Medicare Part B monthly premiums 2024
In 2024, persons who are already enrolled in Medicare pay $174.70 per month as Part B premium. The Part B deductible for 2024 is $240.
These numbers apply to most persons on Medicare. You will have to pay a higher premium if you filed an individual tax return last year and reported income over $97,000 ($194,000) for a joint return. Depending on the amount of your taxable income, you may have to pay up to the maximum Part B premium of $560.50 per person. Fortunately, income-related adjustments affect less than 5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries. If you have to pay a higher Part B premium because of your income, you should be notified by Social Security.
However, the amount of increase of your Part B premium can, by law, not exceed the dollar amount of the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in order to make sure that net Social Security benefits do not drop (‘Hold Harmless provision’). So, if you get Social Security benefits, your premium may vary. The exact amount you have to pay will be mailed to you by Social Security.
How are Medicare Part B premiums determined?
The formula for the calculation of the standard premium was developed in 1965, when Medicare first went into effect. At that time, the monthly premium for Part B was only $3.00. The current rate is determined each year, depending on the level of costs for Medicare expenses in the previous year.
The official formula for determining Part B premiums was established by Congress decades ago. The standard premium amount for each year is calculated on the level of Medicare health care costs of the previous year. Health care costs are expected to go up by about 5 percent each year, because of increasing use and rising costs of health care services.
For the detailed Part B premiums by income, visit https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance.
