Question: I heard the Medicare Part B rate is going down, is this true?

Answer; I am so pleased you asked this question. The quick answer to this question is YES that is correct.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has just announced the 2023 rates. This is the earliest they have ever announced them. The Medicare Part B Premium for 2022 is $170.10 and in 2023 the Medicare Part B Premium is going down to $164.90. The Medicare Part B premium going down does not happen often. It has happened only three times, previous to this year, 1990, 1996 and 2012.

The COLA increase to your Social Security (SS) has not yet been announced, but because we know the Part B premium is going down, you will see an increase in your monthly SS payment. If you have Medicare and Social Security you know that the Medicare Part B premium comes out of your Social Security benefit each month.

The CMS announcement includes additional information. The Medicare Part B information is as follows; in 2022 the Medicare Part B deductible is $233 and in 2023 that Medicare Part B deductible also is reduced to $226. The remainder of Part B covered services continue with Medicare paying 80% and the individual or their secondary insurance paying 20%.

Medicare Part A for most Americans does not have a premium. The Medicare Part A Hospital deductible for 2022 is $1556 and in 2023 it is $1600. That is a $44 increase for each and every hospital stay, if you have no other insurance.

There are other Medicare Part A co-pays to talk about. If you are hospitalized for more than 60 days, Medicare has a coinsurance amount of $400 per day for days 61 to 90 ($389 in 2022) Over 90 days in the hospital is an $800 coinsurance amount ($778 for 2022). Remember those long stays are one continuous stay, not the total days of multiple hospitalizations throughout the year.

The Medicare Part A, Skilled Nursing Benefit pays for your first 20 days of rehabilitation in full, but day 21 to 100 have a coinsurance amount of $200 per day ($194.50 in 2022).

This announcement is reassuring. We know that Medicare still covers the majority of our big medical bills and most individuals have insurance above and beyond Original Medicare.

For those individuals who pay a higher rate for their Medicare Part B premium, those rates will be adjusting as well, and are available on the www.medicare.gov website. We do know that the thresholds for those IRMAA increased ($97,000 for Individual tax returns and $194,000 for those who file joint tax returns). So watch for your individual information to come from SSA, or visit the www.medicare.gov website.

Remember that each year during December, Social Security Administration sends you a letter. That letter tells you what your new Social Security Benefit will be and what you pay for your Medicare Part B. So watch for that letter among all the other mail that comes this time of year.

Senior Life Matters is a community based program sponsored by Lutheran Jamestown. For questions, concerns or to reach Janell Sluga, GCMC, call 716-720-9797 or email SLM@lutheran-jamestown.org.