On Thursday, November 10th, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2017 premiums for the Medicare inpatient (Part A) and physician and outpatient hospital services (Part B) programs.
Medicare Part B Premiums/Deductibles
Original Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment and other items. On October 18, 2016, the Social Security Administration announced that the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits will be 0.3% for 2017.
Because of the low Social Security COLA, a statutory “hold harmless” provision designed to protect seniors, will largely prevent Part B premiums for increasing for about 70% of beneficiaries. Among this group, the average 2017 premium will be about $109.00, compared to $104.90 for the past four years.
For the remaining 30% of beneficiaries, the standard monthly premium for Original Medicare Part B will be $134.00 for 2017, a 10% increase from the 2016 premium of $121.80. Because of the “hold harmless” provision covering the 70% of beneficiaries, premiums for the remaining 30% must cover most of the increase in Medicare costs for 2017 for all beneficiaries.
CMS has also announced the annual deductible for all Original Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $183 in 2017 (compared to $166 in 2016). Premiums and deductibles for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans are already finalized and are unaffected by this announcement.
The total Medicare Part B premiums for high income beneficiaries for 2017 are show in the following table:
| Beneficiaries who file an individual tax return with income: | Beneficiaries who file a joint tax return with income: | Income-related monthly adjustment amount | Total monthly premium amount |
| Less than or equal to $85,000 | Less than or equal to $170,000 | $0.00 | $134.00 |
| Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to $107,000 | Greater than $170,000 and less than or equal to $214,000 | 53.50 | 187.50 |
| Greater than $107,000 and less than or equal to $160,000 | Greater than $214,000 and less than or equal to $320,000 | 133.90 | 267.90 |
| Greater than $160,000 and less than or equal to $214,000 | Greater than $320,000 and less than or equal to $428,000 | 214.30 | 348.30 |
| Greater than $214,000 | Greater than $428,000 | 294.60 | 428.60 |
Premiums for beneficiaries who are married and living with their spouse at any time during the year, but file a separate return are shown below:
| Beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouse at any time during the year, but file a separate tax return from their spouse: | Income-related monthly adjustment amount | Total monthly premium amount |
| Less than or equal to $85,000 | $0.00 | $134.00 |
| Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to $129,000 | 214.30 | 348.30 |
| Greater than $129,000 | 294.60 | 428.60 |
Original Medicare Part A Premiums/Deductibles
Original Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some health care services. About 99% 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 pay when admitted to the hospital will be $1,316 per benefit period in 2017 (an increase of $28 from 2016.) The Part A deductible covers beneficiaries’ share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period, beneficiaries must pay a coinsurance amount of $329 per day for the 61st – 90th day of hospitalization. Beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities, the daily coinsurance for 21 days through 100 of extended care services will be $164.50.
Uninsured aged and certain individuals with disabilities who have exhausted other entitlement and who have less than 30 quarters of coverage will pay the full premium, which will be $413 a month.
| Part A Deductible and Coinsurance Amounts for Calendar Years 2016 and 2017 by Type of Cost Sharing | ||
| 2016 | 2017 | |
| Inpatient hospital deductible | $1,288 | $1,316 |
| Daily coinsurance for 61st-90th Day | 322 | 329 |
| Daily coinsurance for lifetime reserve days | 644 | 658 |
| Skilled Nursing Facility coinsurance | 161 | 164.50 |
To read the article in it’s entirety from the official CMS press release, please click here.
