Perspective               

New Medicare Premiums Deductibles for 2003

The Department of Health and Human Services has announced the new Medicare premiums and deductibles for 2003. The Part A deductible, the amount you must pay before Medicare begins paying for inpatient hospital services, will go from $812 to $840, a 3.5 percent increase. The Part A deductible applies only to people in Original Medicare, although people in Medicare HMOs usually pay copays for these services.

The premium for Part B, which helps pay for doctors' and other medical services, will rise to $58.70 a month, up 8.7 percent from $54 a month in 2002. This Part B premium applies to everyone with Medicare, including people in Medicare HMOs. In addition to the Part B premium, people in Medicare HMOs often must pay an HMO monthly premium.

This rise in Medicare premiums and deductibles, compared with a somewhat smaller Social Security cost of living increase for 2003, means more hardship for older and disabled Americans. If Medicare were privatized and not administered by the federal government, health care costs for people with Medicare are projected to be even higher. Private health insurance premiums are jumping 15.4 percent next year-the second consecutive year of a double-digit increase. Medicare, by comparison, is a model of efficiency. Private insurers, and politicians who push for privatization of health care coverage for older and disabled Americans, have yet to address the projected dire financial consequences for people with Medicare.

For a list of the 2003 Medicare premiums and deductibles, click here.

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