Community Chat

[Mindy D]

Increases for 2020 for those on traditional original Medicare:

1.  The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B will increase by $9.10 per month to $144.60 per month.

2.  The Medicare Part B annual deductible will increase by $13 bringing it to $198.00

3.  The Part A annual inpatient hospital deductible per benefit period  will increase by $44.00 to $1408.00.

These increased costs will negate the 1.6% COLA for Social Security. For the average retired person on Social Security tophe 2020 COLA is $24.00 monthly

Part B premiums are based on income with the standard monthly premium applying for singles earning up to $87,000.00 

and for married persons filing jointly, up to $174,000.00.  For 2020, Those with higher incomes can pay Part B premiums ranging from $202.40 to $491.60. 

The alternative type of Medicare is a Medicare Advantage Plan. These plans vary in costs of premiums and deductibles by insurers.  Advantage Plans’ premiums are expected to drop by an average of 23% from the 2018 costs. The average Medicare Advantage Plan is expected to be the lowest in the last 13 years and more plans are expected to be offered in 2020 than in 2019.

Summarized from CBS News, Karla Bowsger, Dec. 9, 2019., Moneytalksnews, “These 3 major Medicare costs will jump in January.

Resources include an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, “Analysis Finds Record 3,148 Medicare Advantage Plans Will be Available in 2020.” Published Oct. 24, 2019. and “Medicare Advantage Spotlight:  First Look” by Gretchen Jacobsen, Meredith Freed, Anthipony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, Oct. 24, 2019

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Other information I found that may be of interest:

Quoted From CMS Newsroom Fact Sheet, “2020 Medicare Parts A B Premiums and Deductibles

Nov. 8, 2019 comes additional information

Medicare Part A Premiums/Deductibles

Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health care services. About 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries do not have a Part A premium since they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment.

The Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible that beneficiaries will pay when admitted to the hospital will be $1,408 in 2020, an increase of $44 from $1,364 in 2019. The Part A inpatient hospital deductible covers beneficiaries’ share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period. In 2020, beneficiaries must pay a coinsurance amount of $352 per day for the 61st through 90th day of a hospitalization ($341 in 2019) in a benefit period and $704 per day for lifetime reserve days ($682 in 2019). For beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities, the daily coinsurance for days 21 through 100 of extended care services in a benefit period will be $176.00 in 2020 ($170.50 in 2019).

Part A Deductible and Coinsurance Amounts for Calendar Years 2019 and 2020 by Type of Cost Sharing
	2019	2020
Inpatient hospital deductible	$1,364	$1,408
Daily coinsurance for 61st-90thDay	$341	$352
Daily coinsurance for lifetime reserve days	$682	$704
Skilled Nursing Facility coinsurance	$170.50	$176

Enrollees age 65 and over who have fewer than 40 quarters of coverage and certain persons with disabilities pay a monthly premium in order to voluntarily enroll in Medicare Part A. Individuals who had at least 30 quarters of coverage or were married to someone with at least 30 quarters of coverage may buy into Part A at a reduced monthly premium rate, which will be $252 in 2020, a $12 increase from 2019. Certain uninsured aged individuals who have less than 30 quarters of coverage and certain individuals with disabilities who have exhausted other entitlement will pay the full premium, which will be $458 a month in 2020, a $21 increase from 2019.

For more information on the 2020 Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles (CMS-8071-N, CMS-8072-N, CMS-8073-N), please visit https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection.

[Tinkrbl44]

@Mindy D 

In some ways, the Advantage plans are like HMOs or Managed Care.  You are not free to choose your doctors; they do it for you.  For some people, that's okay.  Other people wouldn't dream of starting over with doctors they've been assigned to.  

Obviously, there's a lot of pros and cons to weigh, but no one ever told you that health care was going to be free (before or after retirement),  and we shouldn't expect that.  Anything of value costs money.

[Marp]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

@Mindy D 

In some ways, the Advantage plans are like HMOs or Managed Care.  You are not free to choose your doctors; they do it for you.  For some people, that's okay.  Other people wouldn't dream of starting over with doctors they've been assigned to.  

