The projected average premium for 2023 Medicare Advantage (MA) plans is $18 a month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced.
In the wake of news earlier in the week that Medicare Part B premiums will decline next year, CMS announced that premiums for MA and Medicare Part D prescription plans will be lower in 2023 than they were in 2022.
The projected average premium for 2023 MA plans is $18 per month, a decline of nearly 8 percent from the 2022 average premium of $19.52.
In addition, as previously announced, CMS said that thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, people who have Medicare prescription drug coverage will see improved and more affordable benefits, including a $35 cost-sharing limit on a month’s supply of insulin, as well as recommended vaccines at no additional cost.
The average basic monthly premium for standard Part D coverage is projected to be $31.50, compared to $32.08 in 2022.
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CMS released the information about 2023 premiums and deductibles now so seniors can best determine their coverage needs prior to Medicare Open Enrollment, which begins October 15. “It is more important than ever for people to review their health care coverage and explore their Medicare options during Open Enrollment this year,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in the announcement.
In other news, CMS announced:
- More than 1,200 MA plans will participate in the CMS Innovation Center’s MA Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model in 2023. The model evaluates the effect of customized benefits that are designed to better manage diseases and meet a wide range of health-related social needs, from food insecurity to social isolation. The benefits under this model are projected to be offered to 6 million people.
- The VBID Model’s Hospice Benefit Component, now in its third year, will be offered by 119 Medicare Advantage plans in portions of 24 states and U.S. territories, providing enrollees increased access to palliative and integrated hospice care. MA plans participating in the Hospice Benefit Component will implement strategies to advance health equity across all aspects of their participation.
- In 2023, the agency will begin to require all MA dual eligible special needs plans (D-SNPs) to establish enrollee advisory committees and consult with those committees on various issues, including improving health equity for underserved populations.
- New policies related to cost sharing are estimated to increase payment from MA plans to providers serving dually eligible individuals who incur high costs.