Happy New Year! As I do every new year, I wanted to post the key, new Medicare numbers that will be in effect for 2024. These are the key changes to Medicare’s premiums and coverages.
• Part A deductible – Will be $1632 up from $1600 (per 60 day Benefit Stay)
• Part B Deductible – Will be $240 up from $226 (Annual deductible)
• Part B Premium – Will be $174.70 up from $164.90 (for most people)
• Part D Maximum Deductible – Will be $545 up from $505 (Some plans don’t have a deductible and most have a “hybrid” deductible.)
• Part D Premium National Average – Will be $34.70 up from $31.50 (Is used to determine Part D Penalty)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan. I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.
Based in the Richmond, Va. area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare, LLC specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: dwhiggs@gmail.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
Tag Archives: medicare supplements
MEDICARE REDUCES COST OF PART B PREMIUM AND DEDUCTIBLE FOR 2023
As predicted a few months back, Medicare has just announced there will be a rare reduction in the Part B premium cost and the Part B deductible effective Jan 1st, 2023. The Part B premium will reduce from current $170.10 to $164.90 and the deductible from current $233/year to $226/year! While both of these factors tend to increase over time, some years they remain flat and are now seeing a reduction. As previously noted, one of the big reasons for the reduction is lower than expected Alzheimer drug costs to Medicare.
In addition, there is expected to be a larger than normal Social Security Cola increase. The combination of these factors will lead to larger than normal net increases in monthly income for most seniors.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan. I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.
Based in the Richmond, VA area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare, LLC specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
New 2021 Medicare Costs at a Glance
Happy New Year! As I do every new year, I wanted to post the key, new Medicare numbers that will be in effect for 2021. These are the key changes to Medicare’s premiums and coverages.
- Part A deductible – Will be $1484 up from $1408 (per 60 day Benefit Stay)
- Part B Deductible – Will be $203 up from $198 (Annual deductible)
- Part B Premium – Will be $148.50 up from $144.60
- Part D Maximum Deductible – Will be $445 up from $435 (Some plans don’t have a deductible and most have a “hybrid” deductible.)
- Part D Premium National Average – Will be $33.06 up from $32.74 (Is used to determine Part D Penalty)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan. I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.
Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
Medicare and Telehealth During Covid-19
Telehealth has been around for a while but has recently become very popular due to Coronavirus concerns. If you are not familiar with Telehealth, it is basically a doctor visit by video. People can “visit” with their doctor virtually. The key benefit during this period is to avoid coronavirus contact for both patient and medical staff.
One big difference is most health insurance plans, including Medicare, will now cover Telehealth services. Most doctors’ offices are also now able to offer Telehealth. If interested, people should check with their health plan and doctor’s office to confirm participation.
If want to learn more, a link to an interesting article follows: https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/medicare-expands-telehealth-to-help-keep-seniors-safe-savvy-senior/article_2ac9308a-e337-53f2-973b-62b1b27f4ce0.html
If you have questions about your Choices in Medicare, please contact me at David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
IRMAA and Medicare
In many of my client meetings, the term IRMAA comes up. It stands for Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. A lot of times, it can be avoided but many times it “is what it is”. What is it? Most people pay a monthly premium for their Medicare Part B. which this calendar year is $144.60/month. Higher income folks pay more. The first threshold (of several) to be subject to Irmaa begins at $174,000 for joint filers and $87,000 for single filers on their 2018 tax return.
The good news is that there are several valid reasons one can appeal and be successful. One of those is if one is retiring and will have a reduced income. This is what most people are doing when they decide to go to Medicare. The appeal form can be downloaded and filed at no cost.
I help people understand and navigate Irmaa most days. Feel free to call if any questions regarding Irmaa or Medicare. I came across a recent article that provides more detail on Irmaa and you can access via the following link.
If you have questions about your Choices in Medicare, please contact me at David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
New 2020 Medicare Costs At A Glance
New 2020 Medicare Costs at a Glance
Happy New Year! As I do every new year, I wanted to post the key, new Medicare numbers that will be in effect for 2020. These are the key changes to Medicare’s premiums and coverages. A highlight is the average costs for Part D drug plans have gone done and the infamous “Donut Hole” (aka Coverage Gap) name no longer applies as costs for people who do reach this stage now only pay 25% of the cost for Brand or Generic drugs.
- Part A deductible – Will be $1408 up from $1364 (per 60 day Benefit Stay)
- Part B Deductible – Will be $198 up from $185 (Annual deductible)
- Part B Premium – Will be $144.60 up from $135.50 (Excluding Irmaa)
- Part D Maximum Deductible – Will be $435 up from $415 (Some plans don’t have a deductible)
- Part D Premium National Average – Will be $32.74 DOWN from $33.19 (Is used to determine Part D Penalty)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan. I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.
Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
No More Plan F and MACRA
Many of my Medicare clients ask about the news they have heard about Plan F Supplement going away. While that is the gist of what is happening, let me clarify a little more about this change.
