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- Open Enrollment 2023 FAQ
- Get Ready! Medicare Open Enrollment Begins October 15th
- Ten Shocking Medicare Stats
- Minimize Home Care Costs with Medicare
- 4 Ways to Make Your Home Safer for Loved Ones with Alzheimer’s Disease
- 7 Million Californians to Benefit from State-Run Retirement Plan
- 5 Ways to Get the Most from Medicare
- How to Spot Medicare Open Enrollment Scams
- 200,000 Doctors are Turning Away New Medicare Patients
- Doctors Warn Patients About Upcoming Medicare Changes
- The Mystery of Medicare
- Medicare Cost Plans vs. Medicare Advantage
- Shopping for Medicare Last Minute
- 5 Reasons to Switch Your Medicare Advantage Plan
- Medicare Help: Get Help Choosing a Hospital
- What do Medicare drug plans cover?
- How Medicare Online Works for Medicare Beneficiaries
- Medicare Part A Costs
- When to buy Medigap Insurance
- The Latest in the Battle for Prescription Drug Coverage
- Don’t Miss These Medicare Deadlines
- 4 Tips for Protecting Your Retirement Savings
- Medicare Open Enrollment Starts Soon
- The Ultimate Retirement Checklist
- Health Care to Cost $10K Per Person
- 8 Things Seniors Should Know About Hospice Care
- Do seniors know enough about their Medicare choices?
- Retirement Plans You Might Regret
- Medicare Penalized for Being Too Careful
- Paul Ryan’s Plan to Make Medicare a Voucher Program
- Thrown Away: $3 Billion in Cancer Drug Spending Wasted
- How Seniors are Winning with Home Care
- Medicare Facts - Are Injections Better Than Eye Drops for Addressing Cataracts
- 3 Things You Don’t Know About Medicare But Should
- Americans Want Medicare to Cover Obesity Treatments
- Best Places to Retire with Affordable Healthcare
- Medicare to Test New Drug Pricing for Doctors and Hospitals
- Retirement – 5 Websites Made for Retirees
- Medicare Home Health Agencies
- Medicare Part B Costs And Coverage 2016
- Medicare Advantage is Changing in 2016 – Are you Ready?
- Choosing a Home Health Agency
- Medicare Part D Costs and Coverage 2016
- DIY Guide to Medicare Shopping
- Should Medicare Cover Genetic Sequencing?
- CMS Bars Cigna from Enrolling New Medicare Members
- Is Medicare for All an Achievable Goal?
- Trump – Medicare Should Negotiate Drug Prices
- A Guide to Medicare Part A
- 5 Things You Didnt Know About Medicare
- Medicare News: A Look Back at Medicare Changes in 2015
- Hospital Prices Vary Across U.S.
- Five Ways You’re Wasting Your Retirement Money
- Government Targeting Remaining Uninsured
- Retirement Benefits Set to Change in 2015
- Medicare Costs: These 5 Screenings will Help You Keep Medicare Costs Down
- Medicare Spending: New way to explore Medicare prescription-drug spending
- Infections & Mistakes - Medicare Penalizes South Florida Hospitals
- Three Changes Coming to Medicare in 2016
- Quit Smoking with Help From Medicare
- Get Your Free Flu Shot Before It is Too Late
- Antibiotic Use: When Not to Take Antibiotics
- Medicare Premium Costs Are Not Going to Spike For Now
- A Migraine even without throbbing pain is a migraine
- Deciding on your best options according to your circumstances and needs
- Medicare Advantage Plans (Under part C)
- Medicare Prescription Drug plans (Part D)
- The things that Medicare doesn’t take care of
- Nurture your body by drinking plenty of water
- Avoid paying more for prescription drug coverage
- Dear Coffee lovers, Caffeine may actually be beneficial for you
- How does one select a primary care provider for oneself or a loved one?
- Know how traveling affects your Medicare plans
- Have Medicare costs been worrying you? The good news is, you may qualify for financial hel
- What should be done if I want to make a transition from Health Marketplace to Medicare
- The drawbacks of Medicare Advantage
- Can Medicare Advantage provide quality, savings, satisfaction and access- all together?
- Refining Medicare Advantage
- What are my expectations from a Medicare program?
- Medicare Additional/Supplemental Insurance Plans
- Working towards better American Health care- Medicare Advantage
- Managing out-of-pocket costs and paying for Medicare
- The basics of medicare and how it works
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Medicare Premium Costs Are Not Going to Spike For Now
About 16 million Medicare beneficiaries were going to face an unprecedented 52% increase in Part B premiums next year. For those who don’t know, Part B covers physician services.
The White House and Congress reached a budget deal that would prevent the spike, and increase costs by a more manageable 15%. While seniors benefit now, the spike in costs seems inevitable.
Most Medicare beneficiaries are protected by the “hold harmless” provision of their plans, which ensures that monthly Social Security checks won’t be reduced when Part B premiums increase.
The consumer price index used to adjust Social Security payment for inflation declined in 2015, which resulted in no cost-of-living increase for recipients. On the other hand, Part B spending increased about 6%. Despite this higher cost, premiums are forbidden from increasing by the “hold harmless” provision. A premium increase would result in the reduction of Social Security checks.
There are no free government guarantees. This one comes at a cost to high-income seniors, Medicare beneficiaries who are also enrolled in Medicaid, and those who never qualified for Social Security. The 36 million other Medicare beneficiaries pay $104.95 a month, about $15 less in premiums than they would pay without the provision.
Premium increases would have been heavy weighted with seniors paying $159.30 every month in 2016. Seniors with high-incomes would have to pay premiums exceeding $500 a month.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 will reduce the premium increase for those not covered by hold harmless to $120.70 a month next year. Those with higher incomes will pay more, but even those in the highest bracket will spend $100 less than they would have prior to the deal.
While this is good news for millions of seniors, the good will is only temporary. The deal will create an $8 billion deficit in the Part B trust fund which will supposedly be compensated by an additional $3 fee paid monthly by those not protected by the hold harmless provision. However in 2017 if consumer prices rise somewhat then the hold harmless provision will cause a very large increase in premiums for millions of seniors.