Everyone pays an $88.50 premium per month for Medicare Part B. In 2007, it is expected to rise to $99.50, and a new provision inserted as part of the prescription drug bill will start. This will be a surcharge to make up for budget deficits and the growing cost of health care.
In 2007, if you are single witha modified adjusted gross income of $80,000-$100,000, you will pay the $99.50 premium and a surchage of 13% = $112.70 per month. If you are married and have an adjusted AGI of $160,000-$200,000, you will also pay $112.70 per month.
The full surcharge will be phased in in 3 years, so in 2008, the 13.3% surcharge for people in the category cited above will double to 26.6% of the base premium. In 2009, the surcharge for this group will rise to the full 40% of the base premium.
According to Kiplinger's Retirement Report, if you (an individual) have an annual income of $250,000, the (maximum) surcharge will have risen 220% and you will be paying $318 or more per month, more than 3 times the standard Part B premium.
Medicare benificiaries who are affected by the surcharges are to be notified by letter in November.
Kiplinger's Retirement Report, June 2006
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