About 70% of Medicare Part D beneficiaries can expect higher monthly 2015 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan premiums

Based on the current 2014 Medicare Part D plan enrollment, we can determine that around 70% of seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries can expect to see an increase in their monthly 2015 Medicare Part D plan premiums - with an average monthly increase of around $6.64 – assuming these people stay in their current plan through 2015 and do not move to a lower-costing Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage plan.

As was true in past years, our national PDP-Facts page provides both the average stand-alone Medicare Part D plan premium weighted by current Medicare plan enrollment (or popularity) ($41.34 in 2015), as well as the un-weighted average ($53.14 in 2015) that provides a general overview of state and national average premiums.

Expectedly, the weighted average Medicare Part D premiums are lower than the un-weighted average premiums, showing that most Medicare beneficiaries chose a Medicare Part D plan with a lower monthly premium - and these are the people who can expect a 2015 premium increase.

On the positive side, the overall average 2015 premium (not considering plan enrollment) has decreased only very slightly (from $53.80 to $53.14), showing that the monthly Medicare Part D plan premiums have remained somewhat stable over the past plan-year.

However, the national average monthly 2015 Medicare Part D premium, weighted by the number of people enrolled in each plan will increase to $41.34 or 11% over the 2014 weighted monthly premium of $37.27, with actual average monthly premium increases varying by state or Medicare region. This means that if everyone stays in their current 2014 stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan through 2015, across the country, we can expect beneficiaries to pay 11% more for their monthly premiums.

Here is a graph showing how the Average and Weighted-Average stand-alone Medicare Part D premiums have changed over the years.

On a state level example, 94% of the Medicare beneficiaries in CMS Region 2 (that includes: CT, MA, RI, and VT) who are enrolled in a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan can expect an increase in 2015 monthly Medicare Part D premiums of around $6.93.

In North Carolina, 74% of the people enrolled in a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan can expect an increase in their 2015 monthly Medicare Part D premiums of around $8.56.