Do you have questions about the 2018 medicare coverage changes?
Here are some changes to be aware of for 2018:
- Starting in April 2018, Medicare beneficiaries will begin receiving new Medicare ID cards that don’t have Social Security numbers on them. This change was announced in September 2017. The new cards will have randomly generated ID numbers instead of Social Security numbers. You can continue to use your current card until your new one arrives. Once it does, you’ll want to destroy and securely dispose of your old one, and begin using the new one instead.
- Medicare recipients reaching the donut hole will benefit from better prescription drug discounts. The gap in prescription drug coverage (the donut hole) starts when someone reaches the initial coverage limit ($3,750 in 2018), and ends when they have spent $5,000. The hole will be closed by 2020 and enrollees will pay just 25 percent of the cost of their drugs. For 2018, while in the donut hole, enrollees will pay 35 percent of the cost of brand name drugs. The Medicare Part D deductible will be $405 in 2018.
- Medicare Part B premiums will fluctuate again for 2018.In 2017, most Medicare Part B enrollees paid an average of $109/month for their Part B premium, although enrollees with income above $85,000 had higher premiums. We may expect the premium to be highter in 2018.
- New income brackets for Part B enrollees with high incomes. new income brackets were created to determine Part B premiums for high-income Medicare enrollees. The new brackets take effect in 2018. For Medicare purposes, “high income” begins at $85,001 for a single individual, and $170,001 for a married couple. Enrollees with income between $85,001 and $107,000 ($170,001 and $214,000 for a married couple) won’t see any changes to their bracket. But enrollees with income above those limits may find that they are in a higher bracket. The highest bracket will now apply to those with income above $160,000 ($320,000 for a married couple).
- Medicare Advantage plans continue to see changes. While healthcare reform is slowly reducing rebates paid to Medicare Advantage plans, these plans continue to be popular. 31 percent of Medicare recipients were enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan in 2016 – a significant increase from the enrollment total in 2009 when the ACA was signed into law. These plans may change yearly.
Most Medicare beneficiaries should receive their Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) and Evidence of Coverage (EOC) from their existing Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plan providers by Sept. 30. CMS will make information available to the public on Medicare.gov in October. The Medicare website is for individuals with questions about Medicare rules, timelines, Medicare Part D, etc.
It’s important to carefully review the information sent to you by your plan provider, since this will cover any possible changes. See ACA Dates and Deadlines for the deadlines to enroll.
