CMS announces 2021 Medicare Part B premiums to remain steady
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2021 monthly Medicare Parts A and B premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance amounts in which the Medicare Part B monthly premium remains steady.
This news comes as Medicare Open Enrollment started on Oct. 15, 2020 running through Dec. 7, 2020, and follows the announcement that Medicare Advantage (or private Medicare health plans) and Part D prescription drug plan premiums are at historic lows, with hundreds of Medicare Advantage and Part D plans now offering $35 monthly co-pays for insulin starting in January 2021.
Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and certain other medical and health services not covered by Medicare Part A. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $148.50 in 2021, an increase of $3.90 from $144.60 in 2020. Recent legislation significantly dampens the 2021 Medicare Part B premium increase that would have occurred given the estimated growth in Medicare spending next year. Medicare spending is estimated to grow due to people seeking care they may have delayed during the COVID-19 public health emergency, availability of more COVID-19 treatments, and availability of COVID-19 vaccines (for which CMS recently announced that there would be no out-of-pocket costs for seniors).
CMS also announced that the annual deductible for Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $203 in 2021, an increase of $5 from $198 in 2020.
Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health care services. About 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries do not pay a Part A premium since they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment. The Medicare Part A inpatient deductible that beneficiaries will pay when admitted to the hospital is $1,484 in 2021, an increase of $76 from $1,408 in 2020.
