2011 Medicare Premiums and
Deductibles Released

 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the 2011 premiums and deductibles for Medicare Part A and Part B, as well as the additional premium amounts owed by individuals with higher income for Part B and Part D.  

Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility and home health care. Though approximately 99 percent of Medicare consumers do not have to pay a Part A premium, people are still responsible for the deductible, which will be $1132 in 2011, an increase of $32. 

Medicare Part B covers outpatient services, such as physician visits and durable medical equipment (DME). In 2011, people with Medicare may pay one of three premium amounts. The standard premium for 2011 is $115.40. However, because there is no Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2011, most Medicare consumers (who have their premiums directly deducted from their Social Security checks ) will pay the same premium in 2011 as they paid in 2010. This is due to the “hold harmless” provision, a law that does not allow people’s Part B premium to increase more than the COLA in a given year. If someone is eligible for “hold harmless” protection in 2011 and he or she paid $96.40 in 2010, he or she will continue to pay $96.40 in 2011. The same is true for those who paid $110.50 in 2010; if they are protected by the “hold harmless” provision, they will continue to pay $110.50 in 2011.

Individuals who earn above $85,000 per year will not only be responsible for an income-related adjustment to their Part B premium as in past years, but, beginning in 2011, will be subject to an adjustment to their Part D premiums as well. Under Part B, higher income individuals will owe between $46.10 and $253.70 in additional premium costs per month. Under Part D, those individuals with higher income will owe between $12 and $69.10 in additional premium costs. The extra amount owed is pegged to income levels. 

Read Medicare Rights Center’s fact sheet on Part B premiums in 2011.

Read CMS’s fact sheet on premiums and deductibles for 2011

-From: 2011 Medicare Premiums and Deductibles Released , Medicare Watch, Medicare Rights Center, November 11, 2010.

 

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