The Medicare Open Enrollment period ends on December 7, so you still have time to review your Medicare options for 2021. Because the process is not fun, nearly 60 percent of people with Medicare do not review their options. But, particularly if you have Medicare Part D drug coverage or are enrolled in a Medicare private plan–a health plan offered by a corporate health insurance company–it could save you a lot of money. Regardless of whether you are enrolled in traditional or a Medicare private plan, you must pay a Medicare Part B premium.
In 2021, the standard monthly Medicare Part B premium, which covers medical and outpatient care, is $148.50, a monthly increase of $3.90, from $144.60, for people with annual incomes of $88,000 or less in 2019. Your Social Security increase should cover that cost.
Social Security benefits in 2021 will be up an average 1.3 percent from this year, around $20 a month. Some of that increase will go towards the higher Medicare monthly premium. Because Congress limited the amount the 2021 standard Medicare Part B premium could rise in Covid-relief legislation earlier this year, most people will have about $16.10 more a month after paying the standard Medicare Part B premium.
- $207.90 a month, if their income is above $88,000 and no more than $111,000.
- $297.00 a month, if their income is above $111,000 and no more than $138,000
- $386.10 a month, if their income is above $138,000 and no more than $165,000
- $475.20 a month, if their income is above $165,000 and less than $500,000
- $504.90 a month, if their income is $500,000 or more
For couples with combined incomes of $330,000 or less two years ago, filing a joint tax return, the premium amount doubles. Couples with annual incomes above $330,000 and less than $750,000 each pay a $475.20 monthly premium. And, couples with annual incomes of $750,000 and above each pay a $504,90 monthly premium. Visit this CMS web site if you are filing separate returns.
Medicare Part B annual deductible: $203, an increase of $5 from the annual deductible of $198 in 2020.
People with incomes up to 135 percent of the federal poverty level, ($1,456 in monthly income for an individual and $1,960 for a couple in 2020; these amounts may increase in 2021) are eligible for help paying their premiums through Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program.
For more than four decades, the Medicare Part B premium (medical insurance) was the same for everyone regardless of income, geography or health status, a quarter of the cost of Part B services. (Medicare Part A, hospital insurance, is premium-free if you have contributed into Social Security for at least 40 quarters.) In 2007, wealthier people with Medicare began paying higher premiums.
Here are 2021 Medicare Part A costs:
- There is no Medicare Part A premium if you or your spouse have at least 40 quarters of coverage.
- The Medicare Part A premium, if you or a spouse has at least 30 quarters of coverage, is $259 a month; if you don’t have at least 30 quarters, the premium could be $471 a month.
- The Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible is $1,484, an increase of $76 from $1,408 in 2020, and daily coinsurance for hospitalizations after day 60 is $371 a day in a benefit period; coinsurance for lifetime reserve days is $742 a day.
- The Medicare Part A daily coinsurance for skilled nursing facility stays after day 20 is $185.50, an increase of $9.50 from $176 in 2020.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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