Medicare Part B premiums for 2014 hold steady
Too late for LBN but, FYI ...
>> The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B will be the same in 2014 as it is this year—$104.90 a month—the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced today.
Part B is the part of Medicare that covers doctor bills and most types of outpatient services. You must pay Part B premiums whether you you get your Medicare benefits through Original Medicare or a private Medicare Advantage plan.
The premiums charged to high-income people are also holding steady. Premiums for those people will range from $146.90 for single filers earning between $85,000 and $107,000 a year, to $335.70 for single filers earning more than $214,000.
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But the Part A deductible for hospital stays is going up slightly, from $1,184 in 2013 to $2,016 in 2014.
Slightly? This is an increase of $832.00/year which is an increase of about 75%, so don't get sick! 
I guess it was hoped no one would notice this little ditty re: hospitalization under Part A.
Read more here if interested:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/medicare-part-b-premiums-2014-000000942.html
I have written to my insurance company asking for details about next year's supplemental plan (which costs about $700.00 a month + the the cost of Medicare A & B -- so about $11,000.00 a year for two people) and have yet to hear a word.
Those crickets are chirping in the background around here for some strange reason as yes, I would really like to know 
to expect next year re: the health coverage I now have which is certainly not cheap to say the least as combined monthy income here is about $20K a year.
In the past, no increase in Medicare contributions = no increase in Social Security payments either seems to often be the case. 
Who knows? In any event, Medicare premiums for part A and B will remain at $104.90 for 2014.
I really hope this is not a sign of stagflation and/or deflation in our economy. I guess we'll find out the reality of this in part when the CPI is released at the end of this month.
= new reply since forum marked as read
