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Premiums reduced in 2020 for some senior plans

There's good news for seniors for their 2020 medical options and costs. 

Medicare continues to offer seniors and people with disabilities with flexibility and choices while providing high quality healthcare services.

Medicare Advantage premiums in 2020 are expected to decline 23 percent from 2018 while plan choices, benefits and enrollment continue to increase. The Medicare Advantage average monthly premium will be the lowest in the last 13 years for the more than 24 million people with Medicare who are projected to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan for 2020, according to The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Specific highlights for 331,104 beneficiaries in Idaho include:

  • The average monthly Medicare Advantage premium changed from $49.25 in 2019 to $44.02 in 2020.
  • 68 Medicare Advantage plans are available.
  • 94 percent of people with Medicare have access to a Medicare Advantage plan.
  • $0 is the lowest monthly premium for a Medicare Advantage plan.
  • 89 percent of people with Medicare will have access to a Medicare Advantage plan with a $0 monthly premium.
  • 28 stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans are available. All Medicare beneficiaries have access to a Medicare prescription drug plan.
  • 92 percent of people with a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan have access to a plan with a lower premium than what they paid in 2019.
  • 23 percent of people with a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan get Extra Help (also called the low-income subsidy, or LIS).
  • $13.20 is the lowest monthly premium for a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan.

Specific highlights for 1,356,448 beneficiaries in Washington include:

  • The average monthly Medicare Advantage premium changed from $48.56 in 2019 to $42.48 in 2020.
  • 140 Medicare Advantage plans are available.
  • 100 percent of people with Medicare have access to a Medicare Advantage plan.
  • $0 is the lowest monthly premium for a Medicare Advantage plan.
  • 91 percent of people with Medicare will have access to a Medicare Advantage plan with a $0 monthly premium.
  • 28 stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans are available. All Medicare beneficiaries have access to a Medicare prescription drug plan.
  • 97 percent of people with a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan have access to a
  • plan with a lower premium than what they paid in 2019.
  • 26 percent of people with a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan get Extra Help (also called the low-income subsidy, or LIS).
  • $13.20 is the lowest monthly premium for a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan.

“President Trump has promised American patients a system with affordable, personalized healthcare, a system that puts you in control, provides peace of mind, and treats you like a human being, not a number,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “That is what CMS has been delivering with its improvements to Medicare Advantage: lower costs, more options, and benefits tailored to patients’ needs. This proven record of success—decreasing premiums in both Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D—contrasts with proposals for a total government takeover of healthcare, which would destroy options such as Medicare Advantage that seniors increasingly choose.”

“These dramatically lower costs in Medicare Advantage and Part D, thanks to President Trump’s leadership, means that we are putting dollars back into the pockets of our seniors,” added CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “On the contrast, proposals for more government through Medicare for All or a public option, would only harm the progress we have made to protect and strengthen the Medicare program for future generations.”

Local Agents offer support

For more information or to shop for coverage, contact the certified health exchange agents, Tim Gleason or Dave Root, at American Insurance. Call 208-746-9646 or email Medical [at] Am-Ins [dot] com or text us at (208) 518-0823 for an appointment.

Source: CMS.gov news article, Trump Administration Drives Down Medicare Advantage and Part D Premiums for Seniors; also state-by-state comparison sheet