Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Next Year's Medicare Part B Premiums Will Drop 3%
The Hill: Medicare Part B Premiums To Decrease For The First Time In Over A Decade
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that Medicare Part B premiums will decrease in 2023, marking the first time this cost has been lowered in more than a decade. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare Part B premiums would be lowered by three percent, or $5.20, going from $170.10 a month to $164.90. The program’s annual deductible will also fall by $7, from $233 to $226. (Choi, 9/27)
AP: Millions Of Americans Will Save On Medicare Fees Next Year
The rare 3% decrease in monthly premiums is likely to be coupled with a historically high cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits — perhaps 9% or 10% — putting hundreds of dollars directly into the pockets of millions of people. “That’s something we may never see again in the rest of our lives,” said Mary Johnson, the Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League. “That can really be used to pay off credit cards, to restock pantries that have gotten low because people can’t afford to buy as much today as they did a year ago and do some long-postponed repairs to homes and cars.” (Seitz, 9/27)
Bloomberg: Medicare Premiums Cut After Lower Than Forecast Drug Spending
In his remarks, Biden also touted measures to curb costs in Democrats’ massive health, tax and climate package, in particular allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time, calling it “a godsend to many families.” The law also capped the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries, but Republicans blocked a provision that would have extended the cost cap to private insurance. Republicans uniformly opposed the Inflation Reduction Act that introduced those measures in the House and Senate. (Tozzi and Fabian, 9/27)
Reuters: Biden Medicare Costs Victory Due Mostly To Alzheimer's Drug Change
The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which runs the Medicare health plan, said on Tuesday the bulk of the drop comes from its limiting coverage of Biogen Inc's Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm to patients in clinical trials. "The 2022 premium included a contingency margin to cover projected Part B spending for a new drug, Aduhelm. Lower-than-projected spending on both Aduhelm and other Part B items and services resulted in much larger reserves," the agency said. (Aboulenein, 9/27)
In related news about Medicare coverage —
The New York Times: Biden Says Social Security Is On ‘Chopping Block’ If Republicans Win Congress
President Biden warned on Tuesday that Republicans posed a threat to Social Security and Medicare, amplifying an effort by Democrats to make the fate of America’s social safety net programs a central campaign issue ahead of November’s midterm elections. The comments were part of a push by Democrats across the country to steer the political conversation away from soaring prices and growing recession fears and remind anxious voters that some Republicans have been calling for restructuring or scaling back entitlement programs that retirees have relied on for decades. (Rappeport, 9/27)
Modern Healthcare: Stopgap Funding Bill Would Extend Medicare Programs For Rural Hospitals
Two Medicare programs that boost rural hospital payments would be temporarily extended as part of a stopgap federal spending bill that advanced past an initial vote in the Senate Tuesday. (Kane and Goldman, 9/27)
