We understand that some members received letters indicating that because of changes due to the Social Security Fairness Act, CTPF will no longer be able to make payments to Medicare on their behalf.  

For many years, CTPF has offered its MedPay service, which makes payments for Medicare Parts A and/or B for some members who must pay for these benefits. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has cancelled CTPF’s ability to make payments on behalf of some members. These members may now receive Social Security (SSA) payments, (or increased SSA payments), and CMS will withdraw Medicare premium payments directly from these benefits. This automatic SSA payment makes the third-party payment by CTPF unnecessary.  

CTPF is encouraging all members who receive letters to follow the direction outlined in the Social Security letter. If your recalculated SSA benefit covers the amount of your Medicare payments, no further action may be necessary. If your benefit is not enough to cover your required payment, you may need to make an additional monthly payment.  

If an additional payment is required, members are encouraged to be proactive in making payments through CMS Easy Pay to ensure that you are not disenrolled from Medicare Parts A and B. There are two ways to sign up for Medicare Easy Pay – through a Medicare account at Medicare.gov or by filling out form SF5510, Authorization Agreement for Pre-authorized Payments” form, available at Medicare Easy Pay | Medicare 

It can take up to 6-8 weeks for automatic deductions to start. Until automatic deductions start, members will need to pay your premiums another way. Visit Medicare.gov to determine other payment option 

 If it's determined that there is a premium overpayment on behalf of members, CTPF will automatically refund any additional payments after reconciling with CMS. 

Unfortunately, CTPF was not notified of this change in advance, and it has caused significant disruption for our members. We are now working with CMS directly to try and gain clarity on these changes, but we understand this is concerning for our members. We are prioritizing this issue, and will provide additional information and updates as they become available.