September 2008 ANNOUNCEMENT Deductible Amount for Medigap High Deductible Options F & J For Calendar Year 2009 SUMMARY: There are two Medicare supplemental (Medigap) plans that can be sold with a high deductible option – Plans F and J. This notice announces that, effective January 1, 2009, the annual deductible amount for those two plans is $2,000. The deductible amount for the high deductible version of plans F and J represents the annual out-of-pocket expenses (excluding premiums) that a beneficiary who chooses one of these policies must pay before the policy begins paying benefits. We update the annual deductible amount for Medigap plans F and J each year, after release of the August CPI-U figures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which generally occurs in mid-September. CALCULATION OF THE DEDUCTIBLE: The deductible for plans F and J is determined in accordance with section 1882(p)(11)(C)(i) of the Act. That provision prescribed a deductible of $1,500 for 1998 and 1999, and directed that the amount increase each subsequent year by the percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), all items, U.S. city average. For 2008, the deductible amount was $1,900. For 2009, the deductible amount is increased by the percent increase in the CPI-U for the 12-month period ending August 2008. As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, the CPI-U index was 207.917 in August 2007 and 219.086 in August 2008, resulting in a 5.4 percent increase from the 2008 deductible amount of $1,900. A 5.4 percent increase in $1,900.00 is $2,002.07; however, section 1882(p)(11)(C)(ii) of the Act stipulates that this amount be rounded to the nearest multiple of $10. After rounding $2,002.07 to the nearest $10 multiple, the 2009 deductible for the Medigap high deductible options is $2,000. For further contact information select the download "CY 2009 F&J – Deductible Amount for Medigap High Deductible Options" listed below.
Page Last Modified: 11/05/2008 9:26:52 AM
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