Medicare increases for 2027

Notes from Kiplinger's on the 2027 Medicare increases

https://hwww.kiplinger.com/retirement/medicare/medicare-2027-how-much-premiums-are-set-to-rise

"Medicare premiums are set to rise again for 2027. The latest Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report (page 207) estimates that Part B premiums will climb 3.5% in 2027, reaching $209.50 per month, up $6.60 from 2026. While another price hike is never good news for retirees, the increase is a relief compared to the almost 10% spike experienced in 2026.

Unlike Part B, Medicare Part D is sold through private insurance companies, either as a standalone drug plan alongside traditional Medicare or as part of a Medicare Advantage policy.

Because individual plan costs vary, the average premium enrollees pay is typically lower than the base beneficiary premium. According to the latest Trustees Report, the Part D base premium is projected to reach $41.33 per month in 2027.

Medicare Part B pays for doctor visits, outpatient care and some home healthcare. When enrolled, you pay both a deductible and a monthly premium. For 2027, the premium is currently projected to rise 3.5% to $209.50, up $6.60 from $202.90 in 2025.

The Part B deductible is projected to reach $292 in 2027, a $9.00 increase from $283.00 in the previous year. On a percentage basis, it's an increase of 3.2%, in line with the estimated increase of the Part B premium.

The projected Part B increase impact on Social Security benefits

The 2027 Social Security COLA is projected to rise 3.8%, after accounting for the June CPI. In terms of dollars, if implemented now, that would translate into an increase of $79.14 per month or $949.68 per year, when using the average Social Security check amount for May 2026 ($2,082.76) as the base amount.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) automatically deducts the Part B premium cost from the Social Security benefits of most Medicare recipients. For 2027, the average Social Security check would fall from $79.14 to $72.54, subtracting the projected Part B increase ($6.60) from the projected COLA raise (79.14). In that scenario, the Part B increase would consume approximately 8.3% of the monthly increase.

Understanding Medicare Part D premiums

Unlike Part B, there isn't a single "standard" Part D premium, as it varies by plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) establishes a standardized base premium amount used to calculate late enrollment penalties and to determine Part D IRMAA surcharges. For 2027, the base premium is $41.33.

Most final premium and deductible amounts won't be announced until late October or early November; however, most of the Part D amounts have been finalized.

Annual deductible: The standard Part D deductible will increase to $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026. That's a steeper increase than in 2026, when the deductible rose to $615 from $590 in 2025, a $25 increase.

Out-of-pocket spending cap: On a positive note for 2027, Medicare Part D's annual out-of-pocket prescription cap will rise to $2,400, up $300 from the $2,100 limit in 2026. Once beneficiaries reach this cap, they no longer pay out-of-pocket costs for covered prescription drugs for the rest of the year.

Premium protections and stabilization: To shield enrollees from steep rate hikes, the premium stabilization provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) caps annual base beneficiary premium (BBP) growth at 6% yearly through 2029, while limiting how much extra cost plan sponsors can pass along.

While an IRA demonstration program previously stabilized average monthly premiums, CMS scaled back that support in 2026, stating in a memo that reducing federal subsidies is meant to help the Part D program "return to operating under regular market conditions."

Notes from Newsweek

https://www.newsweek.com/medicare-update-new-estimate-of-how-much-premiums-will-increase-12256344

Youngkin to challenge Biden's mandates

Virginia's Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares today [January 7] announced their intent to challenge the unconstitutional vaccine mandate imposed by President Biden’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused heartbreaking health, societal, and economic loss and suffering throughout the Commonwealth and the United States. Our children have experienced severe learning loss and developmental challenges that will last decades, strained and stressed hospital systems are suffering from an historic staffing crisis, and a crippled supply chain has driven up Virginians’ cost of living.

“Instead of supporting state and local governments’ efforts to protect the lives and livelihoods of their citizens, the Biden administration has resorted to unlawful vaccine mandates that force hardworking Virginians to walk away from their paychecks. President Biden's CMS mandate ignores the hospital systems' long-established policies designed to keep staff and patients safe and threatens the tenure of essential medical personnel at a time when staffing shortages threaten the health and safety of Virginians. 

“While we believe that the vaccine is a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19, we strongly believe that the Federal government cannot impose its will and restrict the freedoms of Americans and that Virginia is at its best when her people are allowed to make the best decisions for their families or businesses.

“After the January 15th inauguration, the Commonwealth of Virginia will quickly move to protect Virginians’ freedoms and challenge President Biden’s unlawful CMS, OSHA, and Head Start vaccine mandates. Removing some of the staffing barriers to our hospitals, will provide much needed relief for our overworked medical professionals."

