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Medicare premiums to rise in 2010
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Medicare premiums will rise in 2010 to $110.15 a month, a 15 percent rise in Medicare Part B's cost for qualified individuals earning less less than $85.000 a year ($170,000 for couples), according to government officials.
The rise in premiums will affect nearly 12 million people, or 27 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries. The remaining 73 percent of beneficiaries will not face rising premiums because federal law prevents Medicare premiums to go up more than Social Security benefits. Just last week Social Security officials announced that payments would not go up because inflation has remained low and hasn't made a significant increase in the cost of living.
Yet, the overall rise in premiums is glaring indication of how fast skyrocketing health care costs are affecting the pocketbooks of everyday Americans as new Medicare beneficiaries who sign up for the government-run health plan next year will be forced to pay the new premiums. Also, higher income beneficiaries will see a significant rise in their premiums in an effort to keep Medicare less reliant on general federal funding.
Medicare officials as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are using the projected increase as additional incentive for Congress to enact health care legislation to stave off rising cots.
"The Administration continues to urge Congressional action that would protect all beneficiaries from higher Part B premiums and eliminate the inequity of a high premium for the remaining 27 percent of beneficiaries," the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services said in a statement on Oct. 16.
Sebelius also urged Congress today to take action so that America's seniors don't feel the "substantial increase" in their premiums.
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