Medicare beneficiaries will see their Part B premiums drop for the first time in more than a decade, President Biden said at an event at the White House on Tuesday.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, monthly Part B, currently set at $170.10, will drop to $164.90 in 2023 — a savings of $5.20 a month or $64 a year. The annual deductible for Part B will be $226, down $7 from $233 in 2022.
“It means more money in their pockets,” Biden said of the millions of seniors and disabled people on Medicare. Biden was at a White House event to discuss changes to Medicare under the inflation-reduction legislation passed in August.
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CMS said the reduction may be due to earlier spending on Part B services and the expected higher cost of the new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelmin. The inflated estimate led to large reserves in the Part B account, which the government passed on to offset any premium increases for consumers, the agency said.
Medicare Part B covers medical services such as doctor and outpatient hospital visits, certain medical equipment, and other needs not covered by Part A, which is inpatient coverage. Part B premiums are based on consumers’ adjusted adjusted gross income (for example, in 2022 a taxpayer making $97,000 or less would pay $164.90 a month; someone making $153,000 to $183,000 a year would pay $428.60 a month. gov)
The annual enrollment period for Medicare for coverage starting in 2023 opens on October 15.