The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $96.40 in 2009, the same as the Part B premium for 2008, the Centers for Medicare& Medicaid announced Friday.
This is the first year since 2000 that there was no increase in the standard premium over the prior year and it is the same as the amount projected in the 2008 Medicare Trustees Report issued in March.
By law, the standard premium is set to cover approximately one-fourth of the average cost of Part B services incurred by beneficiaries aged 65 and over. The remaining Part B costs are financed by federal general revenues. The income to the program from premiums and general revenues are paid into the Part B account of the Supplementary Medical Insurance trust fund, and Part B expenditures are drawn from this account.
As required in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, beginning in 2007 the Part B premium a beneficiary pays each month is based on his or her annual income.
The monthly premium paid by beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part B covers a portion of the cost of physicians' services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and other items.
According to officials, growth is expected in 2009 for most areas of the Medicare Part B program, including growth in the cost and use of physician and outpatient hospital care, home health services, physician-administered drugs, ambulatory surgical center services, durable medical equipment, independent lab and physician's office lab services, as well as growth in the Medicare Advantage program.
CMS said that in most years, such growth would result in the need for an increase in the Part B premium and general revenue financing. The effect of higher expected Part B costs in 2009, however, is offset by a substantial reduction in the premium "margin" needed to maintain an adequate contingency reserve in the Part B trust fund account.
According to CMS, in 2009, the Part B deductible will be $135, the same as it was in 2008, and the Part A deductible will be $1,068, an increase of $44 from $1024 in 2008. Medicare Part A pays for inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice, and certain home healthcare services.
The Part A deductible is the beneficiary's only cost for up to 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period. Beneficiaries must pay an additional $267 per day for days 61 through 90 in 2009, and $534 per day for "lifetime reserve days" that can be used for hospital stays beyond the 90th day in a benefit period. The corresponding amounts for calendar year 2008 are $256 and $512, respectively. Daily coinsurance for the 21st through the 100th day in a skilled nursing facility will be $133.50 in 2009, up from $128 in 2008.
Approximately 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries do not have to pay a premium for Part A services because they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment. However, other seniors and certain people under age 65 with disabilities who have fewer than 30 quarters of coverage may obtain Part A coverage by paying a monthly premium set according to a statutory formula. This premium will be $443 per month for 2009, an increase of $20 from 2008. Those with 30 to 39 quarters of coverage will pay a premium of $244 in 2009, compared with $233 in 2008.