Medicare participants get early view of 2024 increase

Medicare participants waiting to hear how much their premiums would increase next year learned their fate early this year.

On Thursday, the more than 66 million people enrolled in Medicare were informed about their Medicare Part B premiums, which are usually deducted from Social Security benefits. Generally the adjustment announcement is made in mid- to late November, but it arrived a month early this year.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $174.70 in 2024, an increase of $9.80 from $164.90 in 2023. The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $240 next year, an increase of $14 from the annual deductible of $226 this year, according to the CMS.

Higher-income Medicare beneficiaries will pay even more next year. In 2024, individuals with modified adjusted gross income of $103,000 or more and married couples with MAGIs of $206,000 or more will pay additional surcharges ranging from an extra $69.90 per month to an extra $419.30 per month on top of the standard Part B premium. Married couples where both spouses are enrolled in Medicare pay twice as much.

High-income surcharges for 2024, known as income-related monthly adjustment amounts or IRMAA, are based on income reported on 2022 federal tax returns. About 8% of Medicare beneficiaries pay IRMAA surcharges.

High-income retirees are also subject to monthly surcharges on their Medicare prescription drug plans, ranging from an extra $12.90 per month to an extra $81 per month per person on top of the monthly premium. Medicare drug plans are run by private insurers, and premiums vary widely.

The CMS says the increases in the 2024 Part B standard premium and deductible are primarily a result of projected increases in health care spending and, to a lesser extent, a result of the 340B drug payment policy for the 2018-2022 period under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System.

Also Thursday, the Social Security Administration said its cost-of-living adjustment would be 3.2% in 2024, down from the 8.75% COLA this year. That amounts to an average increase of $50 a month for the 66 million people who receive Social Security, plus the 7.5 million who get Supplemental Security Income.