Medicare Lowers Premiums for the First Time in a While
(AmericanProsperity.com) – There’s good news on the horizon for Americans who rely on Medicare. President Joe Biden officially announced at a recent appearance in the Rose Garden a shortlist of changes to the coverage program for 2023 that aim to make healthcare more affordable. The ambitious adjustments start with a 3% reduction in Medicare Part B premiums for the upcoming year.
Medicare Part B premiums to decrease for the first time in over a decade https://t.co/lw9MUicqMG pic.twitter.com/PGPRC3G7Zb
— The Hill (@thehill) September 27, 2022
The commander in chief also revealed that the government plans to give Medicare more power to control prescription drug prices in 2023. Seniors will benefit the most from this change with a new total out-of-pocket payment cap of $2,000 per calendar year. The limitation will apply to all available prescriptions including costly cancer drugs.
Medicare recipients with diabetes will also now pay less for insulin. The program will cap costs for the drug at a maximum of $35 per month per prescription. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, seniors spent an average of $54 out of pocket per prescription in 2020, a 39% increase since 2007.
A statement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) clarifies these reductions, provides exact numbers, and also reveals a number of other beneficial upcoming changes. In addition to paying $5.20 less for Part B premiums per month, the total annual deductible will fall by $7 to $226.
Medicare Part A & Part B premiums, deductibles and coinsurance amounts for 2023 were released today. Good news! In 2023, the standard monthly premium for Part B will decrease to $164.90 and the annual deductible will also decrease to $226. https://t.co/m3Gyt64Y6Y pic.twitter.com/hzwNShhdFW
— Medicare.gov (@MedicareGov) September 27, 2022
During his Rose Garden appearance, President Biden claimed the shift toward greater affordability was a response to skyrocketing drug prices. “This year, the American people won,” he explained, “…and Big Pharma lost.”
The CMS’s statement also claims that lower-than-projected spending on Alzheimer’s drugs and other miscellaneous Part B expenditures in 2022 helped facilitate the upcoming changes. The unexpected windfall left a large financial reserve within the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. The government was able to tap these reserves to help lower premiums for the upcoming year.
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