There are 4 primary parts of Medicare, which include some private Medicare policy options. Another type of private Medicare policy is Medicare Supplement Insurance (also called Medigap).
In this guide, we detail the 2021 Medicare costs for each of the following types of Medicare coverage:
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There are several types of costs that may be associated with each type of Medicare plan.
Depending on the type of Medicare coverage you have, there may be other costs that you could potentially face. Keep reading to learn more.
Medicare Part A is known as hospital insurance and helps cover:
Most people do not pay a premium for Medicare Part A, as long as they or or their spouse paid sufficient Medicare taxes while working.
Your Part A deductible is the amount you must pay in hospital costs before Medicare begins paying its share.
In 2021, the Part A deductible is $1,484 per benefit period.
Medicare Part A benefit periods are based on how long you’ve been discharged from the hospital:
After you meet your Part A deductible in a benefit period, you will be responsible for daily coinsurance payments for as long as you remain hospitalized:
Medicare Part A covers skilled nursing care provided in a skilled nursing facility under certain circumstances. The 2021 Part A coinsurance amounts are as follows:
Medicare Part B is known as medical insurance and helps cover preventive services and medically necessary services that include (but aren't limited to):
In 2021, the standard Medicare Part B premium is $148.50 per month.
Most people pay the standard premium amount, but your Part B premium could be higher depending on your income. Some people who get Social Security benefits may pay less.
In 2021, individuals with reported 2019 incomes of more than $88,000 and married couples with reported 2019 incomes of greater than $176,000 have to pay more for their Part B coverage.
This increased amount is called the Medicare IRMAA, or the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount.
The chart below shows what you will pay for your Part B premium in 2021 based on your modified adjusted gross income from two years prior (2019).
2019 Individual tax return | 2019 Joint tax return | 2019 Married and separate tax return | 2021 Part B monthly premium |
---|---|---|---|
$88,000 or less |
$176,000 or less |
$88,000 or less |
$148.50 |
More than $88,000 and up to $111,000 |
More than $176,000 and up to $222,000 |
N/A |
$207.90 |
More than $111,000 up to $138,000 |
More than $222,000 up to $276,000 |
N/A |
$297.00 |
More than $138,000 up to $165,000 |
More than $276,000 up to $330,000 |
N/A |
$386.10 |
More than $165,000 up to $500,000 |
More than $330,000 up to $750,000 |
More than $88,000 up to $412,000 |
$475.20 |
More than or equal to $500,000 |
More than or equal to $750,000 |
More than or equal to $412,000 |
$504.90 |
Your Part B deductible is the amount you must pay in medical costs before Medicare begins paying its share.
In 2021, the Part B deductible is $203 per year.
After you meet your Part B deductible, you typically pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for most doctor’s services.
Doctors who do not accept Medicare assignment can charge more than the Medicare-approved amount for a service or procedure. The difference between the amount a doctor charges and the Medicare-approved amount is known as an excess charge.
The Part B excess charge can be as much as 15 percent more than the Medicare-approved amount.
Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) is an alternative to Original Medicare that provides the same benefits as Medicare Part A and Part B.
Original Medicare does not cover vision, dental or hearing services that are not considered medically necessary. This includes routine and preventive care.
If you’re enrolled in Original Medicare, you are responsible for 100 percent of the costs related to these services.
If your Medicare Advantage plan includes coverage for prescription drugs, you typically pay a coinsurance or copayment for covered drugs. With Original Medicare, you could pay 100 percent of the costs of many prescription drugs.
Specific prescription drug costs will vary depending on the Medicare Advantage plan you enroll in.
Medicare Advantage have an out-of-pocket maximum, which limits how much you could pay out of pocket for care in a given year. Original Medicare does not have an out-of-pocket maximum.
The following chart shows how Medicare Advantage coverage and benefits compare to those of Original Medicare.
Original Medicare | Medicare Advantage | |
---|---|---|
Helps cover hospital and medical costs |
✔ |
✔ |
May cover routine dental care |
✘ |
✔ |
May cover routine vision care |
✘ |
✔ |
May cover prescription drugs |
✘ |
✔ |
Has an out of pocket maximum |
✘ |
✔ |
Because Medicare Advantage plans are sold by private insurance companies, there is no standard premium like there is with Original Medicare. Premiums may vary according to plan, insurance carrier and location.
In 2021, the average monthly premium for a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription drug coverage is around $33 per month.1
Depending on where you live, there may be Medicare Advantage plans available that feature $0 premiums.
According to Medicare expert John Barkett, Medicare Advantage premiums dropped by around 14 percent in 2020. Hear more about this in the video below.
Deductibles for Medicare Advantage plans can vary.
In 2021, the average weighted drug deductible for a Medicare Advantage plan with prescription drug coverage is around $167 per year.1
Some Medicare Advantage plans may feature $0 deductibles.
Original Medicare does not generally cover prescription drugs, with the exception of limited outpatient prescription drugs.
