Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare Raises Part B Deductibles $19, Sets Premium Increases For Some Beneficiaries
The Associated Press: Medicare Announces 'Part B' Premiums For Outpatient Care
Most Medicare beneficiaries will keep paying the same monthly premium for outpatient care next year, the Obama administration said Tuesday. But new beneficiaries will pay a larger amount, and upper-income retirees are looking at considerably higher charges. Separately, all beneficiaries face a $19 increase in the Part B deductible — the amount they pay for outpatient care each year before Medicare kicks in. That's rising to $166 next year, from the current $147 — the first such increase since 2013. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/10)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Seniors Shopping For Private Medicare Have Many New Choices
The financial pain of a two-week hospital stay 15 years ago for a heart ailment gives Patricia Johnstone a sharp focus when she shops for private Medicare insurance. "The hospital is the main thing I'm concerned about," said Johnstone, 75, who with her husband, Robert, attended a Health Partners Plans information session last week at the Wegmans market in Collegeville. ... The Johnstones felt good about their current plan, which has a $400 co-pay per stay of any length. Still, with no Social Security benefit increase next year, "it's good to shop around," said Robert Johnstone. Open enrollment for Medicare Advantage - under which the federal government pays private firms a per-member monthly fee to insure Medicare beneficiaries - runs until Dec. 7 for plans that will take effect Jan. 1. (Brubaker, 11/10)
