Medicare Part D prescription drug plan premiums will hold flat at $32.50 a month in 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on Wednesday, despite ballooning costs for the federal program.
"Seniors and people with disabilities are continuing to benefit from stable prescription drug premiums and a competitive and transparent marketplace for Medicare drug plans," acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt said in the announcement. "While this is good news, we must ensure that Medicare Part D remains affordable for Medicare beneficiaries so that they can have access to the prescription drugs that they need."
[Also: CMS spent $103 billion on Medicare Part D in 2013, $2.5 billion on Nexium]
Medicare Part D costs on a per capita basis grew by 11 percent in 2014, driven by pricey new specialty drugs. On Tuesday, CMS said it predicted a 5.8 growth in national health care spending through 2024, also attributing the forecast to expensive pharmaceuticals.
CMS also said the Medicare Trust Fund that pays for the program has enough funding to run through 2030, another factor for keeping Part D premiums flat. The program's premiums have been between $30 and $32 a month since 2011.
The 2016 projection is based on bids submitted by drug and health plans for basic Part D drug coverage, calculated by the CMS Office of the Actuary.
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