Prepared by Public Affairs 312-751-4777
The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $96.40 in
January 2008, an increase of $2.90 from the 2007 premium of $93.50.
Until 2007, all beneficiaries paid the same basic premium amount
for Medicare Part B, which is set annually at a level that covers 25 percent of
the estimated Part B program costs for the year. The Government had subsidized
the remaining 75 percent for all beneficiaries. As part of the Medicare
Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, this 75-percent
subsidy began decreasing in 2007 for those making over certain annual threshold
amounts.
The Part B monthly premiums for some beneficiaries will increase
again in 2008, depending on a beneficiary’s or married couple’s modified
adjusted gross income. The income-related Part B premiums for 2008 will be
$122.20, $160.90, $199.70, or $238.40, depending on the extent to which an
individual beneficiary’s income exceeds $82,000 (or a married couple’s income
exceeds $164,000), with the highest premium rates only paid by beneficiaries
whose incomes are over $205,000 (or $410,000 for a married couple). The income
thresholds increase annually by indexing to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The
tables below show the 2008 Part B premiums based on income. The Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that about 5 percent of Medicare
beneficiaries with Part B will pay higher premiums in 2008 based on their
incomes.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for all
income-related monthly adjustment amount determinations. To make the
determinations, SSA will use the most recent tax return information provided by
the IRS. For 2008, in most cases that will be the beneficiary’s 2006 tax return
information. If that information is not available, SSA will use information from
the 2005 tax return.
Those railroad retirement and social security Medicare
beneficiaries affected by the 2008 Part B income-related premiums will receive a
notice from SSA by December 2007. The notice will include an explanation of the
circumstances where a beneficiary may request a new determination. Persons who
have any questions or would like to request a new determination should contact
SSA after receiving and reviewing
their notice.
# # #
2008 PART B PREMIUMS
Less than or equal to $82,000 |
Less than or equal to $164,000 |
$0.00 |
$96.40 |
Greater than $82,000 and less than or equal to $102,000 |
Greater than $164,000 and less than or equal to $204,000 |
$25.80 |
$122.20 |
Greater than $102,000 and less than or equal to $153,000 |
Greater than $204,000 and less than or equal to $306,000 |
$64.50 |
$160.90 |
Greater than $153,000 and less than or equal to $205,000 |
Greater than $306,000 and less than or equal to $410,000 |
$103.30 |
$199.70 |
Greater than $205,000 |
Greater than $410,000 |
$142.00 |
$238.40 |
The monthly premium rates paid by beneficiaries who are married,
but file a separate return from their spouses and who lived with their spouses
at some time during the taxable year, are different. Those rates are as
follows:
Less than or equal to $82,000 |
$0.00 |
$96.40 |
Greater than $82,000 and less than or equal to $123,000 |
$103.30 |
$199.70 |
Greater than $123,000 |
$142.00 |
$238.40 |
Note: Income-related
premiums are being phased in over a 3-year period. This means that the
income-related monthly adjustment amounts shown in the above tables represent
2/3 of the total income-related monthly adjustment amount that higher income
beneficiaries will eventually pay in 2009. In 2009, high income
beneficiaries will pay the full amount of the total income-related monthly adjustment
amount. The income threshold amounts increase annually through
indexing.
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