BNSF News

Medicare Part B Premiums for 2009

2008-12-01

The Railroad Retirement Board recently issued a press release reviewing Medicare premiums for 2009. To view this release online along with its accompanying tables, click on or type in your browser the address shown below:

http://www.rrb.gov/opa/pr/pr0807.asp

According to the release, the standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $96.40 in 2009, the same as the Part B premium for 2008.

Until 2007, all beneficiaries paid the same basic premium amount for Medicare Part B, which is set annually at a level that covers 25 percent of the estimated Part B program costs for the year. The government had subsidized the remaining 75 percent for all beneficiaries. As part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, this 75 percent subsidy began decreasing in 2007 for those making more than certain annual threshold amounts.

The Part B monthly premiums for some beneficiaries will increase again in 2009, depending on an individual’s or married couple’s modified adjusted gross income. 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is responsible for all income-related monthly adjustment amount determinations. Those Railroad Retirement and Social Security Medicare beneficiaries affected by the 2009 Part B income-related premiums will receive a notice from SSA by December 2008. The notice will include an explanation of the circumstances where a beneficiary may request a new determination. Persons who have any questions or would like to request a new determination should contact SSA after receiving and reviewing their notice.

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