There are many websites that can help you take care of your health:
Comparison Chart for Medicare Part D plans
Nursing Home Compare-a way to compare differences between nursing homes
CMS ANNOUNCES MEDICARE PREMIUMS, DEDUCTIBLES FOR 2010
Most Medicare beneficiaries will not see a Part B monthly premium increase as a result of a “hold harmless” provision in the current law. This allows for 73 percent of beneficiaries to be protected from an increase raising the 2010 Part B monthly premiums from $96.40 to $110.50. The Administration continues to urge Congressional action that would protect all beneficiaries from higher Part B premiums and eliminate the inequity of a high premium for the remaining 27 percent of beneficiaries.
By law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is required to announce the Part A deductibles and Part B premium amount – a notice that is published annually in the Federal Register.
Under the Medicare 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. This 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.
In calculating the monthly Part B premium each year, the CMS Office of the Actuary includes a contingency margin to provide for possible variation between actual and projected costs. The size of the contingency margin estimated to be needed for 2010 is affected by two main factors.
First, the current law formula for physician fees, which will result in a reduction in physician fees of approximately 21 percent in 2010 and is projected to cause additional reductions in subsequent years, is one factor affecting the 2010 contingency margin. For each year from 2003 through 2009, Congress has acted to prevent physician fee reductions from occurring.
In recognition of the strong possibility of increases in Part B expenditures that would result from similar legislation to override the decreases in physician fees in 2010 or later years, it is appropriate to maintain a significantly larger Part B contingency reserve than would otherwise be necessary. The asset level projected for the end of 2009 is not adequate to accommodate this contingency.
Second, the Social Security Administration announced there would be no increase in Social Security benefits for 2010. As a result of the hold-harmless provision, the increase in the Part B premium for 2010 will be paid by only a small percentage of Part B enrollees. Most Part B enrollees will pay the same monthly premium that they paid in 2009 ($96.40 was the 2009 standard monthly premium).
Approximately 27 percent of beneficiaries are not subject to the hold-harmless provision because they are new enrollees during the year (3 percent), they are subject to the income-related additional premium amount (5 percent), they do not have their Part B premiums withheld from social security benefit payments (19 percent), including those who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid and have their Part B premiums paid on their behalf by Medicaid (17 percent).
As required in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), beginning in 2007 the Part B premium a beneficiary pays each month is based on his or her annual income. Specifically, if a beneficiary’s “modified adjusted gross income” is greater than the legislated threshold amounts ($85,000 in 2010 for a beneficiary filing an individual income tax return or married and filing a separate return, and $170,000 for a beneficiary filing a joint tax return) the beneficiary is responsible for a larger portion of the estimated total cost of Part B benefit coverage. In addition to the standard 25 percent premium, such beneficiaries now pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount. These income-related Part B premiums were phased-in over three years, beginning in 2007. About 5 percent of current Part B enrollees are expected to be subject to the higher premium amounts
The 2010 Part B monthly premium rates to be paid by beneficiaries who file an individual tax return (including those who are single, head of household, qualifying widow(er) with dependent child, or married filing separately who lived apart from their spouse for the entire taxable year), or who file a joint tax return are:
Beneficiaries who file an individual tax return with income: |
Beneficiaries who file a joint tax return with income: |
Income-related monthly adjustment amount |
Total monthly premium amount |
Less than or equal to $85,000 |
Less than or equal to $170,000 |
$0.00 |
$110.50 |
Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to $107,000 |
Greater than $170,000 and less than or equal to $214,000 |
$44.20 |
$154.70 |
Greater than $107,000 and less than or equal to $160,000 |
Greater than $214,000 and less than or equal to $320,000 |
$110.50 |
$221.00 |
Greater than $160,000 and less than or equal to $214,000 |
Greater than $320,000 and less than or equal to $428,000 |
$176.80 |
$287.30 |
Greater than $214,000 |
Greater than $428,000 |
$243.10 |
$353.60 |
In addition, the monthly premium rates to be paid by beneficiaries who are married, but file a separate return from their spouse and lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year are:
Beneficiaries who are married but file a separate tax return from their spouse: |
Income-related monthly adjustment amount |
Total monthly premium amount |
Less than or equal to $85,000 |
$0.00 |
$110.50 |
Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to $129,000 |
$176.80 |
$287.30 |
Greater than $129,000 |
$243.10 |
$353.60 |
Part B Deductible
The Part B deductible was increased to $110 in 2005 and, as a result of the Medicare Modernization Act, is currently indexed to the annual percentage increase in the Part B actuarial rate for aged beneficiaries. In 2010, the Part B deductible will be $155.
