Taken from California Healthline, under Medicare,
as reported via AP/New York Times, 11/16
Monthly Premiums for Medicare Part B Set To Increase Slightly in 2013
Medicare Part B premiums will increase by $5 per month next year, CMS announced Friday, the AP/New York Times reports (AP/New York Times, 11/16).
According to a notice published in the Federal Register, the monthly premium for Medicare Part B -- which covers physician visits, outpatient care and medical supplies -- will be $104.90, up by 5% from $99.90 in 2012. Annual deductibles for Part B also will rise, from $140 to $147.
Meanwhile, premiums for Medicare Part A -- which pays for inpatient hospitals, skilled-nursing facilities and some home health care services -- will decline by $10 to $441 in 2013. Part A deductibles will increase by $28, from $1,156 last year to $1,184 in 2013 (Zigmond, Modern Healthcare, 11/16).
Medicare actuaries had estimated that Part B monthly premiums would increase by $9, based on early estimated cost growth for the program (Radnofsky, Wall Street Journal, 11/16).
CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner noted that while the premium increase is less than anticipated, it is still enough to account for about one-quarter of a typical retiree's cost-of-living raise in Social Security payments next year (AP/New York Times, 11/16).
Please let anyone you know who is paying for medicare.
