Shirlee Zerkel to Sandy Knoesel re: Medicare Part B premium

From Shirlee Zerkel, June 14, 2009
Subject: Question about the Medicare Part B premium!

Dear Ms. Knoesel:

I have read articles in the June AARP Bulletin and also in Suddenly Senior about the freeze on the Social Security COLA for the next two years and that that freeze means that those who have their monthly premiums taken out of the SS checks will not pay higher premiums. Their premiums will stay at $96.40 a month. The articles also had scary additional information that discussed that about 11 million people who did not have the premiums taken from their SS check would foot the increase of the Part B premium. This is very unfair. Do you know anything about this information? I can find nothing about it on the websites of Social Security or Medicare. If this is true, it can affect every STRS retiree over 65.

Thank you,

Shirlee Zerkel