

- “Medicare is funded by a payroll tax of 1.45% on the first $200,000 of an employee’s wages. Employees whose wages exceed $200,000 are also subject to a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on top of the 1.45%
- Employers also pay a 1.45% tax on their employee’s wages. They do not pay the additional tax.
- The Medicare tax for self-employed individuals is 2.9% to cover both the employee’s and employer’s portions.”


The Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) was enacted in 2003 as part of the Medicare Modernization Act, and here is how it works in 2024:
Medicare beneficiaries are expected to receive $353,000 more in lifetime Medicare benefits than their total tax and premium payments. This is predicted to escalate to $498,000 for those who turn 65 in 2030.
The growing portion of Americans over 65 will further strain the program’s finances. The disparity between retired and working Americans is also decreasing, the ratio from 1980 through 2008 was around 4 to 1 and expected to be 2.5 in 2030. The Congressional Budget Office projects that roughly 14 million more people will be over the age of 65 by 2033. Medicare’s unsustainable future requires action from policymakers, but if everyone is being told they are “entitled” how that is going to be accomplished.
The real question we should be asking is why do people feel entitled to receive $353,000 more in lifetime Medicare benefits than their total tax and premium payments? And how do we sustain this a country?

If you need to go back to the basics, check out “Book of Medicare” filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under MULTIPLAN_PACIFIC_BOM_M.