CMS announces Medicare premiums and deductibles for CY 2019

The Medicare Part A deductible for inpatient hospital services will increase by $24 in calendar year 2019, to $1,364, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced today. The Part A daily coinsurance amounts will be $341 for days 61-90 of hospitalization in a benefit period; $682 for lifetime reserve days; and $170.50 for days 21-100 of extended care services in a skilled nursing facility in a benefit period. The monthly Part A premium, paid by beneficiaries who have fewer than 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment and certain people with disabilities, will increase by $15 in CY 2019 to $437. The standard monthly premium for people with Medicare Part B will be $135.50 for 2019, an increase of $1.50 from 2018. An estimated 2 million Medicare beneficiaries (about 3.5 percent) will pay less than the full Part B standard monthly premium amount in 2019 due to the statutory hold harmless provision, which limits certain beneficiaries’ increase in their Part B premium to be no greater than the increase in their Social Security benefits.