Medicare applications raise anxiety for seniors in virus
WASHINGTON — At greater risk from COVID1 9 , s o me s e n i o r s n o w face added anxiety due to delays obtaining Medicare coverage.
A d v o c a t e s f o r o l d e r p e o p l e s a y t h e m a i n pr o b l e m i nvol v e s c e r - t a i n a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r Medicare's “Part B” coverage for outpatient care. It stems from the closure of l ocal Social Security offices in the coronavirus pandemic.
Part B i s particularly i mpo r t a n t t h e s e d a y s b e c a u s e i t c o v e r s l a b t ests, l i ke ones f or t he coronavirus.
Social Security handles eligibility determinations for Medicare, and while many issues can still be r e s o l v e d o n l i n e , s o me require personal attention. That can now entail hold times of 90 minutes or more to reach Social Security on i ts national 800 number, according to the agency's website.
Even in normal times, s i g n i n g u p f o r P a r t B could be tricky for people who worked past age 65 and kept their workplace coverage. People need to apply separately for the outpatient coverage, and provide Social Security with documentation of their employer policy, to avoid hefty late-enrollment penalties.
Fred Riccardi, president of t he a dvocacy gr oup Medicare Rights Center, said an already cumbersome process has been exacerbated by the pandemic shutdown, raising the risk that some seniors wi l l f a l l i n t o a c o v e r - age gap or end up owing penalties.
“We are concerned that people who are eligible will go without coverage due t o unnecessary administrative barriers and the lack of information from f ederal agencies,” s ai d Riccardi. “The problem is serious.”
H i s o r g a n i z a t i o n i s a mo n g g r o u p s a s k i n g Congress to hold seniors harmless from Medicare a p p l i c a t i o n p r o b l e ms during t he coronavirus emergency. It's unclear how many are affected.
Social Security declined several interview requests a n d i n s t e a d s e n t T h e Associated Press written responses to questions. The agency said it has seen an increase in requests for Part B enrollment because of older workers l osing job-based coverage.
Social Security said it worked with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to waive certain signature requirements for Part B forms during the pandemic and has set up a dedicated fax number to receive applications.
S o c i a l S e c u r i t y g e t s c r e d i t f o r t r y i n g , s a i d Leslie Fried of the National Council on Aging, but that “I d o n ' t k n o w a n y o n e who has a f ax machine anymore.”
W i t h t h e e c o n o m y s h e d d i n g m i l l i o n s o f jobs, older workers going f r o m e mploye r c o v e r - age to Medicare can find themselves i n a holding pattern.
C a r o l B e r u l o f Sacramento, California, retired from state government on Feb. 1. She said she's still trying to figure out what happened to her Medicare Part B application, which she mailed in January. In her early 70s, Berul said she's worried her health could be jeopardized by bogged-down paperwork. She has an immune system disorder triggered by a medication that she once took.
“I ' v e b e e n a v o i d i n g g o i n g a n y wher e , ” s h e said.
Berul said she's faced
hold times of more than an hour trying to call Social Security. When she finally got through, she learned the agency had no record of her Part B application. She resubmitted it.
B e r u l s a i d S o c i a l Security employees she's t a l k e d wi t h h a v e b e e n helpful and empathetic but “with all the people working from home trying to get information from point to point, it's like a pyramid, and they haven't connected all the dots.”
For J ohn Breithart of Grand Haven, Michigan, it was a different Medicare i s s u e b u t a s i m i l a r experience.
Breithart, who works for an oil and gas delivery company, turns 65 this year and becomes eligible for Medicare's Part A inpatient coverage.
He's covered through this wife's retiree health plan and earlier this month the insurer sent him a letter s a y i n g h e ' d b e k i c k e d off if he didn't provide a Medicare number.