Eli's Hospice Insider

Along with the New Year come increases in patient payment amounts and more.

In 2020, the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $144.60 for 2020, an increase of $9.10 from $135.50 this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says in a release. The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $198 in 2020, an increase of $13 from $185 this year.

“The increase in the Part B premiums and deductible is largely due to rising spending on physician-administered drugs,” CMS says. “These higher costs have a ripple effect and result in higher Part B premiums and deductible.”

The Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible will be $1,408 in 2020, up $44 from $1,364 this year. In 2020, beneficiaries must pay a coinsurance amount of $352 per day for the 61st through 90th day of a hospitalization (compared to $341 in 2019).

For beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities, the daily coinsurance for days 21 through 100 of extended care services in a benefit period will be $176.00 in 2020, compared to $170.50 this year. 

On the ALJ front, 2020 will bring a new amount in controversy (AIC) threshold level for Administrative Law Judge hearings and judicial review under the Medicare appeals process.

The 2020 AIC threshold amounts increase from $160 this year to $170 for ALJ hearings and from $1,630 this year to $1,670 for judicial review, CMS notes in the Oct. 7 Federal Register at  www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-10-07/pdf/2019-21751.pdf. CMS updates the AIC threshold amounts annually and they take effect Jan. 1.