 Personal Finance PowerPoint Presentation Medicare Part B Premium Prepare to get financially fit by practicing personal finance Insurance is part of our long-term risk mitigation strategy where we follow the adage of a major twice cut once putting a formal process in place looking something like setting the goals develop a plan to reach them put the plan in action review the results and repeat the process periodically most of this information can be found at investopedia Medicare Part B Premium which you can find online take a look at the references resources continue your research from there this is by Julia Kagan updated January 28th 2022 so in prior presentations we've been talking about insurance we moved on over to the medical insurance it being a little bit more confusing due to the nation nature of the Medicare process as well as the laws and regulations of it and the related premiums we're now looking at the Medicare Part B specifically and alignments with that insurance discussion so what is Medicare Part B Premium the Medicare Part B Premium is a monthly fee that Medicare beneficiaries pay if they choose to enroll in it to supplement the services available to most seniors for free with Medicare Part A so we talked about Medicare Part A in the past for many people you might be signed up for Medicare Part A for free in essence it's not really free because you've been paying into the system through the payroll taxes for a long time but the sign up process at that point in time at the point in time that you're eligible may be automatically set up and in essence free at that point in time for Part A and now we're considering the Part B specifically the Part B Premium Medicare Part A is hospital insurance it is available primarily to United States citizens and permanent residents age 65 and older most pay no premium for it and once again they don't pay the premium for it because you've been paying into the system as we talked about in prior presentations through the payroll taxes or through the self-employment tax possibly Medicare Part B covers other monthly necessary services and preventative care like doctor services lab tests and outpatient care most pay or flat monthly premiums for it which is adjusted annually so most pay a flat monthly premium for it which is then adjusted on an annual basis or annually there is also a Medicare Part D which covers prescription costs it is available from insurance companies that are approved to offer it there is a Medicare Part C more commonly called Medicare Advantage it is for people who choose to enroll with a private health insurer to get Medicare services plus any additional benefits they choose to pay for understanding Medicare Part B premiums Medicare is a U.S. United States federal health insurance program that is funded by wage tax so in other words it's being taken out of your wages as you are working so when you're working you got the payroll taxes you got your gross wages it's being taken out as payroll taxes so your net wage that you actually received it's been removed and it's been paid on your behalf to the government as well as being matched on the government side or you might be paying with the self-employment tax if you have say a sole proprietorship schedule C type of business so that is the amount labeled as FICA federal income insurance contribution tax so FICA is the overarching kind of grouping that you might see some of the payroll taxes in which might include Social Security and Medicare for example so that's on the standard paycheck so you have to see that on your paycheck step all the money that they're taking for you for FICA taxes so Medicare Part A which is free to most of those who are eligible for coverage again it's not actually free you've been paying for it for 30 years right but at the point in time you get it you're not paying anymore at that point in time so it covers hospital related costs as well as costs for treatment at skilled nursing facilities hospice care and home health care there is an annual deductible for Part A you'll pay a maximum of $1,484 out of pocket in 2021 and $1,556 in 2022 so we talked about those kind of deductibles as we talked about insurance in general and how insurance kind of works in general the Medicare similar to standard type of insurance before you have the Medicare with the deductibles and so on there is a coinsurance payment there is no coinsurance payment unless a hospital stay exceeds 60 days Part B is insurance for outpatient medical care such as doctor visits preventative services ambulance services mental health costs and the cost of durable medical equipment like a jacuzzi or something just kidding maybe a jacuzzi so the standard monthly fee for Part B is $148.50 don't forget that 50 cents in 2021 and $170 $170.10 in 2022 it is higher for Medicare recipients who have higher incomes the annual deductible for Part B is $233 for 2021 and $233 in 2022 in addition the patient pays 1% of the bill as a coinsurance payment so we got the Medicare Part B costs for 2021 so here's the individual married filing jointly married filing separate and monthly fee for 2021 so individuals they got the income thresholds here so you can see that there still is some impact and remember when we're thinking about these programs it used to be before these programs were in place that people would kind of have to say for their own kind of insurance and their own their own costs after retirement then the programs are put in place and it was kind of thought that they were more safety net kind of programs welfare programs for people that need them so that's why these thresholds on income thresholds make sense and more and more they're being thought of as standard benefit programs that people everybody will be participating in generally at some point in time so we're still kind of have some remnants of these two things involved in terms of you know what's the eligibility is it a welfare type of program a safety net program or benefit program ok individuals 88,000 or less married filing jointly 176,000 or less married filing separately 88,000 or less the monthly fee for 2021 $148.50 so for individuals above 88,000 up to 111,000 if you're filing as an individual if you're filing married filing