In our last post we discussed Medicare Advantage Plans.

Today we will discuss what you will pay for your Medicare Coverage

What will you pay for your Medicare coverage?

Original Medicare

Most people age 65 or older are eligible for free Medicare hospital insurance (Part A) if they have worked and paid Medicare taxes long enough.

You can enroll in Medicare medical insurance (Part B) by paying a monthly premium. Some beneficiaries with higher incomes will pay a higher monthly Part B premium.

Part A: You usually don’t pay a monthly premium for Part A coverage if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while working for a certain amount of time. This is sometimes called premium-free Part A. If you aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A, you may be able to buy Part A.

Part B: Most people will pay the standard premium amount ($174.70 for year 2024) for Part B each month. The amount you pay can change each year depending on your income.

Under Original Medicare, if the Part B deductible applies you must pay all costs until you meet the yearly Part B deductible before Medicare begins to pay its share.

Part D: Most drug plans charge a monthly fee that varies by plan. You pay this in addition to the Part B premium. Some drug plans have a deductible.

This is the amount you must pay before your drug plan begins to pay its share of your covered drugs. After you pay your deductible (if your plan has one), you pay a copayment or coinsurance for your covered prescriptions. You pay your share and your drug plan pays its share for covered drugs. These amounts may vary.

Medicare Supplements

Original Medicare pays for much, but not all, of the cost for covered health care services and supplies. These are “gaps” in Medicare coverage. 

You’ll have to pay premiums for a Medicare Supplement policy. If you have Original Medicare and a Medicare Supplement policy, Medicare will pay its share of the Medicare approved amounts for covered health care costs. Then your Medicare Supplement policy pays its share.  

Medicare Advantage

                        
Each year, plans set the amounts they charge for premiums, deductibles, and services. The plan (rather than Medicare) decides how much you pay for the covered services you get. What you pay the plan may change only once a year, on January 1.

This concludes our introduction on what you will pay for Medicare coverage. I hope this was helpful. 

Next up we will discuss Medicare VS Medicare Advantage Plans. 

We have already reviewed the items in one of our previous posts, however now that we have introduced the concepts this is a good time to distinguish the differences.

Have questions in the meantime??  Drop me a line, text or give me a call.