My health insurance

My health insurer is the largest in the nation--CMS. Haven't heard of them? It has been in the news a lot--often with scandals, over charges, out of control costs, and incompetency. Its owners are constantly in hot water for unexplained cost increases. Just last week I got a "This is not a bill" for my 2010 flu shot. Its owner is seeking a massive expansion through it's other health plans so it can put the competition out of business by first cutting costs and expanding coverage, then by raising costs when there are no options left. Here's it's full name in case you don't recognize the acronym. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

In a 2009 study by Kaiser Family Foundation , the average household on Medicare spent 14.1% of its income on health care, compared to 4.3% spent by non-Medicare households. Of this amount, 62.9% went to premiums for Part B, Part D, and Medigap, 18.1% goes to prescription drugs, 15.3% to medical services, and 3.8% to medical supplies. Out-of-pocket spending for Medicare beneficiaries grew from 11.9% of income in 1997 to 16.1% in 2005, in spite of the advent of Medicare Part D.
Medicaid and CHIP Provide Health Coverage to nearly 60 million Americans
Fraud and Abuse in Medicare
"In the latest effort to enlist seniors in the fight against Medicare fraud, federal officials have overhauled Medicare billing statements to make it easier to find bogus charges without a magnifying glass." Washington Post, March 6, 2012

Ophthalmologist

On October 17 I notified the CMS that it had misspelled ophthalmologist on the web page about glaucoma. No one replied, and it hasn't been corrected as of today (October 27, 2010). I guess they are too busy planning the next Obamacare bill.

https://www.cms.gov/GlaucomaScreening/

Who will you believe?

Losing private coverage, cost increases, rationed care, doctors fleeing the field--it’s all there in Obamacare. Why would we want this? What were we promised during the 2008 campaign and since January 20? It hardly matters, does it? Go back and look it up, but it was all Lies. It was all lies. Our representatives have failed us by not reading their bill and then demeaning the outrage of the voters who did read it; our senators might as well be employees of the lobbyists and special interests. We were told the “system” was broken even though over 80% were satisfied with their employer or private based health insurance. In Europe about that many are dissatisfied or think their government plan is broken!

What to think when government agencies have different agendas? The White House Council of Economic Advisors says something completely different than the CBO and the CMMS. The new "fat cat" Obama attacks on the banks is just to take your eye off health care ball/bill, which is probably a ruse to take your eye off the economy busting cap and trade plan, which is probably a deception to confuse you about the complete take over through various regulations, laws and loss of freedoms of everything we thought we had in this country.

Robert Creamer, the Illinois convicted felon who wrote this plan, must be rubbing his hands with glee, a witch over a caldron, "Well my pretties, Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air." Indeed.

The unintended consequences of pro-active medical care

Name the disease or condition, and early diagnosis and treatment can reduce poor outcomes. Who knows what could happen in health care if patients heeded the advice on diet, exercise and smoking? Yes, who knows. Actually, we do know. Longer life resulting in higher Medicare and Medicaid costs further down the road. Another outcome we know about because it has already happened, is fewer primary care physicians. The expanding menu of interventions, screening tests, vaccines and devices has dramatically increased the work of patient care for all medical specialties, but particularly the guy who's going to make the decision when you complain of feeling poorly, according to JAMA Commentary, November 21, Vol. 298, no. 19.

"Providing all recommended preventive services to a panel of 2500 patients could require up to 7.5 hours a day of physician time; generalists report that roughly 4 separate problems are addressed at each office visit for those older than 65, and even more for those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes," writes John D. Goodson.

The workload is overwhelming and the reimbursement levels for primary care physicians favor the interventions and more expensive care which in turn passes the patient on to specialists. Now, if you were in med school (or paying for your child to go to med school), looking down the road at even more interference by the federal government, and higher insurance costs, would you choose family medicine or pediatrics, or would you head for the safer and richer green pastures of a specialty? Goodson reports that first-year internal medicine residents who express an interest in general internal medicine are less than 20%, but only about half of those will remain committed to this area.

Goodson goes on to recommend higher compensation by the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services), the federal agency that determines how doctors will be paid. If this problem isn't corrected, a large portion of the population will lose access to personal care (or any care). Imagine. The government creates a problem with layers of bureaucracy and regulations (low reimubursement for general care) and is then expected to fix it (with more layers, studies, panels and commissions).

The perfect storm of immigrants flooding the country needing massive social services, to mix with a growing cloud of aging baby boomers who demand only the best. Katrina anyone?

Don't you just love it

when "easy to use" technology sites for non-technical folks like me are so filled with jargon you haven't a clue what they do?

Caravel is a enterprise-level Content Management System with an intuitive user interface, designed to allow non-technical users to maintain website content. Caravel allows admins to centrally maintain thousands of sites off one code-base.

Gobbledegook.