Important facts about 2010 Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B

On October 16, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released display copies of Notices announcing Medicare Part A and Part B premiums and deductibles for calendar year 2010.

Let's Begin with the 2010 Medicare Part A Premium and Deductibles

Medicare Part A insurance provides hospital benefits, including care at skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare and hospice care. Typically, there is no monthly premium for Medicare Part A insurance if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years while working.

Premium – as long as you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes for more than ten years, the Medicare Part A premium is free. If you or your spouse did not pay Medicare taxes, then your Part A premium will be the following:

* $254/month – paid Medicare taxes for less than 10 years but more than 7.5 years

* $461/month – paid Medicare taxes for less than 7.5 years

Home Health – there are no copays, coinsurance, or deductibles for home healthcare, but you are required to meet a number of guidelines in order to be eligible to receive home healthcare.

Hospice – there are no copays, coinsurance or deductibles for hospice care except for outpatient drugs ($5 copay) and inpatient respite care (5% coinsurance).

Next I'll cover the 2010 Medicare Part B Premium and Deductible

Part B is the voluntary portion of the Medicare program that pays all or part of the costs for physicians' services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, services furnished by rural health clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, and certain other medical and health services not covered by Medicare Part A, Hospital Insurance.

Earlier this year the Social Security Administration announced there would be no increase in Social Security benefits for 2010. As a result of the hold-harmless provision, the increase in the Part B premium for 2010 will be paid by new enrollees into Medicare. All current Part B enrollees will pay the same monthly premium that they paid in 2009 ($96.40 was the 2009 standard monthly premium).

The 2010 Part B monthly premium rates for beneficiaries who file an individual tax return (including those who are single, head of household, qualifying widow(er) with dependent child, or married filing separately who lived apart from their spouse for the entire taxable year), or who file a joint tax return are:

In addition, the monthly premium rates for beneficiaries who are married, but file a separate return from their spouse and lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year are:

About the Author:

My name is Dana Cutter and I am Founder and Editor of Medicare Sherpa. Our staff spends their days searching the Internet for the best content and advice on Medicare and retirement. On our site you will find articles on Social Security, Medicare Benefits, Prescription Drug Benefits and more. Please feel fee to send me an email with ideas for content, site improvements or general help launching your online persona. I hope you will consider joining and I am looking forward to reading more about you online.

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