Courtney Announces Part B Premiums Will Not Rise for Connecticut Seniors on Medicare | Congressman Joe Courtney
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Courtney Announces Part B Premiums Will Not Rise for Connecticut Seniors on Medicare

October 29, 2013

WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) announced that Medicare beneficiaries will not see any increase in premium costs for Medicare Part B in 2014. Despite reports that premiums would rise significantly for Part B recipients in 2014, the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) confirmed that 2013 rates will remain in effect.

"Connecticut seniors will be glad to know that their Part B premiums will not go up a dime in 2014," Courtney said. "Thanks to CMS efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, premium growth has been slower in the past five years than at any point in the program's history. For seniors on fixed incomes, controlling the growth of medical costs is critical to ensuring that they can make ends meet each month."

Click here to watch Congressman Courtney's floor speech on Part B premiums: https://youtu.be/eHDB05FbSN0

Despite rumors that led many seniors to believe that unnamed provisions included the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would increase Part B premiums as high as $247 per month, 2013 premium levels will continue unchanged for next year. For seniors with a single income less than $85,000, and couples with income under $170,000, Part B premiums will continue at the rate of $104.90 per month. The premium has either been less than the Board of Trustees for Medicare has projected or remained the same, for the past three years. The Medicare Part B deductible will also remain unchanged at $147. The ACA has saved U.S. seniors more than $8 billion to date on their prescription drugs by beginning to close the "donut hole" in Part D. According to the law, the donut hole will be fully eliminated by 2020.