Healthcare premiums will rise next year for the nearly 66 million Americans enrolled in the government’s Medicare program, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The standard monthly cost of Medicare Part B, which most seniors and disabled people have to cover certain doctors’ services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventive services, will increase $9.80, or 6%, to $174.70 from $164.90 in 2023. The annual deductible for Medicare Part B beneficiaries will rise $14 to $240 in 2024, from $226 this year.
The premium increase in Medicare Part B is in line with the estimates by the Medicare Trustees earlier this year but lower than what some experts had estimated.
“We are relieved to learn that the Medicare Part B increase in 2024 won’t be as high as we initially feared,” said Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at the nonprofit advocate The Senior Citizens League. In September, The Senior Citizens League forecast the Medicare Part B increase might rise as much as $5 per month more than the Trustees estimated, after CMS approved a pricey new Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi.
Why are Medicare premiums going up?
The increase in standard Medicare Part B premiums for 2024 comes off a $5.20 monthly decline in 2023 from 2022. CMS had cut the fee after lower-than-projected spending on both the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm and other Part B items and services.
For 2024, though, Medicare Part B and the…
