About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

GAO-08-816R 1 (2008-07-15)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacdeb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 


    1

 GA O
,-iAccountabilty * Integrity * Reliability
United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548





                                   July 15, 2008

                                   The Honorable Max Baucus
                                   Chairman
                                   Committee on Finance
                                   United States Senate

                                   Subject: Schedule and Timing Issues Complicate Withholding Premiums
                                   for Medicare Parts C and Dfrom Social Security Payments

                                   Dear Mr. Chairman:

                                   The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been withholding Medicare
                                   premiums from beneficiaries' Social Security payments since the
                                   Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part B) program was first enacted in
                                   1965.' Beginning in 2006, premium withholding became a payment option
                                   for the Medicare Advantage program (Part C) and the new program for
                                   Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D). These changes were authorized by
                                   the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of
                                   2003 (MMA). Two federal agencies play critical roles in the premium
                                   withholding process: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
                                   and SSA. The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) also plays an
                                   important role by disbursing the adjusted Social Security payments to
                                   beneficiaries.

                                   Premium withholding can make paying premiums easier for both
                                   beneficiaries and the insurance plans. However, following implementation
                                   of the premium withholding provisions under MMA in 2006, there were
                                   numerous reports of beneficiaries not having the correct Parts C and D
                                   premiums withheld. Also, about 231,000 beneficiaries had their premiums
                                   refunded erroneously because they were mistakenly identified as having
                                   paid excess premiums. As a result, you requested that we review efforts to
                                   ensure that the correct Medicare premiums are being withheld from
                                   beneficiaries' Social Security payments. Specifically, we sought answers to
                                   the following key questions:



                                   1Hospital Insurance (Part A) was also enacted im 1965; however, the only Part A
                                   beneficiaries who pay premiums are those who do not receive Social Security benefits.
                                   Therefore, there is no withholding for Part A premiums.


GAO-08-816R Medicare Premium Withholding


Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most