Medicare Part B Premium
Reimbursement
for High-Income Beneficiaries
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003
brought us Part D (drug coverage) and it also implemented–for the first
time–a sliding scale premium for Part B (medical coverage). This
provision was expected to impact about 4% of Medicare Part B enrollees.
Beginning in 2007, all enrollees earning under $80,000 per year (or
$160,000 if married filing jointly) paid the same $93.50/month premium.
Those over that level were charged a higher amount in accordance with a
surcharge schedule. The acronym for that amount is IRMAA, which stands
for Income Related Medicare Additional Amount.
This year the monthly premium is
$96.25, with an income maximum of $82,000–and double that for married
filing jointly. Those with incomes over that level will be affected by
the IRMAA surcharge increase in their Part B premium.
The NYC Health Benefits Program will reimburse
your Part B premiums as well as the IRMAA increase, but to claim the
additional reimbursement you are required to document the amount paid in
excess of the standard premium. The required documents, as noted
in an attachment to enrollees’ recent 2007
Part B reimbursement, are:
-
A copy of your and/or your eligible
dependent’s Social Security Administration (SSA) statement showing
the IRMAA increase for calendar year 2007. And
-
A copy of your and/or your eligible
dependent’s Form SSA-1099 issued by the SSA at the end of
calendar year 2007, as proof of the monthly Medicare Part B premium
actually paid for calendar year 2007.
A reimbursement form and examples of
the required documents is available from the Office of Labor Relations
here.
You must include the retiree’s name and
full social security number on eligible dependent’s documents. Submit
copies of these documents to:
City of New York, Office of Labor Relations
Health Benefits Program
40 Rector Street, 3rd
Floor
New York, NY 10006
ATTENTION: IRMAA
Processing of
reimbursements will take approximately 3-4 months.
