The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B will increase by $9.80 per month in 2024, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
That means the standard monthly premium will go up to $174.70 in 2024, an increase from $164.90 in 2023. The new rate is in line with previous projections by Medicare trustees, which had estimated a $174.80 standard monthly premium for next year.
The annual deductible for Medicare Part B will be $240 in 2024, a $14 increase from the $226 annual deductible in 2023.
The Part B premium and deductible increases are mainly due to projected increases in health care spending, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, some home health care services, durable medical equipment and certain other services not covered by Medicare Part A.
Monthly Part B premium payments are typically deducted directly from Social Security benefit checks. Consequently, the size of Medicare Part B premiums affects just how much of the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustment beneficiaries may see. In 2024, Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2%, the Social Security Administration announced on Thursday, resulting in a retirement benefit increase of more than $50 per month, on average.
One forecast from The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group, had projected the standard monthly Medicare Part B premium could rise by as much as $5 more per month, for a total of $179.80 per month, following the approval of a new Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi.
“We are relieved to learn that the Medicare Part B increase in 2024 won’t be as high as we initially feared,” The Senior Citizens League said in a statement.
High income beneficiaries pay more for Medicare Part B
The rate beneficiaries pay for Medicare Part B is determined by modified adjusted gross income on their federal tax returns.
Those who earn above certain income thresholds pay extra toward their Medicare Part B premiums in what is known as income-related monthly adjustment amounts, or IRMAA.
Income-related monthly adjustment amounts affect roughly 8% of people on Medicare Part B, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In 2024, IRMAA charges will apply to individuals with more than $103,000 and married couples with more than $206,000 in modified adjusted gross income on their 2022 federal tax returns. That is up from $97,000 for individuals and $194,000 for married couples this year.
Costs for Medicare Part A, which covers inpatient hospital care, are also set to go up in 2024.
The Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible, which applies to the first 60 days of care, will go up to $1,632 in 2024, a $32 increase from $1,600 in 2023.
Beneficiaries then pay coinsurance amount of $408 per day, up from $400 in 2023, for the 61st through 90th day of hospitalization. That is followed by $816 per day, up from $800 in 2023, for lifetime reserve days.