Premiums for Medicare Part B to rise in 2025: What to know
(NEXSTAR) — While seniors are on track to benefit from a cost-of-living adjustment to their Social Security payments in 2025, they will also be faced with increased costs for their healthcare as certain Medicare premiums are set to become more expensive.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced last week that the Medicare Part B premiums will rise (as will the annual deductible) next year. Premium, deductible, and coinsurance rates for Medicare Part B are determined annually.
Medicare is available for people who are 65 years old or older, with earlier access available to those who meet certain qualifications. There are four parts to Medicare: Part A covers hospital insurance, Part B is Medicare insurance, Part C is Medicare Advantage Plans, and Part D is reserved for drug coverage.
In most cases, there is no premium for Part A. Monthly premiums for Parts C and D are determined based on the plan a person enrolls in. There is also a monthly premium for Part B, even if a person does not use any services covered by Part B — physicians' services, outpatient hospital services, some home health services, and medical equipment, for example — that month.
In 2025, the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $185, up $10.30 from the current rate. The annual deductible — or the amount the enrollee pays before insurance begins to pay for health services — for all Part B beneficiaries will increase by $17 to $257 next year.
"The increase in the 2025 Part B standard premium and deductible is mainly due to projected price changes and assumed utilization increases that are consistent with historical experience," CMS said. The last time Part B's premium dropped was in 2023.
A beneficiary's Medicare Part B monthly premium is based on their income, with roughly 8% of enrollees having to pay monthly adjustment amounts.
For those who are married and will live with their spouse at any time in 2025, but will file a separate tax return and have a modified adjusted gross income of $106,000 or less, the total monthly premium for Medicare Part B they will pay is $185.
If their adjusted gross income is between $106,000 and $394,000, they will be responsible for an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA, of $406.90 in 2025, plus the aforementioned premium, pushing their monthly payment to $591.90. Those with an adjusted gross income at or above $394,000 will have an IRMAA of $443.90, leading to a monthly premium amount of $628.90.
Other changes announced by CMS last week, seen here, include an increase to the Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible (up $44 to $1,676 in 2025) and income-related monthly adjustments to Medicare Part D.