Medicare Part A Costs in 2022 and 2023
Part A covers inpatient hospitalization, skilled nursing facilities, home health care, and hospice care. For most people, this works well because Medicare Part A generally doesn’t charge a premium. This doesn’t mean that you’re not charged a deductible. For each benefit period, you pay the first $1,556 in 2022, increasing to $1,600 in 2023. A benefit period begins when you enter the hospital. It ends when you haven’t received any inpatient hospital services for 60 consecutive days. You’re responsible for the first $1,556 of charges if you’re hospitalized in 2022 or $1,600 in 2023, and again if you re-enter the hospital the day after your benefit period ends. Part A also charges coinsurance if your hospital stay lasts more than 60 days. You’d pay $389 per day in 2022 for days 61 through 90 of your hospital stay, increasing to $400 in 2023. You’d pay $778 per day for days 91 through the balance of your lifetime reserve days, increasing to $800 in 2023. Lifetime reserve days are the 60 days that Medicare gives you to use if you stay in the hospital for more than 90 days. You only get 60, and they don’t renew.
Medicare Part B Costs in 2022 and 2023
Part B is considered your medical insurance. It covers medical treatments and comes with a monthly premium of $170.10 in 2022. This decreases to $164.90 in 2023. A small percentage of people will pay more than this amount if they report income greater than $91,000 as single filers, or more than $182,000 as joint filers. Part B also comes with a deductible of $233, dropping to $226 in 2023. Unlike Part A, your deductible isn’t tied to a benefit period or other complicated formulas. Medicare pays 80% of the Medicare-approved amount after you’ve paid your $233 or $226 depending on the year, which is likely to happen after your first or second doctor visit or procedure of the year. That leaves you on the hook for only 20%.
Medicare Part C Costs in 2022 and 2023
Parts A and B are called “Original Medicare.” You receive Original Medicare at very little cost to you as part of what you paid into Medicare throughout your working years. Part C is where you begin to have options. Also called “Medicare Advantage,” it includes plans that are available for purchase from the private insurance market that extend Medicare’s coverage. Part C or Medicare Advantage average premiums are $19.52 a month in 2022, decreasing to $18 in 2023. Coinsurance, copayments, premiums, and deductibles may still vary, depending on your plan of choice.
Medicare Part D Costs in 2022 and 2023
Medicare Part D may be worth considering if you’re taking prescription medication on a regular basis when you reach retirement age. You can choose from two options to get prescription medication coverage. You can either sign up with a private insurance company that you can compare on the Medicare website, or you can get prescription drug coverage through your Part C program. Like Part C, each plan has different coverage, deductible, and copayment options. Part D is generally included in your plan premium, but unmarried individuals with reported incomes of more than $97,000 pay an additional amount in 2023. This threshold increases to $194,000 for married filers of joint tax returns. Make sure that it covers the drugs you take in one of the lower tiers before you sign up with a company. It will help keep your costs under control. Other types of benefits, insurance, and social services can sometimes influence Part D benefits.
