2020 Medicare Part A (Hospital) Monthly Premium & Deductible
You usually don’t pay a monthly
Premium for Medicare Part A coverage if you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes while working.
Enrollees age 65 and over who have fewer than 40 quarters of coverage and certain persons with disabilities pay a monthly premium in order to voluntarily enroll in Medicare Part A. Individuals who had at least 30 quarters of coverage or were married to someone with at least 30 quarters of coverage may buy into Part A at a reduced monthly premium rate, which will be $252 in 2020, a $12 increase from 2019. Certain uninsured aged individuals who have less than 30 quarters of coverage and certain individuals with disabilities who have exhausted other entitlement will pay the full premium, which will be $458 a month in 2020, a $21 increase from 2019.
The chart below shows the annual Medicare Part A deductible and the Medicare Part A monthly premium for people who do not qualify for premium-free Part A.
Medicare Part A Premium and Part A Deductible |
Year |
Premium |
Deductible |
2020 |
$458 |
$1,408 |
2019 |
$437 |
$1,364 |
2018 |
$422 |
$1,340 |
2017 |
$413 |
$1,316 |
2016 |
$411 |
$1,288 |
2015 |
$407 |
$1,260 |
2014 |
$426 |
$1,216 |
2013 |
$441 |
$1,184 |
2012 |
$451 |
$1,156 |
2011 |
$450 |
$1,132 |
2010 |
$461 |
$1,100 |
2009 |
$443 |
$1,068 |
2008 |
$423 |
$1,024 |
2007 |
$410 |
$992 |
Medicare Part A Late Enrollment Penalty
If you aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A, and you don’t buy it when you’re first eligible, your monthly premium may go up 10%. You will have to pay the higher premium for twice the number of years you could have had Part A, but didn’t sign-up. For example, if you were eligible for Part A for 2 years but didn’t sign-up, you will have to pay the higher premium for 4 years. Usually, you don’t have to pay a penalty if you meet certain conditions that allow you to sign up for Part A during a Special Enrollment Period. If you aren’t eligible for premium-free Part A, and you don’t buy it
when you’re first eligible, your monthly premium may go up 10%.
You will have to pay the higher premium for twice the number of
years you could have had Part A, but didn’t sign-up. For example,
if you were eligible for Part A for 2 years but didn’t sign-up, you
will have to pay the higher premium for 4 years. Usually, you
don’t have to pay a penalty if you meet certain conditions that
allow you to sign up for Part A during a Special Enrollment
Period. Read more under
Medicare Part A Special Enrollment
Period.
2020 Medicare Part B (Medical) Monthly Premium & Deductible
2020 Medicare Part B Deductible
CMS announced that the annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $198 in 2020, an increase of $13 from the annual deductible of $185 in 2019.
How Much Does Medicare Part B Coverage Cost?
You pay the Medicare Part B premium each month. Most people will pay up to the standard premium amount. However, if your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) as reported on your
IRS tax return from 2 years ago (the most recent tax return information provided to Social Security by the IRS) is above a certain amount (see chart below), you may pay more. This is called the income related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA).
Your modified adjusted gross income is your adjusted gross
income plus your tax exempt interest income. Each year, Social Security will notify you if you have to pay more than the standard premium. The amount you pay can change each year depending on your income. If you have to pay a higher amount for your Part B premium and you disagree,
you can appeal the IRMAA.
2020 Medicare Part B Premium
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $144.60 for 2020, an increase of $9.10 from $135.50 in 2019. A small percentage of Medicare beneficiaries will pay less than the full Part B standard monthly premium amount in 2020 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.
The Social Security Administration announced a 1.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2020 Social Security benefits. Since the Social Security law includes a "hold-harmless" provision preventing Medicare Part B premiums from increasing faster than Social Security benefits, a small percentage of the people with Medicare Part B will be "held harmless" from any increase in 2020 Part B premiums and will "effectively" pay a slightly higher monthly premium as compared to last year - after taking the 1.6 percent COLA increase into account.
Medicare beneficiaries not subject to the "hold harmless" provision will pay $144.60.
