Posted on June 09th, 2022

The Part B deductible for 2022 is $233. That’s an increase from $203 in 2021, and a much more significant increase than normal.

Some enrollees have supplemental coverage that pays their Part B deductible. This includes Medicaid, employer-sponsored plans, and Medigap plans C and F. But Medigap plans C and F can no longer be sold to newly-eligible enrollees as of 2020 (people can keep them if they already have them, and people who were already eligible for Medicare prior to 2020 can continue to purchase them). The ban on the sale of Medigap plans that cover the Part B deductible for new enrollees was part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). It’s an effort to curb utilization by ensuring that enrollees incur some out-of-pocket costs when they receive medical care.

Many Medicare Advantage plans have low copays and deductibles that don’t necessarily increase in lockstep with the Part B deductible, so their benefits designs have had different fluctuations over the last few years. (Medicare Advantage enrollees pay the Part B premium plus the Advantage plan premium if the plan has a separate premium — many do not, so the enrollees just pay the Part B premium. Medicare Advantage plans wrap Part A, Part B, usually Part D, and various supplemental coverage together into one plan, with out-of-pocket costs that are different from Original Medicare.)

Original article: https://www.medicareresources.org/faqs/what-kind-of-medicare-benefit-changes-can-i-expect-this-year/