Today Medicare announced the 2017 cost increases for Medicare.
Most important for our clients include:
Part B Deductible: From $166 to $183 for 2017
This means those on Plan D or Plan G will be paying the first $183 of Part B (outpatient) services in 2017 before the Medicare Supplement plan kicks in to pay the rest. This means that those cost calculations that go into Plan F rate increases will now have to account for a higher embedded Part B deductible, too (higher rates coming).
In other news, the monthly premium paid to the government by the seniors for Part B will be going from a base of $104.90 to now an average of $109.00.
This is only for those protected by the “hold harmless provision” and not subject to the income-related higher adjustment (MACRA). So, basically, the majority of seniors (not high income) who are drawing Social Security will be paying $109.00 per month for Part B in 2017.
The Part A deductible for going into the hospital is going up by $28 from $1,288 to $1,316, but of course, this is paid in full by the Medicare Supplements that we sell.