Some Connecticut Medicare beneficiaries will see 1st price drop in decade

NORWICH, Conn. (WTNH) — Some Medicare Part B beneficiaries will see their first premium price drop in a decade, according to an announcement Tuesday from Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney (D-District 2).

The change is set to take effect in 2023 after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its plan for Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles. Part B beneficiaries are set to see a 3% decrease in monthly premium costs, and a 3% drop in deductibles.

“Seniors who rely on Medicare Part B haven’t seen a lowered premium rate in ten years—this is a great win for them, and it’s a complete one-eighty from the price hike we fought back against in 2022,” Courtney wrote in the announcement. “The Medicare Part B price increase announced in November 2021 couldn’t have come at a worse time, and we’ve been working ever since then to get it reversed—especially after we found out that the driving force behind the increase wound up being blunted. Shifting the rudder over at CMS isn’t a small task, but we kept at it, and now these lowered costs are going to mean savings for seniors throughout 2023. Coupled with other new forms of lowered costs through bills like the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as with a new COLA adjustment coming up soon, these reduced premiums will really add to the mosaic of cost savings that Congress has authorized for seniors and families moving forward.”

It’s first first time Medicare Part B beneficiaries have seen lower premium costs since 2011, according to the announcement.

The effort comes after Courtney asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reevaluate its proposed 2022 14.5% hike, which he attributes to an increase in the price of Aduhelm, which is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

The price of the drug has since been cut in half.

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