Almost 4 years ago, a new federal law (MACRA) announced that effective Jan 1, 2020, first dollar Part B coverage would be phased out. Certain Medicare Supplement Plans (aka Medigap policies) such as Plan F pay the Part B deductible which is $185 in 2019. The new law will mean those Supplements cannot be offered to Newly Eligible Medicare beneficiaries on or after Jan 1, 2020. This means a few things. Beneficiaries that already have a Plan F Supplement can keep it. If beneficiaries who are not “Newly Eligible” have a different Supplement plan, they can still apply for a Plan F (assuming they are healthy enough to medically qualify). Those that are Newly Eligible on or after Jan 1, 2020, will not be able to get a Plan F or similar.
In spite of all that, most of my clients do not select a Plan F. This is primarily due to cost and coverage differences to other Supplement Plan letters. Feel free to call if you have questions about this.
If you want to learn more about this topic, the link below will direct you to more details: https://www.naic.org/documents/cmte_b_senior_issues_related_macra_faq_2018.pdf#page=5
Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
Medicare Open Enrollment – AEP
It’s that time of year, again. We are coming up on the Annual Election Period (AEP) for Medicare. That means you are going to be seeing a lot of commercials and receiving a lot of mail about making changes. You may be wondering what you should do, if anything.
So, what do you need to do? It depends.
The AEP is the Open Enrollment period for Medicare Advantage Plans and Part D drug plans that occurs every year from October 15th through December 7th. This is the time for those that may want to make changes which will become effective January 1, 2018. Remember that the insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage Plans and Part D drug plans can change them from year-to-year. You will receive a letter from the insurance company called an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) that will describe any changes they are going to make for the coming year. If you are happy with the plan and want to keep it, you don’t have to do anything. Just continue to pay your premium (if applicable) and the plan will remain in effect for 2019.
If your prescriptions have changed, you can update them at Medicare.gov. Also, if you have any changes in doctors, you can look to see if they participate with your plan. All of the new Plan information will be available Oct. 1st in Medicare.gov. You can’t make any changes until October 15th. If you want to make any changes or have questions or need assistance, contact me.
Medicare Supplements aka, Medigap policies, are not impacted by the AEP. They are guaranteed renewable as long as premiums are paid.
As always, call me with any questions, any time about your Medicare coverages. I will help you sort through the info and options. Thanks, David.
Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
New 2018 Medicare Costs at a Glance
With the New Year just starting, I wanted to post the key, new Medicare numbers that will be in effect for 2018. These are the key changes to Medicare’s premiums and coverages. As I noted in July, CMS did not increase the Part B premium or Part B deductible for 2018 as expected. Below are the key, new numbers:
- Part A deductible – Will be $1340 up from $1316 (per 60 day Benefit Stay)
- Part B Deductible – Will remain at $183. Yippee! (Annual deductible)
- Part B Premium – Will also remain at $134.00 for new beneficiaries. (Will not apply to many existing beneficiaries who had already taken out of Social Security) And does not apply to high income earners.
- Part D Maximum Deductible – Will be $405 up from $400 (Some plans don’t have a deductible)
- Part D Premium National Average – Will be $35.02 DOWN from $35.63. (Is used to determine Part D Penalty)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance with selecting a Medicare Plan. I don’t charge any fees nor increase your cost.
Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com
Interesting Stats on Medicare Costs and Coverage
Many times when meeting with clients, they want to know if they really need Supplemental coverages such as a Medigap Plan (Supplement) or a Medicare Advantage Plan instead of just going with Medicare Parts A and B alone. So what many Medicare beneficiaries really want to know is, what kind of out of pocket costs will they have if they don’t enroll in Supplemental types of coverages. I recently came across some interesting statistics that address this issue.
Using averages of all Medicare beneficiaries, they will have out of pocket medical costs a little over $3,000 per year (not including premiums). If you exclude those costs not covered by Medicare, I estimate you arrive at about $1,200/year in 2016 dollars. That is less than the average Medigap policy cost (looking at all ages, sexes and plans). One might conclude that on average, they would likely spend more in Medigap premiums than they would receive in benefits. However, with a Medigap policy, they cap their out of pocket exposure for medical costs. Medicare Advantage Plans also cap exposure. Remember that 2 of the largest out of pocket costs Medicare beneficiaries risk are the Part A Inpatient Hospital deductible(s) ($1316 per benefit stay in 2017) and the uncapped 20% Part B outpatient exposure.
To me, this data reinforces the need and value of insurance. Having a Medigap policy or a Medicare Advantage Plan not only helps cover out of pocket medical costs, but it protects your financial assets. It allows you to have the peace of mind we hear about so often.
If you would like to read more about this topic, I have linked to a website that covers this topic in more detail: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2017/may/medicare-out-of-pocket-cost-burdens
Based in the Richmond, Va area, David Higgs of Choices In Medicare, specializes in helping seniors transition to Medicare. He can be reached at email: David@ChoicesInMedicare.com or go to website: www.ChoicesInMedicare.com