Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Part B premiums and deductible amounts for 2021. Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient services, some home health services, durable medical equipment (DME), and some other medical services. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $148.50 in 2021, an increase of $3.90 from $144.60 in 2020.  

Recent legislation reduced the premium increase that would have occurred given the estimated growth in Medicare spending next year. Medicare spending is predicted to grow due to people seeking care they may have delayed during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the availability of more COVID-19 treatments, and the availability of COVID-19 vaccines (for which CMS recently announced that there would be no out-of-pocket costs for seniors). 

CMS also announced that the annual deductible for Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $203 in 2021, an increase of $5 from $198 in 2020, and the Medicare Part A inpatient deductible that beneficiaries will pay when admitted to the hospital is $1,484 in 2021, an increase of $76 from $1,408 in 2020. 

Read more about the legislation that reduced the Part B premium increase for 2021.