According to the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the standard monthly Medicare Part B premium will rise by $9.80 in 2024. Accordingly, the average monthly premium will increase to $174.70 in 2024 from $164.90 in 2023. The new rate is consistent with earlier Medicare trustees predictions, which predicted a $174.80 typical monthly premium for the next year. Medicare Part B’s annual deductible will rise by $14 to $240 in 2024 from its current $226 level in 2023.
Expected Increases In Healthcare Care Costs
According to the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, expected increases in healthcare costs are the main cause of the Part B premium and deductible hikes. Doctor visits, outpatient hospital stays, a few domestic health care amenities, durable medical equipment, and a few other services not provided by Medicare Part A are all covered by Medicare Part B. Normally, monthly Part B premiums are withheld from Social Security benefits checks. As a result, beneficiaries’ potential share of the yearly cost-of-living adjustment of Social Security depends on the level of their Medicare Part B premiums. The SSA (Social Security Administration) stated on Thursday that Social Security benefits will rise by 3.2% in 2024. This will result in an average monthly increase in retirement benefits of more than $50.
Following the authorization of a new Alzheimer’s medicine, Leqembi, the nonpartisan Senior Citizens League had predicted that the regular monthly Medicare Part B premium might increase by just as much as an additional $5 every month, for a total amount of $179.80 per month. The Senior Citizens League issued a statement in which it claimed, “We are relieved to find out that the Medicare Part B rise in 2024 isn’t going to be as high as we previously feared.”
Income-Related Adjustment Amounts
The modified normalized gross income reported on beneficiaries’ federal tax returns determines the Medicare Part B premium rate. IRMAAs, or income-related adjustment amounts per month, are additional payments made towards Medicare Part B premiums by those whose incomes are over specified limits. The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimate that 8% of Medicare Part B beneficiaries receive income-related monthly adjustment amounts.
Individuals with a modified adjusted gross earnings of more than $103,000 & married couples with a revised adjusted gross income greater than $206,000 on their 2022 federal income tax filings will be subject to IRMAA charges as of 2024. This is an increase from this year’s $97,000 individual cap and $194,000 marital cap. Inpatient hospital care is covered by Medicare Part A, which will cost more starting in 2024. Increasing by $32 from $1,600 in 2023 to $1,632 in 2024, the Medicare Part A hospital deductible for an inpatient will now cover the first 60 days of care. Then, for the 61st via 90th days of hospitalization, beneficiaries are responsible for $408 coinsurance payments each day, a rise from $400 in 2023. Then, lifetime reserve days are charged at $816 per day, an increase from $800 in 2023.
