
Part D Premiums
Higher-income Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Part D prescription drug plans are also required to pay higher Part D premiums as a result of changes made in the 2010 Affordable Care Act. In the years after the Medicare Part D benefit was implemented in 2006, but prior to 2011, premiums varied by drug plan but all enrollees in the same plan within the same region paid the same premium. The monthly premium paid by enrollees was set to cover 25.5 percent of the national averag

Part D Premium Penalty
What’s the Part D late enrollment penalty? The late enrollment penalty is an amount that may be added to a person’s monthly Part D premium. A person enrolled in a Medicare drug plan may owe a late enrollment penalty if he or she goes without Part D or creditable prescription drug coverage for any continuous period of 63 days or more after the end of his or her Initial Enrollment Period for Part D coverage. Generally, the late enrollment penalty (also called the “LEP” or “pena

Paying For Medicare
How does a Medicare beneficiary pay for Medicare? If they get Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits, their Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) premium will get deducted from their benefit payment. If they are a Civil Service retiree and NOT entitled to Social Security then their premiums will be deducted from their Civil Service annuity payments. Will they get a bill for their Part A or Part B premiums? If they sign up for Part B and they don't get Social Security,

What is a primary payer?
If a Medicare Beneficiary has Medicare and other health insurance or coverage, each type of coverage is called a "payer." When there's more than one payer, "coordination of benefits" rules decide which one pays first. The "primary payer" pays what it owes on their bills first, and then sends the rest to the "secondary payer" to pay. In some cases, there may also be a third payer. What do primary and secondary payers pay on a bill? The insurance that pays first referred to as