Medicare Advantage Plan with Prescription Drugs
And IRMAA Extra Premiums
Hello Toni:
I received a letter from SSA telling me that my monthly Medicare Part B premium would be $48.70 higher per month (up to $170.50) due to 2014-reported income over certain levels. That was no surprise, but they also said that the monthly adjustment for prescription drug coverage would be $12.70. How does that work if you don’t get prescription drug coverage from Medicare? Will they just reduce my monthly Part B payment by the $12.70?
Also – What if a person goes the Medicare Advantage route instead of original Medicare + a supplement? Do they get to avoid the additional $48.70 and the $12.70 per month?
~ Thanks, Larry from West University area.
Hi Larry:
No, Larry, you cannot avoid the additional premiums if your income is above a certain limit.
You will have to pay more on your Medicare Part B premium and Part D Medicare Prescription Drug premium when you have enrolled in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. If you are not enrolled in a Part D prescription drug plan, whether stand alone or with a Medicare Advantage plan, you will not receive the addition Part D IRMAA premium.
Remember… if you are not enrolled in a Part D prescription drug plan at the right time, you will not have prescription drug coverage and will receive a Part D late enrollment penalty when you sign up at a later date. At the Toni Says office, we advise everyone to enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan whether you are taking no prescriptions or a lot of prescriptions. No one wants an additional penalty.
Since your additional amount is $48.70 for Part B and $12.70 additional premium for Part D, the amount you are paying tells me that your modified adjusted gross income as reported on your IRS tax return from 2 years ago was over $85,001 as an individual or over $170,001 as a couple.
Social Security bases your income on both you and your spouse whether they are Medicare age or not. The modified adjusted gross income amount that is reported on your yearly income taxes is what triggers the increase.
The bottom line is if your income is over these amounts and you have your Medicare prescription drug plan from either a Medicare Advantage (Part C) or Stand alone Medicare Prescription Drug plan (Part D), you will pay the additional IRMAA whether you are deducting your premiums from your Social Security check or paying direct to Social Security because you have not started taking your Social Security check.
Enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan instead of a Medicare Supplement Medicare supplement with a Medicare Part D plan does not keep Medicare/Social Security from charging the additional IRMAA premium for both Medicare Parts B and D.
The IRMAA Medicare rule went into effect on January 1, 2011, regarding the Medicare Part D.
Because the 2016 Medicare & You handbooks were mailed out around before Oct 1st the costs and premiums were not included. The 2016 Medicare costs and premiums were released around November 10, 2015, and one has to Google the numbers.
You can visit Tonisays.com to receive your copy of the 2016 Medicare costs with Part B and Part D premiums for all income levels and to sign up for the latest Toni Says newsletter or visit Medicare and view costs at www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs.
Toni King is the author of the Medicare Survival Guide®, which is on sale HERE. For a personal consultation, please contact Toni at Ask Toni. Tonisays.com is expanding in January with Medicare Peace University. Visit Medicare Peace University for more information.
