Do Individuals Have to Pay Medicare Part B Premium?
Marla Lambrese, Business Contributor
Do Individuals Have to Pay Medicare Part B Premium?
If a person is Medicare eligible, which includes individuals over the age of 65 or people younger than age 65 who qualify for Medicare based on a disability, they must enroll in Medicare Part B or be subject to a late enrollment penalty, unless they are covered under your group health insurance plan or their spouse’s.
Many ads on television mention plans that will help pay some, or all, of a person’s Medicare Part B premium. These messages are for the most part, very misleading.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSome Medicare Advantage (also known as Medicare Part C) plans do offer what is called a Medicare Part B Giveback, where the plan will credit a specific amount monthly to Social Security on behalf of an enrolled individual. There are certain caveats to this benefit.
If the enrolled individual is collecting Social Security benefits, they will see their benefit increase as a result of this credit. If a person is not collecting Social Security benefits, or if they are considered “low income” and their Medicare Part B premium is paid for by their state, then they will not receive the giveback amount at all.
Though it does vary by state or county, very few plans will reimburse the Medicare Part B entirely.
As previously mentioned, if a person is considered “low income,” meaning they do not own a home, have essentially no retirement or substantial personal savings, and receive very little in the form of Social Security or private pension benefits, their state might pay for some, or all, of their monthly Medicare Part B premium. This program is called the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (“SLMB”) Program.
The majority of Medicare-eligible individuals will not qualify for SLMB and must pay their Medicare Part B premiums to be enrolled in any form of supplemental coverage, including both Medicare Supplement (also known as MediGap) plans or a Medicare Advantage plans. The monthly premium for Part B is in addition to whatever premiums an individual is paying to be enrolled in their Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage plans, if any.
While saving money on Medicare premiums is certainly important, for most people, healthcare benefits, including access to their preferred medical providers and manageable out-of-pocket medical expenses is often even more important.
Individuals should be careful to weigh all facets of their healthcare before making a change to their plan, and not base their decision solely on the basis of monthly premiums.
