Medicare Part A is hospital insurance. It helps pay for inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility care, hospice care, ambulance services, and some home health care. If you are eligible you do not need to pay for Part A. The new (2010) annual deductible for Part A is $1,100 for a hospital stay of 1 - 60 days. Your costs for extended hospital stays are $275 per day for days 61 - 90, $550 per day for days 91 thru 150, and 100% of the cost for days 150 or more. Skilled Nursing facility care is $0 per day for the first 20 days, and $137.50 per day for days 21 - 100.
Medicare Part B is medical insurance. It helps pay for doctors' services, outpatient hospital care, and some other medical services that Part A doesn't cover, like durable medical equipment and supplies. You must be enrolled in Part A to be eligible for Part B. The new (2010) annual deductible for Part B is $155. Most people elect to enroll in Part B as soon as they become eligible. If you elect not to enroll, be advised that the cost of getting Part B will go up 10% for each full year that you could have had it, but did not enroll. Exceptions are staying in your employers group health plan, a Railroad Retirement plan, or a government employee retirement plan. The new (2010) monthly premium for Part B is $110.50 per month per person for individuals earning less than $82,000 per year, or less than $164,000 for couples filing jointly. CMS sets higher Medicare Part B premiums based upon income and filing status. Higher monthly premiums range from $154.70 to $353.60. You will pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for medical services, and 50% of the Medicare-approved amount for mental health services after meeting the 2010 $155 the annual deductible.
2450 Washington Ave., Suite 190
San Leandro, CA 94577
(510) 352-7522
(510) 352-7525
Brian J. Schroeder - LUTCF
Imre von Komarnicki - CLU