Is there a decline in Medicare Part B premiums on the horizon?
San Marcos, Escondido, Vista
Patients enrolled in Medicare are eager to find out if there will be a dip in their Part B premiums, yet patience is required as the decision is still pending.
– The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is still in the process of reviewing the Part B premium rates due to adjustments that need to be considered based on events subsequent to the prior year’s premium determination.
– The surcharge in premium costs last year was partly due to expected expenses related to the inclusive coverage of the Alzheimer’s medication Aduhelm.
– Should there be a premium decrease, it might be retrospective for 2023 rather than reflective for 2022.
Over three months have passed since the directive from Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to revisit the current year’s $170.10 standard monthly premium—an increase that turned out more substantial than the $148.50 in 2021. Yet, the timeline for a conclusion and its impact on this year’s beneficiary payments remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, the scenario has shifted.
A few weeks past, CMS representatives said that they would limit Aduhelm coverage only to those participants partaking in clinical trials. Moreover, the annual cost used by actuaries for their prior year’s calculations was halved starting January 1st by the maker Biogen, descending from $56,000 to $28,000.
“The justification for such a significant hike has dissipated,” stated Paul Ginsburg, a health care policy connoisseur and a nonresident senior fellow with the Brookings Institution. “Now, the question at hand is what can be administratively accomplished.”
In the event of a premium reduction, it is feasible that such a cutback could be allocated to 2023 rather than 2022. Historically, reductions in the Part B premium from one year to the next have occurred for different reasons, including statutory modifications to the premium’s computation method.
San Marcos, Escondido, Vista
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