Well, well… Election time is over and conveniently the federal government released the Medicare plan changes for the 2013 year. I think some were good and others not so much. We will take a look at the new changes below.
Part B Premium Increased
Let’s start with the most asked about first: the Part B premium. As a refresher the Part B premium is the amount for your medical insurance portion of Medicare mostly for outpatient things like doctor visits, lab work and testing. The premium increased to $104.90 a month up from $99.90 last year. Now you rich folks will always pay more for your part B and this year some of the upper income earners got creamed fairly hard but for most seniors your premium went up 5 dollars a month, not all that bad but any increase is still hard to work around on a fixed income.
Part B Deductible
The Part B deductible, or the amount a Medicare recipient pays for outpatient services also increased this year but the amount was nothing to be alarmed about. It went up $7 a year to $147. This increase was well below what some were expecting and still very manageable considering just a few years ago it stood at $162 a year. Also, if a senior is on a Medicare Advantage plan or Plan F if they have a Texas Medigap policy they never see the Part B deductible anyway so overall this is no big deal.
Skilled Nursing Care
The copay for skilled nursing care increased by $3.50 a day for more than 20 days in these types of facilities, again nothing that earth shattering. Also, most Medigap plans will handle this increase and you will never see it.
Hospital Inpatient Stays
The hospital inpatient copay also increased for days 61 thru 90 by 7 dollars, up to $296 for the upcoming year. Days 91 and beyond was jacked up by 14 bucks to $592 a day but again if you have a Medicare Supplement plan you should be insulated from this increase.
Part A Deductible
Another important one is the Part A deductible. This benefit increased from $1156 per benefit period to $1184 per period. This one is important because if you didn’t know it the deductible is per benefit period… not calendar year like most of us are used to so in theory a senior could get spanked with more than one deductible a year. Again, Medigap plans F and G will keep you from ever seeing the Part A deductible, Medicare Advantage plans also do the same for their members.
Overall I think it’s about what we expected and now we can move on to 2013 knowing exactly where we stand as it relates to Medicare beneficiaries potential out of pockets and premiums for the upcoming year. If these changes are just to much to handle for the next year and you feel a Medigap plan will keep you away from these increasing cost give us a call to review your current insurance situation. Protecting your nest egg is our only goal.
Tags: texas medicare advantage plans, texas medicare supplement, texas medigap plans