Ask Larry

SOCIAL SECURITY OWES ME 40 DOLLARS FOR BACK PRESCRIPTION COVERAGE. WILL IT COME IN A CHECK OR DIRECT DEPOSIT?

Hi. If you've authorized Social Security to withhold your Part D Medicare premiums from your Social Security benefit payments and if your benefits are paid by direct deposit, then any premium refunds made by Social Security would also be paid by direct deposit.

Note, however, that Part D of Medicare is handled by private insurance companies. So, any Part D premiums that Social Security collects are paid to the private insurance companies that handle the person's Part D coverage. Therefore, your Part D insurance company would first need to return any excess premiums that have been collected to Social Security before Social Security could make a refund to you.

Best, Jerry