Since 2007, beneficiaries with higher incomes have paid higher Part B monthly premiums. The income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) affects fewer than 5 percent of people with Medicare. To learn more, see our article:
2020 IRMAA: Slight Decrease in Medicare Part D IRMAA payments for most along with larger decreases for some as IRMAA brackets become annually inflation adjusted.
The IRMAA, additional amounts, and total Part B premiums for high income beneficiaries for 2020 are shown in the following table. The "You Pay" column includes the IRMAA amount.
If Your Yearly Income Is |
|
|
File Individual Tax Return |
File Joint Tax Return |
IRMAA |
You Pay |
Less than or equal to $87,000 and you are subject to "hold harmless" |
Less than or equal to $174,000 and you are subject to "hold harmless" |
$0.00 |
Slightly higher than you paid in 2019 when considering your 1.6 percent Social Security benefit COLA - the average premium would be around $135.50 |
Less than or equal to $87,000 and you are NOT subject to "hold harmless" |
Less than or equal to $174,000 and you are NOT subject to "hold harmless" |
$0.00 |
$144.60* |
$87,000.01 - $109,000 |
$174,000.01 - $218,000 |
$57.80 |
$202.40* |
$109,000.01 - $136,000 |
$218,000.01 - $272,000 |
$144.60 |
$289.20* |
$136,000.01 - $163,000 |
$272,000.01 - $326,000 |
$231.40 |
$376.00* |
$163,000.01 and less than $500,000 |
$326,000.01 and less than $750,000 |
$318.10 |
$462.70* |
Greater than $500,000 |
Greater than $750,000 |
$347.00 |
$491.60* |
*If you pay a late-enrollment Penalty, your monthly premium is higher. |
Medicare Part B Late Enrollment Penalty
If you don’t sign up for Part B when you’re first eligible, you may have to pay a late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Medicare.
Your monthly premium for Part B may go up 10% for each full 12-month period that you could have had Part B, but didn’t sign up for it.
Usually, you don’t pay a late enrollment penalty if you meet certain conditions that allow you to sign up for Part B during a
special enrollment period.
Example: Mr. Smith’s initial enrollment period ended September 30, 2016.
He waited to sign up for Part B until the General Enrollment Period in March 2019.
His Part B premium penalty is 20%. (While Mr. Smith waited a total of 30 months to sign up, this included only two full 12-month periods.)
Ways to Pay
If you get Social Security, RRB, or Civil Service benefits, your Part B premium will get deducted from your benefit payment. If you don’t get these benefit payments and choose to sign up for Part B, you will get a bill. If you choose to buy Part A, you will always get a bill for your premium. You can mail your premium payments to the Medicare Premium Collection Center, P.O. Box 790355, St. Louis, Missouri 63179-0355. If you get a bill from the RRB, mail your premium payments to RRB, Medicare Premium Payments, P.O. Box 9024, St. Louis, Missouri 63197-9024.
2020 Part C (Medicare Advantage) Monthly Premium & Deductible
Medicare Advantage plan premiums*, deductibles, and benefits will depend on the Medicare Advantage plans available in your service area (county or ZIP code). Along with your Medicare Advantage plan premium, you must continue to pay your Part B premium (and Part A premium if you do not receive your Medicare Part A coverage premium-free).
The 2020 Medicare Advantage plan premiums range from
$0 to $350.
*If you pay a late-enrollment
Penalty, your monthly premium is higher.
2020 Part D (Medicare Prescription Drug Plan) Monthly Premium & Deductible
Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) premiums*, deductibles, and benefits vary by plan and state. Remember that you can receive Part D prescription drug coverage from a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan (PDP) or a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage (MAPD).
The 2020 Part D plan premiums range from
$12 to $192.
The 2020 standard Part D plan deductible is
$435, however the actual plan deductible can be anywhere from
$0 to $435.
*If you pay a late-enrollment
Penalty, this amount is higher.
(Primary Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - Medicare and You Handbook. This content may have been enhanced by Q1Group LLC to include further examples, explanations, and links.)