Q. My dad is a retired postal employee. He never opted for Medicare Part B. I do not know when he made that decision, but he is 90 now. He has had coverage with the government for the entire time, so would he be penalized if he wanted the Part B portion now after 25 years?
A. His monthly premium would be increased by 10 percent for each full 12-month period he could have been enrolled in Part B but wasn’t. The base premium in 2013 is $104.90. I’ll let you do the math to find out what 25 years’ worth of 10 percent increases would add up to.