October 2, 2007.
It was announced announced Monday that the Part B
Medicare premium would rise from $93.50 to $96.40 a month next year,
an increase of only $2.90 a month. The 3.1 percent
increase is the smallest since 1999-2000, when the
premium remained at the same level, $45.50, for two
years.Most Medicare
beneficiaries pay the standard premium for Medicare Part
B, which covers doctors’ services, outpatient hospital
care, X-rays, laboratory services and other diagnostic
tests.
5 percent of
beneficiaries, with annual incomes exceeding $82,000 for
individuals and $164,000 for couples filing joint tax
returns, will pay higher premiums on a sliding scale.
For an individual with
annual income from $102,000 to $153,000, the premium
will be $160.90 a month. The
maximum will be $238.40 a month for individuals with
annual incomes exceeding $205,000 and each member of a
couple reporting combined income of more than $410,000.
|
Individual
Annual Income* |
Couple Annual
Income* |
2008 Premium |
|
Equal to or
below $82,000 |
Equal to or
below $164,000 |
$96.40 |
|
$82,000-$102,000 |
$164,000-$204,000 |
$122.20 |
|
$102,000-$153,000 |
$204,000-$306,000 |
$160.90 |
|
$153,000-$205,000 |
$306,000-$410,000 |
$199.70 |
|
Above $205,000 |
Above $410,000 |
$238.40 |
|
Most
beneficiaries pay separate premiums for Medicare
coverage of prescription drugs on top of the standard
premium. The drug premiums typically range from $10 to
$40 a month.
The increase in
the standard Part B premium was less than many experts
had expected, in part because officials decided to
correct an accounting error. As a result of the error,
money for certain hospice benefits was inadvertently
drawn from the Part B trust fund rather than a separate
trust fund that pays hospital costs. The money will be
paid back in the coming year.
The premium for 2008 assumes that
Medicare payments to doctors will be cut about 10
percent next year, as required by law.
But this premium is
probably artificially low because
Congress has usually stepped in to
avert such cuts, and the cost is passed on to
beneficiaries in subsequent years.
The chief
Medicare actuary, Richard S. Foster, said,
“The low
increase in premiums is good news for 2008,” but added
that it was probably a one-time phenomenon.
The annual
deductible for doctors’ visits and other Part B services
will be $135, up from $131. The deductible was fixed at
$100 a year from 1991 to 2004. It now increases to
reflect the growing average cost of Part B services for
beneficiaries 65 and older.
For a
beneficiary admitted to a hospital, the deductible will
be $1,024 next year, up from $992.
also see:
Projected
Part "B" Premiums, 2009 - 2017
Also
read: Part
D Fiasco - Congress Can Do Better,
Coming 2007 Part D Shock,
Part D in Chart Form,
All about Part D and Medicare,
Survive a Fall into the Doughnut Hole
Medicare Twilight Zone,
2008 Social
Security Cola - 2008
Medicare Part B Premium