jointly you got the 176,000 up to 222,000 the married filing separately is less common kind of thing if you're married usually you file married filing joint but in any case the premium would be the $207.90 and then individuals above 111,000 dollars up to 138,000 dollars and married people 222,000 to $276,000 the monthly fee 297,000 and then if you're above 138,000 up to 165,000 individual above 276,000 up to 330,000 then it's at the 386,10 and so on and so forth Medicare Part B cost for 2022 you got a similar kind of table and you can see they adjust the amounts for basically like inflation on a yearly basis eligibility for Medicare Part B in general Medicare is available to United States citizens and permanent legal residents who are age 65 or older are under age 65 and have a disability have end stage renal disease ESRD have amatrophic lateral sclerosis also called Lou Gehrig's disease so when you first eligible for Medicare you have a 7 month initial enrollment period to sign up for Part A and or Part B if you're eligible when you turn 65 you can sign up during the 7 month period that starts 3 months before the month you turn 65 includes the month you turn 65 ends 3 months after the month you turn 65 so make it to the window so Medicare Part C Medicare Part C also called Medicare Advantage is offered by private companies approved by Medicare so if you choose to participate in a Medicare Advantage plan the plan provides all of your Part A and Part B coverage and it may provide extra coverage for things like vision, hearing and dental unlike some private health insurance plans most Medicare Advantage plans include Medicare Part D that's the prescription drug coverage so you got to have your drugs and there you would think so now we're going to Medicare Part D Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage is an optional benefit offered to anyone who has Medicare if you choose not to get Medicare Part D coverage when you're first eligible you may owe a late enrollment penalty if you join later so you might want to jump in early and you got to need those prescription drugs and who does it? that's something I'm looking for unless you have had other critical prescription drugs coverage such as that which your employer or spouse's employer may provide so the CARES Act of 2020 on March 27, 2020 President Trump signed into law a $2 trillion coronavirus emergency stimulus package called the CARES coronavirus aid relief economic securities act it expanded Medicare's ability to cover treatment and services for those affected by COVID-19 the CARES Act also increases flexibility for Medicare to cover telehealth services so your doctor can tell you to stick out your tongue like on the camera and then then you have to put something down there to gag yourself so they can watch they can watch you gag yourself on the camera which is, I feel like mainly for their amusement but there might be something they're trying to get from that in any case, authorizes Medicare certification for home health services by physician assistants nurse practitioners and certified nurse specialists increases Medicare payments for COVID-19 related hospital stays and durable medical equipment for Medicaid the CARES Act clarifies that non-expansion states can use the Medicaid program to cover COVID-19 related services for uninsured adults who have qualified for Medicaid if the state had chosen to expand other populations with limited Medicaid coverage are also eligible for coverage under this state option how much does Medicare Part B cost? let's recap this thing up let's put a bow on this thing and sum it up, tie it together everything's in pieces we're going to tie it together people the cost for Medicare Part B is $170.10 per month for an individual in 2022 individuals who earn above $91,000 or twice that for married couples may pay more the sliding scale goes from $238.10 per month to $578.30 the average annual deductible cost for Medicare Part B coverage will be $233 in 2022 the monthly cost of Medicare Part B depends on your income reported two years ago and is adjusted based on tax filing status do I need Medicare Part B? for many people Medicare Part B is worth the extra cost so often times people are going to be in Part A maybe automatically and then they're going to sign up for Part B probably maybe possibly a good idea for most for a lot of people if you're looking for an ambulance for ambulance services I'd like to be covered if I have an ambulance routine and non-routine doctor visits so I might need more of those after I get over a certain age lab tests I don't like going to those but if I need to get a lab test and I'd like it to be covered and medical equipment like my jacuzzi maybe that's probably not covered but medical equipment might be covered that'd be nice if not covered by insurance these costs could add up to a giant bill so that's why they're kind of recommending Part B I think most people probably would so what are four parts of Medicare the four parts of Medicare include the following you got Part A ensures for the cost of hospitalization and hospital treatment most eligible seniors get this for free it's not for free it drives me crazy but yeah you're not paying anything at the time you get it you've only been paying for it for the last 40 years but whatever and your employer's been paying for it and the current workers that are currently paying into the system are paying for it but okay Part B is optional and covers medically necessarily outpatient services and care this has a monthly premium of $170.10 for most individuals as of 2022 Part C is also called Medicare Advantage Plan this is for people who want a private insurance company to administer all of their medical services you can choose your own provider and you have the option to pay for services above and beyond medical coverage all the way into space above and beyond just like that just like that cartoon character space and beyond or something any case Part D is optional coverage for prescription medical and is available for private insurance companies if you have a Medicare Advantage Plan Part C that is if you don't know the lingo we're getting straight here you can add Part D coverage to it or you can buy it separately