Premiums, deductibles, and copays will be higher — Medicare changes for 2022

Initial Medicare costs are going up

Original Medicare includes Part A and Part B. A separate Medicare drug plan, called Part D, is also available. Here’s how deductibles, premiums, and premiums will change in 2022:

Medicare Part A (hospital insurance)

Although most Medicare beneficiaries do not pay premiums for Medicare Part A, workers will see higher costs, paying $499 a month in 2022, up from $471 a month in 2021. This premium applies to you if you’ve worked and paid your Medicare taxes within 30 precious. If you’ve worked and paid Medicare taxes for 30 to 39 quarters, you’ll pay $274 a month for Part A in 2022, up from $259 in 2021. If you’ve paid Medicare taxes for 40 or more quarters , you will not owe the premium .

The Part A inpatient hospital deductible is increasing to $1,556 in 2022 for each benefit period, up from $1,484 in 2021. Coinsurance is also increasing as follows:

• Hospitalization from day 1 to day 60: Members pay $0 coinsurance per benefit period.

• Hospitalization days 61 to 90: Members pay $389 coinsurance per day for each benefit period, up from $371 in 2021.

• Hospitalization days 91 or more: Members pay $778 coinsurance for each “lifetime reserve day” after 90 days for each benefit period, up from $742 in 2021. Members receive up to 60 lifetime reserve days during their lifetime. their life.

Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance will remain $0 for days 1 through 20 for each benefit period and will be $194.50 per day for days 21 to 100 of each benefit period in 2022, up from $185.50 per day in 2021.

Medicare Part B (medical insurance)

All Medicare members pay a Part B premium, and that amount will increase to $170.10 per month in 2022, up from $148.50 in 2021. You can pay higher premiums , depending on his income. For example, individual filers with revised adjusted gross income of more than $91,000 (or joint filers with revised adjusted gross income of more than $182,000) will pay an additional $68 up to $408.20 per month on Medicare Part B Insurance.

The Part B deductible is growing to $233 in 2022, up from $203 in 2021. When you meet your deductible, you’ll generally pay 20% of Medicare-approved costs for Part B services.

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Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage)

medium Medicare Part EASY premiums in 2022 will be $33 per month, compared with $31.47 in 2021. Higher earners will pay more: Individual filers with adjusted gross income amendments greater than $91,000 (or joint filers with adjusted gross income of more than $182,000) will pay an additional $12.40 to $77.90 per month on top of Part D’s premium surname.

Higher Medicare Advantage plan ratings

Medicare Advantage is a package alternative to Original Medicare that includes all of the averages of Medicare Part A, Part B, and often Part D. Medicare Advantage plans, also known as Medicare Part C, usually include Additional benefits, such as some help with dental expenses, vision and hearing care, fitness membership, over-the-counter allowance and meal provision.

Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services assigns each Medicare Advantage plan a star rating, ranking each plan from best (5 stars) to worst (1 star). These ratings are based on plans’ quality of care and customer satisfaction measurements, and these ratings are subject to change annually.

In 2022, the average star rating for Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans is 4.37, compared with 4.06 in 2021. In fact, 68% of Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage. prescription received an overall rating of 4 stars or more for 2022, up from 49% in 2021, according to CMS.

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Lower Medicare Advantage premiums

The average premium in 2022 for Medicare Advantage plans will be $19 per month, compared with $21.22 in 2021. (Note: Medicare Advantage members are still responsible for paying premiums. monthly Medicare Part B, is $170.10 in 2022.)

More people to enroll in Medicare Advantage are expected by 2022: CMS estimates 29.5 million enrollees, compared with 26.9 million in 2021.

There are 3,834 Medicare Advantage plans available in 2022, up 8% from 2021. Of the 2022 plans, 59% are health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, plans, and 37% are organizations preferred provider organization, or PPO, programs.

Change of plans

Changes you make to Medicare open enrollment will take effect January 1. During this open enrollment period from October 15 to December 7, you can switch from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage, or vice versa, or switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.

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If you discover that you made a mistake in your plan choice after your enrollment period ends, Medicare Advantage has an open enrollment period from January 1 to March 31. During this time, you can do the following:

• Switch Medicare Advantage plans.

• Back to Original Medicare, with the option to join a Part D prescription drug plan.

During a Medicare Advantage open enrollment period, you cannot switch to a Medicare Advantage plan if you are already enrolled in Original Medicare. Also, if you go back to Original Medicare, you may not be able to purchase a Medigap policy. Your coverage will begin the first day of the month after you request a change of plan.

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Kate Ashford writes for NerdWallet. Email: kashford@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kateashford.