This amendment ensures that the provisions in HR 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, protect the Medicare program from being used as a “piggy bank” by the United States Postal Service.
March 7, 2022
The Honorable Rick Scott
Senator from Florida
502 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Scott,
On behalf of our over 2.3 million members of the Association of Mature American Citizens (“AMAC”) of which 180,000-plus reside in Florida, we support your amendment to ensure that the provisions in HR 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, protect the Medicare program from being used as a “piggy bank” by the USPS.
“While Postal Service employees currently pay into Medicare and are eligible to enroll when they reach the age 65, roughly 25% of the Postal Service workforce never enrolls. Requiring Postal Service employees to enroll in Medicare when they become eligible to do so would help improve the long-term financial viability of the Postal Service. This requirement already exists for most private sector employees. If all Postal Service employees were required to enroll in Medicare when eligible, the Postal Service estimates that it would save roughly $36 billion over a 10-year period.”
While CBO’s estimate of $5 to 6 billion of the added cost to Medicare is much less than the $36 billion discussed in the House committee report, whatever the adverse impact on the Medicare program can only serve to accelerate the looming 2026 insolvency of the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund.
If indeed, HR 3076 effectively forces all future USPS retirees onto Medicare which becomes the primary payer, the USPS needs to account and pay those costs and not pass them on to Medicare beneficiaries in the form of higher premiums.
Senator, we strongly support passage and enactment of your amendment to ensure the financial accountability of the USPS to the Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund.
Sincerely,
Bob Carlstrom
President, AMAC Action
I talked to my insurance agent about Advantage plans. He told me that he recommends his clients to steer clear of all of these. He says that your deductible will almost always be much more expensive than the cost of a good supplement to your Medicare. He did say that they can sure get to you on the prescription plan. According to him…. If you are never sick, and seldom need a doctor, and don’t need medicine then an advantage plan is good, but as we are all getting older and sickness or injury from a fall or accident is more likely it’s nice to have that supplement that pays all that medicare doesn’t. I have to see my doctor regularly and the deductible that I would have to pay just for monthly office calls would certainly be more than my supplement cost.
Part D is where they get to me sometimes. “What they call FREE isn’t free at all” I do pay a bunch for medicine sometimes but there are ways to get around most of that also.
Consider all points before making the decision…. These people are professional sales people and they can twist words like a lawyer so be careful and alert if you decide to deal with them.
I talked to my insurance agent about Advantage plans. He told me that he recommends his clients to steer clear of all of these. He says that your deductible will almost always be much more expensive than the cost of a good supplement to your Medicare. He did say that they can sure get to you on the prescription plan. According to him…. If you are never sick, and seldom need a doctor, and don’t need medicine then an advantage plan is good, but as we are all getting older and sickness or injury from a fall or accident is more likely it’s nice to have that supplement that pays all that medicare doesn’t. I have to see my doctor regularly and the deductible that I would have to pay just for monthly office calls would certainly be more than my supplement cost.
Part D is where they get to me sometimes. “What they call FREE isn’t free at all” I do pay a bunch for medicine sometimes but there are ways to get around most of that also.
Consider all points before making the decision…. These people are professional sales people and they can twist words like a lawyer so be careful and alert if you decide to deal with them.