Jack's Blog on Medicare Plan Choices

2024 PART A PREMIUMS

Most people will not pay a Medicare Part A Premium.  That doesn’t make it free.  You or your spouse have already worked for it.  Some people get Medicare before the age of 65.  The situations in those cases initiate something called premium free Part A.

IF you did not pay enough into Medicare while you were working, you can expect to pay either $278 or $505 monthly in 2024.  Note that you must sign up for Part B to buy Part A.

2024 MEDICARE PART A DEDUCTIBLES

The Inpatient Hospital Deductible in 2024 is $1632 for each “benefit period.”  That is up from $1,600 in 2023.

There’s no limit to the number of benefit periods you can have in a year. This means you may pay the deductible more than once in a year.   Let’s discuss how that works. A benefit period starts when you are admitted as an inpatient.  It officially ends when you haven’t gotten any inpatient hospital care for 60 days in a row.  Let’s say you are admitted into the hospital and released.   If you wind up going back in within 60 days, you do not pay the deductible again.  However, if you go back in after 60 days, you pay the deductible again. 

If you have a supplement plan that I recommended to you, you have no deductible for any inpatient hospital admission.  Yes, there are some plans that do not cover this or partially cover this.  Be aware.

Medicare Advantage plans take the sting out of the full deductible when your hospital stay is short.  Plans vary and should be a careful consideration if you are a candidate for frequent admissions.

Before choosing an Advantage or Supplement plan, ensure you have a thorough understanding of Medicare itself. When it’s time to explore your options, don’t fall for a sales pitch from a single company or an agent representing only one provider.

At “More Plans More Choices,” I can provide you with side-by-side comparisons from various insurance carriers. More carriers plus more plans equals more choices.

Call me toll free at (888) 883-6074

Here is my disclaimer.  I gather most of my information from Medicare.gov and to the best of my knowledge, it is accurate.  Please use this information as a guideline and double check it yourself as I am only an average man at my best.