So What Will Medicare Part D Premiums Look Like This Year?

With Medicare Open Enrollment just around the corner, we know a lot of you are already wondering what your Medicare Part D premiums are going to look like next year. Well, the Obama Administration has announced that the average Medicare Part D premiums will hold steady next year, averaging about $30 a month.

Medicare Part D is the prescription drug benefit part of Medicare. Added to Medicare by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (also known as the Medicare Modernization Act, or MMA) of 2003, Medicare Part D took effect in January 2006. Unlike Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B, Medicare Part D is not provided within the traditional Medicare program. If you wish to enroll in Medicare Part D, you must enroll yourself in one of the many Medicare Part D plans that are offered by private companies, either as a stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) or as part of a Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) plan.

Even though premiums are only holding steady, it is still noteworthy considering overall healthcare spending in the U.S. is expected to grow by nearly 5% a year between now and 2014, according to the latest estimates by government actuaries. Premiums on many private medical insurance policies are rising even more sharply.

Are you enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan? Tell us about it in our discussion forum!

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2. Medicare Open Enrollment: So Who Has the Lowest Medicare Part D Premiums This Year?
3. Medicare Drug Plan Premiums to Go Up $1 Next Year
4. Are You in the Medicare Part D “Donut Hole” Yet?
5. Medicare Open Enrollment: Rite Aid Offering Low-Cost Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan