mo money mo money
Medicare Monthly Premium Rising To $89.20 in 2006
By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 1, 2005; Page A25
Medicare payments to physicians jumped 15 percent last year, an unexpectedly large increase that prompted Bush administration officials yesterday to announce that monthly premiums for America's seniors will rise to $89.20 in 2006, $1.50 more than initially projected.
The unusually sharp spike was caused primarily by lengthier office visits, more complex imaging such as MRI scans and doctors administering more lab tests and treatments in their offices instead of at a hospital.
"There's no question many of these things can help prevent complications of serious chronic diseases and keep patients out of the hospital," said Mark B. McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But he expressed concern that that is not the case in every instance.
The CMS laid out the costs in a letter yesterday to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
Monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient services, were $66.60 last year and rose to $78.20 for 2005. In its March 23 report, the Medicare Board of Trustees projected an increase of $9.50 a month, but it now will be $11.