Premiums and deductibles for Medicare Part B are set to increase in 2020, the Trump administration announced Friday.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released information on cost sharing for traditional Medicare and Part B and said that the rising costs in Part B are associated with rising spending on physician-administered drugs. The standard monthly premium in Part B for 2020 will be $144.60, $9.10 higher than in 2019.
Deductibles are set to rise from $185 in 2019 to $198 in 2020, CMS said.
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In a fact sheet, CMS blamed the current pricing structure for Part B as a driver behind the increased spending and noted that addressing Part B pricing is a key focus of the administration's drug pricing blueprint, called "American Patients First," which was released in May 2018.
"From day one, President Trump has made it a top priority to lower drug prices," CMS said in the fact sheet.
Deductibles in Medicare Part A, which covers traditional inpatient hospital and skilled nursing stays, are also set to increase in the 2020 plan year, CMS said. Inpatient hospital deductibles will increase from $1,364 in 2019 to $1,408.
The deductible accounts for a beneficiary's first 60 days of hospital stays, and in days 61 to 90 they'll be tasked with paying $352 per day in coinsurance, CMS said. Coinsurance for hospital stays was $341 per day in 2019.