Average Medicare Advantage premiums and Medicare Part D premiums will decrease in 2024, CMS said Sept. 27.
The average Medicare Advantage monthly premium in 2025 will be $17, down from $18.23 in 2024, according to a CMS news release.
Here are 10 things to know:
- The average total Part D premium will decrease by $7.45 in 2025, to $46.50.
- The average stand-alone Part D plan premium will decrease slightly to $40. The average Part D premium for MA plans with prescription drug coverage will decrease by $2.06 to $13.50.
- A provision of the Inflation Reduction Act capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for Medicare beneficiaries takes effect in 2025.
- CMS offered plans a voluntary demonstration program to stabilize premiums as plans implement the out-of-pocket cap. The vast majority of plans opted into the demonstration, CMS said.
- The agency spent around $5 billion to keep Part D premiums stable, the New York Times reported Sept. 27.
- Medicare Advantage benefits, including supplemental benefits, will remain stable in 2025, CMS said in its news release. Some payer executives indicated they may cut back on supplemental offerings in response to rising medical utilization and lowered reimbursement.
- In a Sept. 27 statement Mary Beth Donahue, president of the Better Medicare Alliance, a pro-MA group, said while premiums will remain stable "millions of seniors could see disruptions to their Medicare Advantage coverage next year, including plan closures, higher out-of-pocket costs, and fewer supplemental benefits that close coverage gaps."
- The group will commission further analysis of plan closures, out-of-pocket maximums and the availability of supplemental benefits, the group said.
- CMS projects 35.7 million people will enroll in Medicare Advantage in 2025, accounting for around 51% of Medicare beneficiaries.
- Medicare Advantage open enrollment begins Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7.