Why is my first Medicare Part B premium twice its normal amount?

[Jay968]

I applied for Medicare part B during the last week of December to presumably begin in January.

The SS website says my Medicare premium should be $174.60 but the check I just got has a medicare deduction of $339.60. I have no Part C or D with medicare.

Would I be correct in assuming that the reason the premium is this big this month is because I was billed for both January and February and that starting next month the premium will revert to the $174.60 amount?

[GailL1]

@Jay968 

It appears from the info you gave - the amounts add up to represent this:

1.  Your Medicare benefits began in 12/2023 - your Part B Medicare card should reflex an effective date of 12/01/2023.  So you are being billed (deducted from your SS benefit amount) a Part B premium for December 2023 at the 2023 rate (for most people) of $ 164.90.

2.  Then you have to also pay for the January 2024 Medicare Part B premium which the rate for 2024 for most people is $ 174.70.

That gets you to the deducted amount of $ 339.60.  ( $ 164.90 + $ 174.70 )   

Going forward the Part B premium deduction for 2024 (for most people) will be $ 174.70 per month - 

You just had to catch up that December 2023 premium with this 1st SS check.

[Jay968]

Aren't medicare premiums billed a month before?

I was not on Medicare part B in December, so I should not have been billed for that month.

I filled out the application in December but was not billed for January in December.

I am assuming this double bill now is for January (which would have normally been billed in December) and for February (on time).

Does this make sense?

[GailL1 · Accepted solution]

Actually Medicare Part B premiums (and Part A if you don’t get them for free because your work career isn’t long enough to be vested) are BILLED in advance - that is for those premiums where the beneficiary isn’t yet getting a SS benefit,  An actual bill is sent sometimes paid as far ahead as quarterly.

Once benefits start, the Medicare premium is deducted from the SS benefit and those are paid for the current month - although the SS benefit is one month in arrears.  A SS benefit paid in January is the December payment but the Medicare Premium deducted in January is the January premium.

From the numbers you gave I concluded that they must have set up your Medicare Part B with a beginning date of 12/01/2023 at the 2023 rate of $ 164.90 - so it seems you did have Medicare Part B in December 2023 - Look at your Medicare Red/White/Blue card to see your effective date for Part B.  If your birthday is in December and any day that is not the very end of the month - then your begin date would be 12/01/2023 for Medicare Part B.  

If that is true and you said in your OP “ .. . . . but the check I just got has a medicare deduction of $339.60“ then the check has both 12/2023 ( $ 164.90 Part B 2023 premium rate) and 01/2024 ( $ 174.70 Part B 2024 premium rate ) deducted.  Those two premiums added together come up to the deduction of $ 339.60 from this benefit check.

If you do not have your Medicare Part A & B Red, White and Blue card yet to check your effective date for Part B then check your Medicare account - might show on your SS account too, I don’t remember.

Hope that explains it -  going forward the Part B premium deduction will only be $ 174.70 - that’s the 2024 rate for most people.

[Jay968]

Yeah, you're right Gail. I just checked the card (should have done this sooner) and sure enough it does say part B started 12/1/23.

Guess that answers my question.

Thanks

[GailL1]

@Jay968 

If you had any medical stuff done in 12/2023 that is covered by Medicare Part B - file a Medicare claim.  It may even reimburse you for any (some) out of pocket cost if you had other insurance or not

[cat0w]

@Jay968 

Have you checked the Medicare site and if needed set up an account and ask your question there?

Welcome to Medicare | Medicare

[Jay968]

Of course. That's the first thing I did.

Let me say this though. I have found, after going to the Medicare site several times in the past 2 months that it has to be one of the most useless sites on the internet. I have never once gotten anyone willing to answer a question, nor show any attempt whatsoever to help out. No matter what the question, they just want you to go to some other place to pose the question. With this particular situation, they told me to go to social security with this question. That in itself is an almost impossible task unless one is willing to wait on hold for several hours in order to talk with anyone, and they have no means of communicating with them through their website.

This is your fax dollars at work.

So, I thought I'd just come here and see if anyone had an answer.