Coping with rising Medicare costs
This year's large Part B increase is just part of a landscape that includes coverage gaps and high out-of-pocket expenses
I wrapped up a column for The New York Times this week on the rising cost of Medicare - but news kept breaking that forced a number of rewrites on deadline:
The surprise announcement by Biogen that it will slash the price of Aduhelm, its controversial Alzheimer’s drug, will turn up the pressure on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to reduce the large increase in the 2022 Part B premium.
President Biden’s Build Back Better legislation appears imperiled in the U.S. Senate - and the bill contains important Medicare reforms aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs.
The Part B premium is scheduled to jump 14.55% in January, but that is just part of the challenge facing people on Medicare. Gaps in coverage and high out-of-pocket costs — including deductibles, coinsurance and co-payments — can make health care costs difficult to handle, especially for people with lower incomes or those who need expensive drugs.
High costs are not just a financial issue: They can lead to problems with access to treatment, poor health and even premature deaths.
My column examines ways to plan for rising Medicare costs, and public policy options that could make these expenses manageable - especially for low-income enrollees, and those with high drug costs.
What I’m reading
America is not ready for Omnicrom . . . .Breakthrough COVID-19 hospitalizations among fully vaccinated patients occur most often among older adults with chronic health conditions . . . As U.S. nears 800,000 virus deaths, 1 of every 100 older Americans has perished . . . The iPhone feature to turn on before you die . . . How closed Social Security offices have hurt the neediest Americans . . . How to deal with ageism from doctors and nurses.
