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Public Employee Press
Medicare B cost up 17%, city to pay
Social Security checks will rise by 2.7 percent this year
for about 47 million Americans. But for typical Social Security recipients,
a 17.4 percent increase in Medicare Part B premiums will eat up nearly
half the increase.
Because a campaign led by the DC 37 Retirees Association won legislation
in 2001 requiring the city to pay the entire Part B premium, most DC 37
retirees will not suffer this loss.
According to Social Security officials, the average monthly check for
retired workers will rise this month from $930 to $955, an increase of
$25.
The Bush administration announced in September that the Medicare B premium
for 2005 would go up by $11.60 a month, from $66.60 to $78.20. Thus most
retired Americans will lose 46 percent of their Social Security increase.
City retirees will pay the Medicare hike in 2005, and most will be fully
reimbursed by the city in 2006. Retired MTA employees will receive only
$384 toward their Part B premium. The Retirees Association is working
to get them the full amount, said President Stuart Leibowitz.
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