Eli's Hospice Insider

Published on Fri Dec 20, 2019 PDF

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.