Obviously, there's a lot of pros and cons to weigh, but no one ever told you that health care was going to be free (before or after retirement),  and we shouldn't expect that.  Anything of value costs money.

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My Advantage plan has a list of in network doctors from which I get to choose.  I do not need referrals to specialists.  Not a single medical provider is "assigned".  The copays are higher if I go out of network but I am still covered.

[proudlyfromNJ]

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@Marp wrote:

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

@Mindy D 

In some ways, the Advantage plans are like HMOs or Managed Care.  You are not free to choose your doctors; they do it for you.  For some people, that's okay.  Other people wouldn't dream of starting over with doctors they've been assigned to.  

Obviously, there's a lot of pros and cons to weigh, but no one ever told you that health care was going to be free (before or after retirement),  and we shouldn't expect that.  Anything of value costs money.

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My Advantage plan has a list of in network doctors from which I get to choose.  I do not need referrals to specialists.  Not a single medical provider is "assigned".  The copays are higher if I go out of network but I am still covered.

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@Marp @Tinkrbl44  My plan seems to be exactly like yours Marp. I just went to an Ent and a Podiatrist not in network and just paid a co-pay. Did not need any referrals. I am in NY.

[Foxxee]

They dollar retirees every year, but over a period of time it becomes significant.

This is sneaky of Medicare to raise rates that use all or much of the COLA increase.  I've been watching my parents' Medicare and COLAS for quite some time and Medicare has been doing this for quite some time.  

Interest rates for 10 years on safe CD's, preferable for many seniors than volatile stocks, since the crash in 2008 have been next to nothing.  Then, when rates began going up because the Federal Reserve raised their interest rates, the feds began decreasing them again with CD rates following suit. 

Banks say CD interest rates are based on whether they need money or not.  I haven't seen that to be the case.  They follow the Federal Reserve.  

Seniors can't live on SS alone...they supplement it with interest from their savings investments.  With nothing coming from savings, how do they pay for Medicare and supplemental insurance, food, utility, gas, property taxes, etc. increases?  They must dip into their actual savings.  When that's gone, what do they do?

But, seniors never speak up to those who can do something about this.  Senior organizations like AARP are doing nothing to help them.

Remember, our government has billions to give to other people.  Had the government not stolen 2 trillion dollars from SS over the years, there'd be enough for higher COLAS.  The SS system of determining COLA needs to be changed to be fair.  

[catter70]

I heard the other day that the Advantage plan is cheaper up front but bites you in the butt in the end. My higher supplemental rates pretty much ate up my COLA already so I guess it'll be 1 step forward, 2 steps back for me this year.

[cindyNC]

Not surprised. 

When I took the seminar on Medicare (sponsored by the NC SHIP group) they indicated that the Advantage plans offered in our county are based on how many doctors in the county want to participate.  I live in a very rural area and plans like Humana are not offered here. 

The other issue is that we travel out of county (state) several times a year. I felt like, in the long run, if something happened, I wanted coverage.  Honestly, Medicare is so much less expensive than the COBRA premium I was paying and the deductibles are still less than my previous employers high deductible plan. 

It's such an individual thing for each person, but I appreciate all the info !!!

[Marp]

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@catter70 wrote:

I heard the other day that the Advantage plan is cheaper up front but bites you in the butt in the end. My higher supplemental rates pretty much ate up my COLA already so I guess it'll be 1 step forward, 2 steps back for me this year.

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My Advantage plan has a maximum out of pocket cap.

[tucsongal]

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@Marp wrote:

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@catter70 wrote:

I heard the other day that the Advantage plan is cheaper up front but bites you in the butt in the end. My higher supplemental rates pretty much ate up my COLA already so I guess it'll be 1 step forward, 2 steps back for me this year.

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My Advantage plan has a maximum out of pocket cap.

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I know that many people love their advantage plans and have had good experiences, but I have seen too many patients discharged from skilled nursing facilities early, denied recommended home health services, etc. I’ve always felt that if you are relatively young and healthy, it’s a good deal but not so much as you need more care, at least in AZ. Just my humble opinion 😎

[lovesrecess]

I have a Medicare advantage plan and I am not assigned any doctors. It is a PPO plan. I have been on the Advantage plan for two years and have been happy with it.