Medicare Part B premiums rise

Medicare Part B covers physicians' services, outpatient hospital services, some home health services, durable medical equipment, and some other medical and health services that aren't covered by Medicare Part A.

The new Part B premiums represent a 5.9% increase over last year. In addition, not only will premiums for Medicare Part B enrollees rise to $185 in 2025, the annual deductible for Medicare Part B beneficiaries will also increase from $240 in 2024 to $257 in 2025, according to CMS.

In addition, since a beneficiary's Part B premium is based on income, high-income Americans will also pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA), which affects roughly 8% of all people with Medicare Part B, according to CMS.

CMS said that Part B beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouses at any time during the year but file separate tax returns from their spouses with a modified adjusted gross income of:

• $106,000 or less will pay a Part B premium of $185 a month
• Over $106,000 and less than $394,000 will pay IRMAA of $406.90 in addition to the $185 premium each month
• $394,000 or more will pay $443.90 in IRMAA in addition to the $185 premium each month

For beneficiaries who already receive Social Security benefits, the new premiums will typically be deducted from their Social Security checks automatically in January. However, those who don't yet receive Social Security benefits but are paying Medicare Part B premiums will have to ensure they're paying the new amount beginning in January.

Discussion

The increase in Part B premiums outpaces both inflation, which rose 3.2% in October, and the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which will be 2.5% in 2025, USA Today reports.

Medicare Part B premiums have outpaced COLA increases for years, data shows. An analysis by Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, found that from 2005 to 2024, Part B premiums increased an average of 5.5% each year, while COLAs averaged 2.6%.

"This disparity is caused in part because Medicare costs are not included in the consumer price index that's currently used to calculate the COLA," Johnson said.

During the period of Johnson's analysis, there were only four times when Part B premiums didn't increase: in 2009, 2014, 2015, and 2018.

"When Part B premiums grow at a faster rate than Social Security COLAs, premium costs consume a growing portion of monthly Social Security checks," Johnson said.

"While most Social Security recipients aged 65 and older will have benefits high enough to cover the $10.30 per month increase of Part B premiums from $174.70 to $185.00," Johnson added, "the same is not true of individuals who pay higher premiums based on income." (Lee, USA Today, 11/11; Gibson, CBS News, 11/11; Omdahl, Forbes, 11/11)

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