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Medicare beneficiaries would get a relief from the higher Part B costs next year in the Republican-proposed coronavirus relief package in the Senate on Monday.
Under the provision in the Republican Party proposal, called the HEALS Act, Medicare Part B premiums in 2021, which covers outpatient care and medical supplies, would be frozen at 2020 levels. However, beneficiaries would pay an average monthly surcharge of $ 3 per month, until the deficit is recovered, the result of keeping premiums stable, according to a summary by the Senate Finance Committee.
The idea is to protect the 62.5 million Medicare beneficiaries, most of whom are 65 or older, from an increase in Part B premiums due in part to the reduction in money going into the program due to financial problems related to the pandemic. Medicare-related premiums are recalculated each year and are effective each January.
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This year, the standard Part B premium is $ 144.60, although people with higher incomes pay more through income-related surcharges, which would also remain the same by 2021. Other members pay less than the standard due Because they are “harmless,” that is, the premium cannot increase by more than the annual cost of living adjustment, or COLA, applied to Social Security benefits.
For Part A, which covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing, and some home health care services, most Medicare beneficiaries do not pay any premium because they have enough work history to qualify to receive it at no cost. Part D, which covers prescription drugs, also includes premium-related premium surcharges, which may vary by coverage, for those with higher incomes.
The Republican Party bill lacks some Medicare changes to the advocates ‘wish list that were included in the Democrats’ version of a relief bill, the HEROES Act, which passed the House in May and did not has been retaken by the Senate. The leaders of both parties must now resolve their differences between the two measures, and it is unclear when a final package will emerge that can pass to both houses.
The bill would also expand certain rules that expand the use of telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries during the pandemic.
Separately, the measure includes another round of stimulus payments of $ 1,200, structured similarly to the first payments authorized by previous legislation. Those payments were up to $ 1,200 per individual and $ 2,400 per couple, and $ 500 per dependent child under the age of 17. That age limit for dependents would be removed.
The bill would also provide $ 200 a week in additional unemployment benefits for a set time until states can implement systems to pay 70% of a person’s income. The current extra $ 600 a week in federal unemployment money ends this week.
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