that may be useful to Massachusetts retirees
The U.S. Senate passed a historic budget bill on Aug. 7 that would help millions of Medicare enrollees better afford their life-sustaining medications and help millions more Americans pay their Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance premiums. The measure must now be approved by the House of Representatives before going to the president's desk.
Popular UniCare OME Plan to Increase 1.3%
March 3, 2022: The state’s Group Insurance Commission held their monthly meeting to vote on the plan design structure proposed at the January meeting, as well as vote on the plan rates for FY23. As we were anticipating from the January meeting the Commission voted to make no changes in the plan design, meaning members will see no increases to the copays and deductibles of the plans.
DECEMBER 10, 2021: As promised, for this week’s video I am joined by Bill Rehrey and Nancy McGovern for a sneak preview of our January 2022 edition of The Voice.
Before I dive into the details of what you will find in the upcoming newsletter, I’d like to thank the thousands of members who have promptly renewed your Mass Retirees membership for 2022. November began our membership renewal process for next year, with notices mailed to the 20,000+ members who renew at the end of the year. Members receive a renewal notice base
Members Should Not Drop GIC or Municipal Insurance
October 29, 2021: Each fall, during the Medicare open enrollment period, a plethora of ads targeting retirees dominate the airwaves and mailboxes of seniors. This year calls from members to our Beacon Hill office with complaints about aggessive sales tactics have hit an all time high.
Baker: High-Volume Sites Will Speed Process
Katie Lannan - State House News Service
February 17, 2021:
Massachusetts will roughly double the population eligible for COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, when people over age 65, the residents and staff of affordable and low-income housing for seniors, and people with two or more health conditions that put them at higher risk will be newly able to make appointments.
November 6, 2020: Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2021 monthly Medicare Parts A and B premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts in which the Medicare Part B monthly premium remains steady.
Congress Caps 2021 Medicare Part B Premium
October 15, 2020: As just announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA) this week, the benefits, payable to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries, will be increased by a 1.3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). This COLA increase will begin on December 31, 2020.
Retiree Enrollment Underway
September 2020: In the July edition of the Voice, we announced a new initiative to bring telehealth services to Mass Retirees members.
Known as Ibis (pronounced eye- biss), the program uses advanced computer technology and a robust service support team to help retirees to self-manage and monitor their chronic conditions at home. The pro- gram has been expanded to provide for COVID-19 monitoring.
Since 1968 the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association has been the leading voice for Massachusetts public retirees and their families. Join with our 52,000 members as we continue the fight.
