Skip to main content
Payment delay - Read More...

Search

myRRB
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

 

  • Our Agency
    • Agency Overview
    • Office of the Chairman
      • Chairman
      • Chairman Staff Directory
    • Office of the Labor Member
      • Labor Member of the Board
      • Labor Member Staff Directory
      • Pre-Retirement Seminars
      • Educational Materials
      • Questions and Answers
    • Office of the Management Member
      • Management Member of the Board
      • Management Member Staff Directory
      • 2024 Virtual National Rail Employer Training Seminar (NRETS) Registration (New)
    • Office of Inspector General
      • Office of Inspector General
      • Audit
      • Investigations
      • Hotline to Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse
      • Library
      • Whistleblower Protection Information
    • Organization Chart
  • Benefits
    • Retirement
      • General Information
      • Downloadable Forms
      • myRRB
    • Survivor
      • General Information
      • Downloadable Forms
      • myRRB
    • Disability
      • General Information
      • Downloadable Forms
      • myRRB
    • Unemployment
      • General Information
      • Downloadable Forms
      • myRRB
    • Sickness
      • General Information
      • Downloadable Forms
      • myRRB
    • Income Tax
      • General Information
      • Downloadable Forms
      • myRRB
    • Medicare
      • General Information
      • myRRB
    • En EspaƱol
    • myRRB
  • Employers
    • Employer Online Services
      • ERSNet Login
      • EFTPS.gov
      • Pay.gov
    • Forms
      • Rail
      • Labor
    • Reporting Instructions
      • Rail
      • Labor
      • Creditable Sickness
    • Publications
      • Employer Exchange Newsletter
      • Program and Circular Letters
      • Additional Information
  • Resources
    • Railroad Jobs
    • Legal Information
      • Board Orders
      • The Federal Register
      • Legal Opinions and Board Coverage Decisions
      • Partition of Railroad Retirement Annuities
      • Administrative Staff Manuals Index
    • Pay Debts Online
    • Office of Equal Opportunity
      • Overview
      • EEO Policies
      • No FEAR Act
    • RRBVision Video Library
    • Appeals
    • Railroad Retirement Handbook
    • FOIA Reading Room
    • Glossary of RRB Terms
  • Financial & Reporting
    • Agency Reports
      • Inventories
      • Plans
      • Reports
    • Financial, Actuarial & Statistical
      • Budget and Financial Reports: Current and Projected
      • Performance and Accountability Reports
      • Earnings Limits, Tax Rates and COLAs
      • Annual
      • Monthly & Quarterly RRA and RUIA Data
    • National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust
      • NRRIT Introduction
      • Background Information
      • Reports
      • Correspondence
    • Actuarial Advisory Committee
  • Newsroom
    • News Releases
    • Media Contact
  • Field Office Locator
  • FAQ

 

Medicare Enrollments

 

 

 
  1. Home
  2. A Review of Operations
  3. Medicare Enrollments
 
 
Medicare Enrollments

 

pdf icon2016 Annual Report.pdf (1.06 MB)

 

The Medicare program provides health insurance to persons ages 65 and older, as well as persons under age 65 who have been entitled to monthly benefits based on total disability for at least 24 months. In the case of some disability diagnoses, the waiting period is waived.

Medicare has several parts to its program. Basic hospital insurance, or Medicare Part A, is financed through payroll taxes. There is also an elective supplementary medical insurance, or Medicare Part B, plan for which monthly premiums are charged. Medicare also offers Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) plans that include both Parts A and B coverage and additional benefits, sometimes at an additional cost. Finally, Medicare Part D provides optional prescription drug coverage for an additional premium. Both Medicare Parts C and D are offered through private insurance companies approved by Medicare.

Eligible railroad retirement annuitants and social security beneficiaries whose benefits are payable by the RRB are automatically enrolled under Part A and Part B; however, Part B may be declined by the annuitant or beneficiary. Eligible nonretired persons must apply in order to obtain Medicare coverage. The RRB automatically enrolled almost 27,200 beneficiaries for Medicare during fiscal year 2015. As of the end of the fiscal year, about 465,600 persons were enrolled in the Part A plan, and nearly 446,300 (96 percent) of them were also enrolled in Part B.

Except for benefits for services in Canada, which are paid from the Railroad Retirement Account, Part A benefits for railroad enrollees are paid from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the same as for persons covered under the social security system. Part B benefits are paid from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Funds. The carrier for Part B claims of railroad Medicare enrollees made payments totaling $829 million in the 2015 fiscal year.

The regular monthly premium for Part B was $104.90 throughout fiscal year 2015. Beneficiaries with modified adjusted gross incomes above certain thresholds pay higher Part B and Part D premiums under the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) provisions of law. At the end of fiscal year 2015, approximately 11,000 Part B premiums and about 8,500 Part D premiums were increased by an IRMAA amount.

The RRB generally withholds Part B premiums from the annuitant's benefit payments, and at the end of fiscal year 2015 some 426,100 annuitants were having their premiums withheld. Of the remaining Part B enrollees, over 2,600 were paying premiums to the RRB, either directly or through an intermediary, and 17,500 had their premiums paid by State agencies. The RRB periodically transfers premiums to the SMI Trust Funds.

Recently, the RRB began offering to collect Part C and Part D premiums from monthly benefits through an exchange process. While this option has grown in popularity, many annuitants pay their Part C and Part D premiums directly to their plan. At the end of fiscal year 2015, more than 9,000 Part C premiums and almost 35,800 Part D premiums were deducted from benefits paid by the RRB.

To view and download PDF documents, you need the free Acrobat Reader. We recommend using the latest version. Viewers with visual disabilities can go to Adobe's Access Website for tools and information that will help make PDF files accessible.
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
 
  
To view and download PDF documents, you need the free Acrobat Reader. We recommend using the latest version. Viewers with visual disabilities can go to Adobe's Access Website for tools and information that will help make PDF files accessible.
 
 
 
 
JobsRailroad Jobs
 
Hotline Fraud Hotline
RSSField Office Locator
 

 

 
 
RRB Seal
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board
William O. Lipinski Federal Building
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611-1275
Toll Free: (877) 772-5772
TTY: (312) 751-4701 

 

Privacy Policy
Policies & Links
Site Map
Contact Us
RRB Careers
Website Feedback

 

PlainLanguage.gov
Data.gov
USA.gov
RRB @ Data.gov

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Freedom of Information Act
No FEAR Act Data
Office of Special Counsel
Plain Writing @ RRB
Open Gov @ RRB
Office of Inspector General

 
 

Last updated: 04/17/2017