Part A Premium and Deductible
Today, CMS is also announcing the Part A deductible and premium for 2010. Medicare Part A pays for inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice, and certain home health care services. The $1,100 deductible for 2010, paid by the beneficiary when admitted as a hospital inpatient, is an increase of $32 from $1,068 in 2009. Beneficiaries must pay an additional $275 per day for days 61 through 90 in 2010, and $550 for lifetime reserve days. The corresponding amounts in 2009 are $267 and $534, respectively. Daily coinsurance for the 21st through 100th day in a skilled nursing facility will be $137.50 in 2010, up from $133.50 in 2009.
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 (or are the spouse or widow(er) of such a person). 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 $461 per month for 2010, an increase of $18 from 2009. A reduced premium applies in the case of individuals with 30 to 39 quarters of coverage, who will pay a premium of $254 in 2010, compared to $244 in 2009.
ENHANCED ONLINE TOOLS MAKE COMPARING MEDICARE’S 2010 PRESCRIPTION DRUG AND HEALTH PLAN OPTIONS EASIER
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that people with Medicare and family members can begin to review their 2010 coverage options through Medicare’s improved online tools. Beneficiaries will find several new enhancements on the Medicare Health Options Compare and Prescription Drug Plan Finder located at www.medicare.gov.
Improvements to the plan ratings, search features and plan coverage descriptions will make it easier for beneficiaries to compare their drug and health plan coverage for 2010. Beneficiaries will be able to make changes to their Medicare health and drug coverage during the annual enrollment period, which begins on Nov. 15, and ends Dec. 31.
“Prescription drug and health plans change each year as do each beneficiary’s individual coverage needs, so we are encouraging all people with Medicare to take advantage of the 2010 enhanced online tools and review their coverage options,” said Nancy B. O’Connor, Regional Administrator, CMS Region 3.
“The 2010 tools will make it easier for beneficiaries and all of our partners to get the information they need about plan options for the coming year. Beneficiaries who wish to enroll for the first time or change their coverage for 2010 should do so by early December to ensure a smooth transition in the new plan year,” she added.
Medicare has offered consumer information on prescription drug coverage since 2005. Last year, CMS’ 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) toll-free customer service representatives handled 3.9 million calls during the annual open enrollment period. During this same period, the Plan Finder Web tool received more than 31 million page views and logged over 680,000 online enrollments, a 32 percent increase over the previous year.
The enhanced 2010 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder and Medicare Options Compare tools continue to allow beneficiaries to view the premiums, benefits and cost-sharing requirements for the drug and health plans available in their area. Beneficiaries will find several important improvements in this year’s tools, including:
· Improved Plan Ratings Comparisons -- Allows people to compare all available Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to the Fee-for-Service (FFS) plan in their local area on a number of quality measures. People with Medicare, their families and caregivers can also compare the 2010 plan measures with previous year’s reporting.
· Plan Name/ID Search – Beneficiaries can search by name and/or ID to quickly locate a plan for which they are interested.
· Display of Cost Ranges and Plan Types -- This fall, the Plan Finder will allow beneficiaries to search plans by cost and plan type, e.g., basic plans or plans with extra benefits. This search feature gives beneficiaries a better understanding of how similarly priced plans compare.
· New Alert Systems—New “out of network” and “formulary restriction” indicators which alert beneficiaries when a particular pharmacy is not included within a plan’s network, or when their medications are off-formulary or have a drug restriction such as a prior authorization, quantity limits, or step therapy.
For people currently enrolled in Medicare prescription drug or health plans under sanctions (a federal review process and not able to enroll new members) only you or a trusted caregiver, family member or counselor can view the sanction plan’s drug pricing and other information, such as copays and tier levels, to assist in comparing plan selections for the 2010 benefit year.
As an additional protection for other beneficiaries, the Plan Finder and Medicare Options Care tools will not allow people that are not currently enrolled in these sanctioned plans to see any additional enrollment details; only plan name identifiers will be listed and all other information fields will display “Information not available” and will carry distinctions that these sanctioned Medicare plans are “not accepting enrollments at this time.”
All Plan Finder and Medicare Options Compare users will be able to see plan benefits, drug pricing and other important information on more than 4,000 plan options that are available for open enrollment.
People without Web access can get the same information provided by the online plan comparison tools by calling 1-800 MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or by contacting their local State Health Insurance Assistance Program office (http://www.medicare.gov/Contacts/staticpages/ships.aspx) or other health advocacy agencies for free personalized counseling. Medicare’s customer service is available 24-hours a day and 7 days a week. English and Spanish-language customer service representatives are available. Translation services are available in additional languages and a TDD service is offered for the hearing impaired.
A 2010 Medicare & You handbook, also available on www.Medicare.gov, will be mailed to the homes of all eligible beneficiaries this month. This publication provides all plan option information that is available using the Web tools.