If you have accrued a monthly late-enrollment premium penalty, you can expect to pay slightly
more of a penalty in 2013. The late-enrollment penalty is an additional monthly
cost paid by Medicare Part D beneficiaries who did not enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription
drug plan when they were first eligible or who were without creditable prescription drug coverage
for more than 63 days.
If you are subject to a late-enrollment penalty, you will pay your monthly Medicare Part D plan
premiums along with an additional penalty calculated as one percent (1%) of the national
average monthly premium for each month you were without creditable prescription drug
coverage. Please note, in certain situations, you can appeal your Late-Enrollment Penalty.
As a reminder, the CMS estimated weighted average Medicare Part D premium listed in the section above is not used for purposes of calculating the late-enrollment penalty. Instead, the actual (non-weighted) Part D base beneficiary premium (or national base monthly Medicare Part D premium figure) is used to determine the amount of your late-enrollment penalty.
In 2013, the average monthly premium used to calculate the late-enrollment penalty will be $31.17
(or around $31), up slightly from the 2012 figure, but still less than 2011. As reference,
here are the premium values used to calculate the late-enrollment penalties from past years:
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Example of estimating your 2013 Late-Enrollment Penalty:
If you were previously without creditable prescription drug coverage for five years (60 months), you would pay a 2013 monthly penalty in additional to your monthly premium estimated as 60% of $31.17 = $18.70 per month or around $224 per year. In this same example, your current 2012 extra penalty payment should be around $18.64 per month. Click here if you would like to read more on the Medicare Part D late-enrollment penalty.
Note: No late-enrollment penalties are assessed for people who qualify for the Medicare Part D financial Extra-Help program.
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