2020 Medicare Part B Premiums and Deductible Announced

[GailL1]

I posted the 2020 Social Security COLA a few weeks ago - 1.6%

Now here is the other part of the puzzle.

CMS News Release 11/08/2019 - 2020 Medicare Part B Premium and Deductibles Announced 

• The 2020 Part B premium is for most beneficiaries will be $ 144.60
• The 2020 Part B deductible is $ 198.00
• The 2020 Part A deductible is $ 1408.00
• The 2020 (Part A) beneficiary coinsurance amounts for hospital stays and SNF care are posted at the above CMS link.
• For those who are affected by the Medicare Part B Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA), the 2020 Part B total premiums for high income beneficiaries are shown in the tables at the CMS link above.

[retiredtraveler]

".....I posted the 2020 Social Security COLA a few weeks ago - 1.6%. Now here is the other part of the puzzle.....".

As someone who was on private insurance for many years, this is still an immense bargain, even if the rates and deductibles doubled.

[GailL1]

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@retiredtraveler wrote:

".....I posted the 2020 Social Security COLA a few weeks ago - 1.6%. Now here is the other part of the puzzle.....".

As someone who was on private insurance for many years, this is still an immense bargain, even if the rates and deductibles doubled.

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I am sure you are right for most people.

If you added up everything or you added what you might have to pay depending upon your financial situation, it might not be as good a deal. 

• Years and years of payroll deduction for the employee and the employer to cover premium-free Part A when eligible. *
• * if you didn't work enough to have premium-free Part A - that would run $ 458 per month - they do prorate it based on how much work you might have done, if that is the case.
• Part B premiums which only covers about 25% of the actual premium cost - the US government picks up the other 75% (General Fund)
• then there are those seniors who get such a low SS benefit that their COLA % doesn't cover enough of the Part B premium increase - so we accept less from them in this cost.
• for those who pay taxes, the amount of taxes paid (federal & state) to cover those seniors who are dual eligible on Medicare/Medicaid or those who have such low income that a government entity is paying for their Part B premium, their Part D premium, and/or are actually paying for all their drugs.
• for those seniors who have higher income and are paying the IRMAA premiums for Part B and Part D

Then for those using traditional Medicare that cannot afford a Medigap plan, covering their part of the using cost especially since the traditional program does not have a cap on OOP.  It mounts up especially if you are hospitalized, if you have to go to a SNF, if you have to pay that 20% of Part B injectibles, like chemo, or other expensive Part B care.  Sometimes, seniors in this situation just don't pay their part of the cost and either a collection agency begins to hound them, they declare bankruptcy or the provider just tries to collect from the government under "Medicare Bad Debt" or they just write it off and cost shift this cost to everybody else.

Yes, for many it is a good deal - for others, perhaps ok.

[mickstuder]

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@GailL1 wrote:

I posted the 2020 Social Security COLA a few weeks ago - 1.6%

Now here is the other part of the puzzle.

CMS News Release 11/08/2019 - 2020 Medicare Part B Premium and Deductibles Announced 

• The 2020 Part B premium is for most beneficiaries will be $ 144.60
• The 2020 Part B deductible is $ 198.00
• The 2020 Part A deductible is $ 1408.00
• The 2020 (Part A) beneficiary coinsurance amounts for hospital stays and SNF care are posted at the above CMS link.
• For those who are affected by the Medicare Part B Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA), the 2020 Part B total premiums for high income beneficiaries are shown in the tables at the CMS link above.

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TRUMP EFFECT

[GailL1]

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@mickstuder wrote:

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TRUMP EFFECT

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More like medical inflation that has been with us for a long time for several reasons perhaps cost shifting being part of the problem.

The President did try to hold down Part B cost by trying to change the formula of paying providers for injectables.  Pharma, Doctors and Hospitals yelled loudly.

STATNews 10/26/2018 - Medicare Part B needs reform, but Trump’s proposal faces insurmountable challe... 

I am telling you, mickstuder, if we want to do anything about healthcare cost, it has to be a very big joint effort - Reps / Dems / Pres / Congress / ALL citizens and I am not sure that will ever be the case.

[mickstuder]

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@GailL1 wrote:

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@mickstuder wrote:

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TRUMP EFFECT

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More like medical inflation that has been with us for a long time for several reasons perhaps cost shifting being part of the problem.

The President did try to hold down Part B cost by trying to change the formula of paying providers for injectables.  Pharma, Doctors and Hospitals yelled loudly.

STATNews 10/26/2018 - Medicare Part B needs reform, but Trump’s proposal faces insurmountable challe... 

I am telling you, mickstuder, if we want to do anything about healthcare cost, it has to be a very big joint effort - Reps / Dems / Pres / Congress / ALL citizens and I am not sure that will ever be the case.

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SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

Trump Promises ‘Phenomenal’ Health Plan

BUT 

Pharma, Doctors and Hospitals yelled loudly - So Trump Did Nothing 

BTW - The United States Congress Has Been Yelling Loudly About The President of the USA Obstructing the US Congress by refusing to produce witnesses and documents - but apparently the AMA and Big Pharma have more influence with this President then the Elected Representatives of the people 

Is there anything this President could do or more importantly - Not Do - that would cause you to at least ? his Competence of Effectiveness or are Right Wing Judges the cost of your Soul of your 
Patriotism?

Trumps been President 3 years and Drug & Healthcare Costs Continue to Skyrocket and there isn't even a coherent intitiative to address any of it from this WH 

Obama Got It Done - he got Reps / Dems / Pres / Congress / ALL citizens - and we got the first Comprehensive Overhaul in US Healthcare in 50 years and Millions of new people got Health Insurance & if Republicans hadn't continued to sabotage the program - every year it would have had a opportuntity to get better and cover more people and control more costs