Medicare Part B premium 2020: Rates and deductibles rising 7%

Trade

Trade

Well-known Member
https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...0-deductibles-premiums-increasing/2541901001/
Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles for outpatient care will increase in 2020.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the new 2020 rates Friday. For about 70% of Medicare beneficiaries, the premiums will rise nearly 7% to $144.60 a month, up from $135.50 in 2019.

The $9.10 monthly increase follows a smaller $1.50 rise this year. Upper-income retirees pay higher premiums and those rates also are going up.

The annual deductible for Part B coverage, which covers doctor visits and outpatient care, also will go up by 7% to $198 in 2020, an increase of $13 from the annual deductible of $185 in 2019.
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The announcement comes a nearly a month after the Social Security Administration set a modest 1.6% cost-of-living adjustment to benefits in 2020, which works out to approximately $24 a month for the average retired worker.
 

Between my wife and I the 1.6% COLA increase comes to $48.

At the same time the Medicare Part B increase for both of us will be $18.

That leaves a net gain of $30.

Except that I also got an email informing me that our secondary BCBS premium will be increasing by $31 on Jan. 1st.

So the bastards got it all plus a buck. :mad:
 
Trade said:
Between my wife and I the 1.6% COLA increase comes to $48.

At the same time the Medicare Part B increase for both of us will be $18.

That leaves a net gain of $30.

Except that I also got an email informing me that our secondary BCBS premium will be increasing by $31 on Jan. 1st.

So the bastards got it all plus a buck. :mad:
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Yep, these days if you don't invest in the market you are left behind. It is what it is. Kind of strange times, but of course they probably said that in any "times".
 
Aunt Bea said:
It's still cheaper much than the $902.42/month I was paying for my health insurance before I became eligible for Medicare.
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Amen. A friend has retired, but he's only 62 now and has to pay for both his wife and himself.
These plans had high deductibles too and he's paying like almost 2 grand a month I think. I'll ask him and repost with his annual out of pocket deductible amounts, too. Know its high.
 
Aunt Bea said:
It's still cheaper much than the $902.42/month I was paying for my health insurance before I became eligible for Medicare.
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Ok, just heard back from my friend that retired early. He pays $1100 a month for a single policy that covers both he and wife, but the hooker is each person has a $6,000 deductible each year. Wow...they are healthy I think, might be mox nix to self insure at that high deduct, you know!
 
Liberty said:
Amen. A friend has retired, but he's only 62 now and has to pay for both his wife and himself.
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When I retired at age 60 in 2007 I was able to stay on the BCBS PPO plan I had at work. But I had to pay the full amount.

In 2007 that was $967 a month for both my wife and I.

That has gone up steadily over the years.

The new rate effective for 2020 is $1,719 a month. And that's getting a group rate because of my employment.

Fortunately my wife and I now both have medicare. So for the BCBS PPO plan which covers what Medicare doesn't plus prescriptions is "only" $807 a month for both of us.

So for 2020 I will be paying $289 a month for Medicare and $807 for BCBS. A total of "only" $1096 a month for the two of us.

Ain't the American Health Care System great?
 
Trade said:
When I retired at age 60 in 2007 I was able to stay on the BCBS PPO plan I had at work. But I had to pay the full amount.

In 2007 that was $967 a month for both my wife and I.

That has gone up steadily over the years.

The new rate effective for 2020 is $1,719 a month. And that's getting a group rate because of my employment.

Fortunately my wife and I now both have medicare. So for the BCBS PPO plan which covers what Medicare doesn't plus prescriptions is "only" $807 a month for both of us.

So for 2020 I will be paying $289 a month for Medicare and $807 for BCBS. A total of "only" $1096 a month for the two of us.

Ain't the American Health Care System great?
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Just one thing, Trade. American doesn't have a health care "system."
 
Trade said:
When I retired at age 60 in 2007 I was able to stay on the BCBS PPO plan I had at work. But I had to pay the full amount.

In 2007 that was $967 a month for both my wife and I.

That has gone up steadily over the years.

The new rate effective for 2020 is $1,719 a month. And that's getting a group rate because of my employment.

Fortunately my wife and I now both have medicare. So for the BCBS PPO plan which covers what Medicare doesn't plus prescriptions is "only" $807 a month for both of us.

So for 2020 I will be paying $289 a month for Medicare and $807 for BCBS. A total of "only" $1096 a month for the two of us.

Ain't the American Health Care System great?
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Hey, can you get out of that BCBS policy? Get a broker and go with another plan provider?
 
Kaiser-Permanente is mine and is free. I pay an extra $15/month for vision/dental/hearing. That's only an option if KP happens to provide insurance in the state where you live.
 
Liberty said:
Hey, can you get out of that BCBS policy? Get a broker and go with another plan provider?
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I could drop it anytime. But I don't want to. It covers just about everything that Medicare doesn't. And it's nationwide. And the premium will rise with inflation, but since it's a group policy it won't go up as I age.

