Premium Changes in Medicare Part B and D

By Rachel Howell Stockton

There is keen interest on the part of retirees when it comes to any changes in Medicare wrought by health care reform.  For now, it’s a year by year proposition.  Following are some of the fiscal changes that will occur in 2010:

For most retirees, there will be no increase in Medicare Part B premiums, which pay for doctor visits.  Medicare premiums, which are deducted from Social Security payments, are protected by law from increasing if there is no standard of living increase in Social Security payments.  Since there will be no such cost of living changes in 2010, premiums will remain fixed.

However, though 75% of Medicare beneficiaries will be protected from premium increases, 25% of them will not, based on the following criteria:

* Medicaid recipients will have premium increases, which will be absorbed by the states, as they currently pay for Medicare premiums for those individuals who qualify for both. 

*Those seniors in a higher income bracket will continue to pay higher premiums than other Medicare recipients, and they will not be spared future hikes.

*Those who are new enrollees will pay higher premiums than existing recipients.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare supplement part D drug plans will undergo some changes in 2010.  The law that prevents Part B premiums from increasing sans any type of cost of living increase in Social Security does not protect the drug plan premiums.  In 2010, these premiums will increase from $28 to $30. 

Tricia Newman, director of the Medicare Policy Project at the Kaiser Family Foundation tells US News and World Report that 2010 will be the first year that the majority of stand alone drug plans will have a deductible.  Additionally, she says that 80% of these plans will have a coverage gap in 2010; this is an increase from 75% in 2009.

Finally, retirees wishing to switch their drug plans because of premium increases or specific drug coverage may do so during open enrollment, which will be from November 15 thru December 31.