Medicare Part B premiums to rise 52% for 7 million enrollees

Among those testifying at the hearing was Betty Balderston, statewide coordinator of the Maine Medicare Senior Patrol, a network of volunteers who provide outreach, education and counseling to Medicare beneficiaries in Maine.

Medicare Advantage Plan. With Medicare Advantage Plans you combine Part A, Part B and usually Part D coverage and these plans act as a HMO or PPO. Employers and employees each contribute half of this 2.9% tax. Missing a deadline by even a month reads as missing the deadline by a year, and for every “year” late, you get an additional 10 percent penalty on Part B coverage. Spending for these services grew slightly more than expected a year ago, officials said. At this point, beneficiaries are responsible for minimal prescription drug costs.

Bear in mind, though, that you can’t only focus on premium costs.

On the other hand greater than two-thirds of the people will not be paying any premium increase at all.

When there is no COLA, a law known as the “hold harmless provision” protects the majority of Medicare beneficiaries, who have Part B premiums automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits. Susan Collins took aim at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, for putting senior citizens at risk by using their Social Security numbers as enrollment identification. Higher premiums for enhanced plans stem, in part, from higher plan costs for sophisticated drugs used to battle catastrophic illnesses, according to Avalere. First, Social Security benefits rise.

“That’s why it’s in the best interest of patients struggling with drug costs to re-evaluate their plan”. For example, they consume more medical care but spend less on education and gasoline than urban wage earners.

If you have Internet access and are comfortable using a computer, you can easily shop for and compare all Medicare drug plans in your area and enroll in a new plan online. Inflation has been so low that Social Security beneficiaries might not receive a cost-of-living adjustment next year. Instead, their premium will be the same what they paid the previous year.

As for the remaining 30% of beneficiaries, they have to cover the difference.

A- New retirees, i.e. those who will start receiving Social Security benefits in 2016.

October marks the beginning of an important time period for Medicare recipients. “Many of these seniors are on fixed incomes and simply can’t afford to pay more.”Casey joined Sen”.

This last category represents 6% of seniors. Now she is pressing him for a stand-alone bill to pass this week before the premium increase is likely to take effect.

Medicare beneficiaries with incomes above $85,000 (individual) or $170,000 (joint). Next year, each will see this jump to $223/month. Total monthly premiums for them could range from $223.00 to $509.80 per month, depending on the size of their income.

“It’s really weird”, adds Eschtruth. This prevents you from falling into category “A”. Social Security will send information to your state unless you tell us not to on the Extra Help application.

Other than that, there’s not much the unfortunate 30% of affected seniors can do other than contact their respective congressional representatives and complain.

Ms. Buckner is a Retirement and Financial Planning Specialist and an instructor in Franklin Templeton Investments’ global Academy.