Editor, Gazette-Journal: Like 20.8 million other Americans whose health care is covered by Medicare, I received a $90 direct deposit from the Social Security Administration to my bank account last week. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services call this a “premium rebate” to offset expected increases in Medicare costs in 2027. Ninety dollars will make a very small dent in the increased costs to Medicare. First, less than a third of the 63 million Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for the rebate. Second, $90 barely covers the projected increase to the Part B premium alone. It does almost nothing to make up for the rising costs senior citizens are paying for gas, groceries and utilities. As small an amount as each individual payment is, when multiplied by the total number of payments made, the cost is nearly $2 billion. The $2 billion is coming from the Medicare Improvement Fund, established by Congress in 2008 to make needed improvements to the Part B program. It is funded with ...