Page 12 - atd

A12 business
Monday 6 February 2023
What’s new for Medicare in 2023?

for the overage.
Starting in July, insulin used
with a traditional pump
covered by Medicare will
also be capped at $35 for
a month’s supply.
MEDICARE START DATES
HAVE SHIFTED
It used to be that for cer-
tain Medicare sign-up
times, your coverage start-
ed two to three months
later, which could cause
gaps in health care. Start-
ing this year, those dates
The healthcare.gov website is seen, on Dec. 14, 2021 in Fort have changed. If you sign
Washington, Md.
Associated Press up for Medicare the month
of your 65th birthday or
By KATE ASHFORD Medicare Part A is hospital during the three months
of NerdWallet insurance that covers inpa- after, your coverage now
A new year means chang- tient stays in a hospital or starts the month after you
es to Medicare, including skilled nursing facility. Most sign up . Similarly, if you sign
updated premiums and people don’t pay a premi- up for Medicare during the
deductibles and some- um for Part A , but for those general enrollment period
times big policy moves. In who do, those premiums in- from Jan. 1 to March 31
2023, there’s a little of ev- creased to $506 per month, each year, your coverage
erything: Some costs have up from $499 in 2022. And starts the next month. (It
gone down, others have the deductible for a hos- used to start July 1.)
increased, and there are pital stay is $1,600 in 2023 SHINGLES VACCINES ARE
some notable tweaks to for each benefit period, up COVERED
how Medicare works. from $1,556 in 2022. All adult vaccines cov-
Understanding what’s new Copays for inpatient stays ered under Medicare Part
can help you get the most in hospitals and skilled nurs- D and recommended by
from your Medicare bene- ing facilities are also up. the Advisory Committee
fits. Here are some key 2023 These are costs per benefit on Immunization Practices
updates, according to the period: are now covered in full. This
Centers for Medicare & — $400 per day for days 61 includes the shingles vac-
Medicaid Services. to 90 in a hospital (up from cine and the tetanus-diph-
PART B COSTS HAVE GONE $389). theria-whooping cough
DOWN — $800 per “lifetime re- vaccine. Previously, these
Medicare Part B is medi- serve day” after day 90 in vaccines may have been
cal insurance that covers a hospital, up to a limit of subject to deductibles and
needs like doctor visits and 60 days in your lifetime (up cost sharing.
durable medical equip- from $778). MEDICARE ADVANTAGE
ment, such as wheelchairs — $200 per day for days 21 PLAN RATINGS ARE LOWER
and walkers . Everyone pays to 100 in a skilled nursing fa- Each year, the Centers for
a Part B monthly premium cility (up from $194.50). Medicare & Medicaid Ser-
, even people with Medi- INSULIN COSTS ARE CAPPED vices gives every Medicare
care Advantage plans. In New this year, insulin costs Advantage plan a star
2023, the Part B standard are limited to $35 a month rating ranging from 1 to
premium is $164.90 per for Medicare beneficiaries, 5, with 5 being excellent.
month, down from $170.10 and there is no deductible. Overall, the average star
per month in 2022. If you Although the change went rating for Medicare Advan-
have a higher income, you into effect Jan. 1, plans tage plans, weighted by
may pay more . The Part have a deadline of March enrollment, is 4.15 in 2023,
B deductible dropped to to put this system in place. down from 4.37 in 2022 .
$226 in 2023, down from If you pay more than $35 a This change doesn’t mean
$233 in 2022. month for insulin in January quality has dropped.
PART A COSTS HAVE GONE and/or February, ask your In fact, last year’s plan rat-
UP plan about reimbursement ings were unusually high
because of a pandemic
policy that applied a nat-
ural disaster exception to
all Medicare Advantage
plans — instead of just the
ones in areas affected by
something like a hurricane
or flood. As a result, plan
ratings in 2022 were higher
than usual, and this year’s
correction likely represents
a truer rating of plans.q