“Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medicare Recipients Will Rise in New Year,” by Dennis Thompson, U.S. News & World Report

 

Quote:

“Seniors on Medicare are going to take a hit to the pocketbook in 2020, with premiums and deductibles set to increase on coverage for medical services and prescription drugs. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B will rise $9.10, to $144 a month, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced. The annual deductible for Part B also will increase $13 to $198 per year, CMS said. Both increases are relatively large compared to 2019, when the Part B premium rose $1.50 a month and the deductible $2 for the year. … The Part B premium increase will affect people enrolled in original Medicare as well as those who are covered under Medicare Advantage, said David Lipschutz, associate director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. … These cost increases will wipe out much of the 1.6% cost-of-living (COLA) increase for Social Security benefits in 2020, CBS News reported. The COLA amounts to about $24 extra a month for the average retiree.”

 

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):

Medicare premiums trickle up relentlessly even as the program’s “trust fund” evaporates.