Expect Higher Medicare Premiums in 2022

The Social Security Administration has increased the cost of living adjustment to 5.9% for 2022 payments, which is one of the highest COLA increases in history. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced that Medicare premiums are also set to skyrocket next year, cutting into this increase. The upcoming increase is being blamed on increasing healthcare costs and uncertainty over Medicare’s responsibility to pay for a new drug that was recently approved to treat Alzheimer’s disease (for more information about this drug, see our June 15, 2021 newsletter article here). Most people have their Medicare premium automatically deducted from their Social Security check, so the COLA increase will actually not result in a significantly larger check for many people.

The basic monthly premium will jump 15.5% from $148.50 to $170.10 per month. The Medicare Part B deductible will increase by $30 per month, while the Part A deductible will increase by $72 per month. The copay for days 21-100 in skilled care will increase by $9 per day.

In order to find all of the details about the proposed increases and how it will affect your family, you can visit www.cms.gov.

ASK JOLENE

Hook Law Center: Jolene, what can you tell us about the turkeys who were “pardoned” by the president this year?

Jolene: This is a fun tradition that has been happening since 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln “pardoned” the first turkey around Thanksgiving. Each president has participated in this tradition since then.

This year, the lucky turkeys are Peanut Butter and Jelly, and they are from southern Indiana. They arrived in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, November 17 and were pardoned on Friday, November 19. Ahead of the ceremony, the turkeys stayed at the Willard InterContinental Hotel, where lucky turkeys waiting to be pardoned have stayed since 2014. The hotel covers baseboards with brown paper to protect it and adds pine shavings to the floor for easy cleanup. The stay is paid for by the National Turkey Federation.