Standard Medicare Part B premiums are scheduled to increase by $9.80 per month in 2024
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The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B will increase by $9.80 per month in 2024, according to the data Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
That means the standard monthly premium will rise to $174.70 in 2024, up from $164.90 in 2023. The new rate is in line with previous projections from Medicare trustees for the had budgeted a standard monthly premium of $174.80 next year.
The annual deductible for Medicare Part B will be $240 in 2024, a $14 increase from the annual deductible of $226 in 2023.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Part B premium and deductible increases are primarily due to projected increases in health care spending.
Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, some home care services, durable medical equipment, and certain other services not covered by Medicare Part A.
Monthly Part B premium payments are typically deducted directly from Social Security benefit checks. Consequently, the level of Medicare Part B premiums affects how much of the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment beneficiaries can receive. In 2024, Social Security benefits will rise 3.2%, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday, increasing pension benefits by an average of more than $50 per month.
A forecast from the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan seniors’ group, had predicted that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B would rise by up to $5 more per month after the approval of a new Alzheimer’s drug, to a total of $179.80 per month could rise. Leqembi.
“We are relieved to learn that the 2024 Medicare Part B increase will not be as large as we originally feared,” the Senior Citizens League said in a statement.
High-income beneficiaries pay more for Medicare Part B
The rate that Medicare Part B beneficiaries pay is determined by the modified adjusted gross income on their federal tax returns.
Those who earn above certain income limits pay a surcharge on their Medicare Part B premiums in the form of income-related monthly adjustment amounts (IRMAA).
Income-dependent monthly adjustment amounts affect about 8% of people to Medicare Part B, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In 2024, IRMAA fees will apply to individuals earning more than $103,000 and married couples earning modified adjusted gross income greater than $206,000 on their 2022 federal tax returns. That’s up from $97,000 for individuals and $194,000 for married couples this year.
The cost of Medicare Part A, which covers inpatient hospital care, is also expected to rise in 2024.
The Medicare Part A deductible for inpatient hospital stays, which applies to the first 60 days of care, will increase to $1,632 in 2024, an increase of $32 from $1,600 in 2023.
Beneficiaries will then pay a coinsurance amount of $408 per day, up from $400 in 2023, for the 61stst up to 90Th Day of hospitalization. This is followed by $816 per day, up from $800 in 2023, for lifetime reserve days.