If I went with a Medicare Advantage Plan, or another supplement I would be stuck with their limited network of providers and subject to them raising my rates as I got older or dropping me if my wife or I got seriously ill.

And if I ever drop my BCBS PPO and then find that I don't like what I switched to, I'm SOL. BCBS won't allow me to go back.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
Kaiser-Permanente is mine and is free. I pay an extra $15/month for vision/dental/hearing. That's only an option if KP happens to provide insurance in the state where you live.
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My daughter who lives in California has them through her work. She likes it. I suppose as private plans go they are one of the better ones. But I would not trade my traditional Medicare for any kind of private insurance.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
No, no, Trade. It's a Medicare Advantage Plan, just like any other. Picks up where Medicare leaves off.
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I'll stick with what I have. I like traditional Medicare.

I like the nationwide network and it covers almost everything without any hassles.
 
Trade said:
I could drop it anytime. But I don't want to. It covers just about everything that Medicare doesn't. And it's nationwide. And the premium will rise with inflation, but since it's a group policy it won't go up as I age.

If I went with a Medicare Advantage Plan, or another supplement I would be stuck with their limited network of providers and subject to them raising my rates as I got older or dropping me if my wife or I got seriously ill.

And if I ever drop my BCBS PPO and then find that I don't like what I switched to, I'm SOL. BCBS won't allow me to go back.
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I guess I'm missing something somewhere...how can you go wrong with switching to a medigap policy? Surely it would be cheaper than what you have, wouldn't it? We have a plan G and pay $287 a month for BOTH of us, plus another 20 bucks or so total for the plan D.

What am I missing here, guy? Have you checked with an independent broker in your state to compare prices. Don't think there's anything better than a good medigap policy from what i know. You can go to any docs - specialists included throughout the USA, as long as they take medicare patients of course and the vast majority of them certainly do.
 
Liberty said:
I guess I'm missing something somewhere...how can you go wrong with switching to a medigap policy? Surely it would be cheaper than what you have, wouldn't it? We have a plan G and pay $287 a month for BOTH of us, plus another 20 bucks or so total for the plan D.

What am I missing here, guy? Have you checked with an independent broker in your state to compare prices. Don't think there's anything better than a good medigap policy from what i know. You can go to any docs - specialists included throughout the USA, as long as they take medicare patients of course and the vast majority of them certainly do.
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I'm sure you "think" you have coverage as good as I do, but as for me I'm not about roll the dice by chasing around to save a few bucks only to be sorry later. As for insurance salesmen, I trust them about as far as I throw a 1958 Buick V-8 engine block.
 
Trade said:
I'm sure you "think" you have coverage as good as I do, but as for me I'm not about roll the dice by chasing around to save a few bucks only to be sorry later. As for insurance salesmen, I trust them about as far as I throw a 1958 Buick V-8 engine block.
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If everything is covered, how can you have any better insurance than that? The supplement plans are clearly defined by Medicaid and I've known people that would have had to pay many thousands and thousands of dollars that didn't pay a penny extra with the medigap supplement and medicaid.

Of course, if you don't care to investigate and have a look see that's totally your biz. Color me corrected in trying to suggest anything.
 
Liberty said:
If everything is covered, how can you have any better insurance than that? The supplement plans are clearly defined by Medicaid and I've known people that would have had to pay many thousands and thousands of dollars that didn't pay a penny extra with the medigap supplement and medicaid.

Of course, if you don't care to investigate and have a look see that's totally your biz. Color me corrected in trying to suggest anything.
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I think there are a lot of people who don't really understand that their current insurance and the Senior Advantage insurance plans cover the same things. One is simply (much) more expensive than the other.

$40 copays annoy me, but I might part with four or five during a year, as opposed to parting with a few thousand $$ every month. My prescriptions are either $6 for a one-month supply from KP's on-site pharmacy or free from their mail-order facility for a 90-day supply.

Physical is free once a year, labs are free, meds ordered online are free. My Advantage Plus is $15/month and so far has covered most of my dental visits, $500 toward new glasses. What's not to like? KP isn't nationwide, but darned near, and their facilities are well appointed with the equipment needed for just about any procedure you can think of, short of outright hospitalization.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
I think there are a lot of people who don't really understand that their current insurance and the Senior Advantage insurance plans cover the same things. One is simply (much) more expensive than the other.

$40 copays annoy me, but I might part with four or five during a year, as opposed to parting with a few thousand $$ every month. My prescriptions are either $6 for a one-month supply from KP's on-site pharmacy or free from their mail-order facility for a 90-day supply.

Physical is free once a year, labs are free, meds ordered online are free. My Advantage Plus is $15/month and so far has covered most of my dental visits, $500 toward new glasses. What's not to like? KP isn't nationwide, but darned near, and their facilities are well appointed with the equipment needed for just about any procedure you can think of, short of outright hospitalization.
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Absolutely. We've had tests that would have cost many thousands of dollars. Once a year we get a complete cardiac workup if we want it. Our primary physician is a cardiologist.
Sometimes wonder why they make it so hard to understand. Think a lot of folks just get frustrated.
 


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