2023 Medicare Premiums at a Glance

• by Christian Worstell
• February 4, 2023
• Reviewed by John Krahnert

In this "How Much Does Medicare Cost?" guide, we detail the 2023 Medicare premiums for each part of Medicare, along with how much these premiums increased from 2022 and how you may be able to save on some of your Medicare costs.

• Medicare Part A premium 2023
• Medicare Part B premium 2023
• Average Part C premiums 2023
• Average Part D premiums 2023

2023 Medicare Part A premium

Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) covers most of the inpatient care you might receive when you're admitted to a hospital, skilled nursing facility, inpatient mental health program and other types of inpatient care.

If you or your spouse worked and payed Medicare taxes for 40 quarters (equivalent to 10 years), you qualify for premium-free Part A. This means you don't pay a premium for your Medicare Part A benefits in 2023.

If you or your spouse paid Medicare taxes for only 30-39 quarters, your 2023 Part A premium will be $278 per month. If you paid Medicare taxes for fewer than 30 quarters, your premium will be $506 per month.

How it changed from 2022
2023 Part A premiums increased by $4 and $7, respectively, from 2022.

2023 Medicare Part B premium

Medicare Part B (medical insurance) covers many outpatient health care services and durable medical equipment (DME). Your Part B benefits may help pay for doctor’s office visits, certain vaccinations, mental health care, devices such as wheelchairs and walkers and more. 

The standard monthly Medicare Part B premium is $164.90 in 2023. Some beneficiaries who have higher reported incomes may have to pay a higher Part B premium, with what is called the Income-Related Monthly Adjusted Amount (IRMAA). If you must pay a Medicare IRMAA, it will be based on your reported income from two years ago.

The table below illustrates how your 2023 Part B premiums could be affected by your reported income in 2021.

Most beneficiaries are automatically enrolled in Part B when they're automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A. Part B coverage is optional, and your Medicare card will include instructions on how to drop Part B if you wish to.

Your monthly Part B premium can be deducted directly from your monthly Social Security, Railroad Retirement Board or Office of Personnel Management benefits payments.

If you don’t receive any of these types of monthly benefits, you'll be billed for your Part B premium and can pay it in several ways. You can pay your Part A and Part B premiums online at www.medicare.gov, the official website of the federal Medicare program.

How it changed from 2022
The 2023 Part B premium decreased by $5.20 from 2022.

• By law, Part B premiums for current Medicare beneficiaries may not increase by more than the amount of the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits.
  
  
• The COLA in 2023 is 8.7 percent, largely due to high persistent inflation.

2023 Medicare Part C premiums

Medicare Part C plans are often called Medicare Advantage plans. Private companies sell Medicare Advantage plans, so plan availability and premiums may vary depending on where you live and the plans offered by various insurance carriers in your area.

The vast majority (89 percent) of Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage in 2023 (these are called MA-PD plans). In 2023, almost every Medicare beneficiary (99 percent) have access to a MA-PD plan with a $0 monthly premium, though beneficiaries typically still have to pay their monthly Medicare Part B premium.¹

The average 2023 Medicare Advantage plan premium is $17.60 per month.²

Medicare Advantage plans are required to offer the same benefits as Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), and some Medicare Advantage plans may also offer additional benefits for things like routine dental and vision coverage, non-emergency transportation, caregiver support, allowances for over-the-counter (OTC) items and more.

These extra benefits aren't available with every plan or in every location, however, and some may be available at an extra cost. Speak with a licensed insurance agent to compare the benefits of plans available where you live.

2023 Medicare Part D premiums

Medicare Part D cover most prescription drugs available through retail pharmacies. Private insurance companies sell Part D plans, so like Medicare Advantage plans, Part D plan premiums will vary from plan to plan.

The average Part D plan premium in 2023 is $43 per month.³

As with Medicare Part B, Part D plan beneficiaries with higher reported incomes may have to pay more for their Part D coverage due to the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA). The table below shows the extra amount you might pay for Medicare Part D premiums in 2023 based on your reported income from 2021.

Medicare beneficiaries have the option of getting Medicare drug coverage through a Part D prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage.

By comparing plans online, you can find out if any plans available near you cover the prescription drugs you take, and the cost you can expect to pay under the plan. A licensed insurance agent can also help search for plans that cover your drugs and your preferred pharmacies.

You can also compare Part D prescription drug plans and enroll online when you visit MyRxPlans.com.

2023 Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) premiums

Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) plans are also sold by private insurance companies. Medigap plans help reduce your Medicare spending by partially or fully covering out-of-pocket costs such as Medicare deductibles, copayments, coinsurance and more.

The average Medicare Supplement plan premium in 2022 was $130.80 per month.⁴

Your age, gender, smoking status, where you live and other factors can affect the Medicare Supplement plan premiums in 2023.

2023 Medicare late enrollment penalties

Medicare Part A, Part B and Part D include late enrollment penalties that may affect you, depending on when you enroll in each part of Medicare. These penalties may be avoided in special circumstances, depending on your situation.

• For Part A, the late enrollment penalty applies to beneficiaries who don't qualify for premium-free Part A (as outlined above) and who did not sign up for Medicare during their Initial Enrollment Period.
  
  The Part A late enrollment penalty is 10 percent of any owed premium, which must be paid for twice the number of years for which you were eligible but did not enroll.
  
  
• The Part B late enrollment penalty is charged to beneficiaries for every year they were eligible for Part B but did not sign up for it. The penalty is 10 percent of the monthly premium amount, and you have to pay it every year for as long as you continue to be enrolled in Medicare Part B.
  
  
• For Part D, the late enrollment penalty depends on how long you went without a Part D plan or other creditable prescription drug coverage.
  
  To calculate the Part D late enrollment penalty, Medicare multiples 1 percent of the “national base beneficiary premium” (which is $32.75 in 2023) by the number of months you went without coverage. And because the national base beneficiary premium can increase each year, so too can the penalty.

Paying Medicare premiums in 2023

If you receive Social Security benefits, you can generally have your Part B, Medicare Advantage, Part D or Medicare Supplement Insurance premiums deducted directly from your Social Security check. Those who do not receive Social Security benefits are directly billed for their premiums.

Payment arrangements may include paying online through your Medicare plan account, mailing a check, an electronic transfer from a bank account or charging a credit or debit card.

Discounts and financial assistance

There are several ways qualified Medicare beneficiaries can get help paying their insurance costs.

• Medicare Savings Programs can help pay for Part A and Part B premiums, and potentially other out-of-pocket costs.
• Extra Help is a federal program that helps pay for Part D premiums.
• PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) can help alleviate the cost of a Part D plan.

In addition, because Medicare Advantage, Part D and Medigap plans are sold by private insurers, companies may offer various discounts and cost-saving incentives to customers.

Some of the offers that can be found may include discounts for households or married partners, non-smokers and more, but these will vary based on the plan provider.

Compare Medicare premiums online or with the help of a licensed agent

A licensed insurance agent can help you compare premiums for Medicare Advantage plans available where you live. You can also compare premiums online. Be sure to find out which plans cover your prescription drugs and your preferred doctors, and find out what extra benefits may be available and what they may cost.

About the author

Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.

Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.

Christian has written hundreds of articles for MedicareAvantage.com that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.

Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.

A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

If you’re a member of the media looking to connect with Christian, please don’t hesitate to email our public relations team at Mike@tzhealthmedia.com.

 

 

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