The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) made an announcement recently that they are reducing 2023 Medicare Part B premiums, which is exciting news. The new standard premium for Medicare Part B will be $164.90 per month. Of course, if you are subject to IRMAA and you have extra help or Medicaid, you still might not have a monthly premium payment.
Also included in the announcement is that the Medicare Part B annual deductible will be dropping down to $226 in 2023. That means if you have original Medicare Part A and B, as well as a supplement behind it like a plan G or plan N, then next year you will be liable for only $226 in outpatient charges before your supplement kicks in to help pay the 20 percent coinsurance that you have through Medicare Part B.
If you do not have a supplement and are subject to Part A coinsurance, copays or deductibles, an adjustment for Part A coinsurance in 2023 is coming as well. The Part A hospital deductible, which is a per-occurrence deductible and not an annual deductible, will be going up to $1600 per hospital stay. That deductible covers you for up to 60 days in the hospital for Medicare-covered expenses. If you are in the hospital for longer than 60 days you will have a $400 daily copay for days 61-90 in 2023. If, by chance, you end up in the hospital for longer than 90 days and you are covered under Part A and you don’t have a supplement, you will have an extra 60 days of coverage through your Medicare lifetime reserve. That reserve will get you through days 91-150, but it includes a daily copay of $800. You can see that $400 per day for days 61-90 and $800 per day for days 91-150 in the hospital, in addition to a $1,600 per-occurrence deductible, is going to add up quickly.
The good news is that we are heading into the annual Medicare election period and you can pick new coverage options and plans for 2023 that can cap your out-of-pocket expenses and even add in additional benefits that work for you and your family. Copays and deductibles can become overwhelming and it’s a great time to speak to a licensed insurance broker to discuss your current coverage plan and whether a Medicare supplement might offer you increased financial protection.