Premium for Basic Medicare Increasing 13% Next Year
TheBush administration announced Friday that the basic Medicare Part B premiumwould shoot up next year 13 percent, to $88.50 a month, mainly becauseof the increased use of doctors’ services.
Many beneficiaries will pay an additional premium for the newprescription drug benefit, expected to average $32 a month. So thecombined premiums for doctors’ services, outpatient hospital care andprescription drugs will average slightly more than $120 a month.
In addition, the deductible is risingfrom $110 this year to $124 next year. The deductible is the amountbeneficiaries must pay each year before outpatient coverage starts.Also increasing is the deductible for a hospital stay of 60 days orless, going up $40 to $952.
Editors note: A while back, CMS announced that the Part D premium would be lower than anticipated. The 13% premium increase and increased deductables and co-pays will more than cancel out the “savings'” to beneficiaries resulting from the lower-than-expected Part D premium.