If you want Medicare prescription drug coverage, you can enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage, or you can enroll in a stand-alone Part D (Medicare Prescription Drug Plan) plan.
Compare Part D plans available where you live and enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan online in as little as 10 minutes when you visit MyRxPlans.com.2
If you enroll in a Medicare Part D plan, you typically pay a monthly premium for your Part D coverage in addition to your Medicare Part B and Medicare Advantage premiums (if applicable).
Part D premiums will differ from one plan, carrier or location to another.
The average premium paid for a Part D plan in 2021 is about $41 per month.1
Some Part D plans may feature $0 deductibles.
As with Medicare Part B, some people who earn a higher income may pay a higher premium for their Part D plan. This increased amount is called the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMA).
The table below shows what you can expect to pay for your 2021 Part D premiums based on your reported income in 2019.
2019 Individual tax return | 2019 Joint tax return | 2019 Married and separate tax return | 2021 Part D monthly premium |
---|---|---|---|
$88,000 or less |
$176,000 or less |
$88,000 or less |
Your plan premium |
More than $88,000 and up to $111,000 |
More than $176,000 and up to $222,000 |
N/A |
$12.30 + your plan premium |
More than $111,000 up to $138,000 |
More than $222,000 up to $276,000 |
N/A |
$31.80 + your plan premium |
More than $138,000 up to $165,000 |
More than $276,000 up to $330,000 |
N/A |
$51.20 + your plan premium |
More than $165,000 up to $500,000 |
More than $330,000 up to $750,000 |
More than $88,000 up to $412,000 |
$70.70 + your plan premium |
More than or equal to $500,000 |
More than or equal to $750,000 |
More than or equal to $412,000 |
$77.10 + your plan premium |
Part D deductibles may vary from one plan to the next.
The maximum allowed annual Part D plan deductible in 2021 is $445. Some Part D plans may offer $0 deductibles for certain drugs.
Medicare Part D plans include a drug formulary, which is a list of what drugs the plan may cover.
Medicare plan formularies are divided into tiers. Formulary tiers correspond to how much you might pay in coinsurance or copayments for specific drugs (after you meet your Part D deductible):
Medicare Part D plans have a coverage gap, or “donut hole,” which is a temporary limit on how much a Prescription Drug Plan will pay for prescription drug costs. In 2020, the donut hole closed.
Here’s how the Part D donut hole works:
Medicare Supplement Insurance, or Medigap, helps cover some of the out-of-pocket costs that Medicare Part A and Part B don't cover, such as deductibles, coinsurance and copayments.
There are 10 different types of standardized Medigap plans available in most states. The types of costs that different types of Medigap plans are illustrated in the Medigap plans comparison chart below.
Medicare Supplement Benefits | A | B | C1 | D | F1 | G | K | L | M | N |
Part A coinsurance and hospital costs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Part B coinsurance or copayment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 50% | 75% | ✓ | ✓ |
First 3 pints of blood | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 50% | 75% | ✓ | ✓ |
Part A hospice care co-insurance or co-payment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 50% | 75% | ✓ | ✓ |
Co-insurance for skilled nursing facility | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 50% | 75% | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Medicare Part A deductible | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 50% | 75% | 50% | ✓ | |
Medicare Part B deductible | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||
Medicare Part B excess charges | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||
Foreign travel emergency | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 80% | ||||
1. Plans C and F are not available to new beneficiaries who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. 2. Plans F and G also offer a high deductible plan which has an annual deductible of $2,370 in 2021. Once the annual deductible is met, the plan pays 100% of covered services for the rest of the year. The high deductible Plan F is not available to new beneficiaries who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. 3. Plan K has an out-of-pocket yearly limit of $6,220 in 2021. Plan L has an out-of-pocket yearly limit of $3,110 in 2021. 4. Plan N pays 100% of the Part B coinsurance, except for a copayment of up to $20 for some office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that don’t result in an inpatient admission. View an image version of this table. |
Original Medicare does not typically cover healthcare services received outside of the U.S. and its territories. This means that you are generally responsible for 100 percent of your health care costs while traveling abroad.
Listed below are three exceptions to this rule.
If you have a Medigap plan that helps cover foreign travel emergency costs, however, you could get help covering some of the costs that Original Medicare would not otherwise typically pay.
Once you’re enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B, you may be able to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan.
Speak with a licensed insurance agent to learn more about your options and to compare Medicare Advantage plans in your area.
Compare Medicare Advantage plan costs in your area
Compare PlansOr call TTY Users: 711 to speak with a licensed insurance agent. We accept calls 24/7!
1 MedicareAdvantage.com's The Best States for Medicare in 2021 report. (Oct. 27, 2020).
2 10-minute claim is based solely on the time to complete the e-application if you have your Medicare card and other pertinent information available when you apply. The time to shop for plans, compare rates, and estimate drug costs is not factored into the claim. Application time could be longer. Actual time to enroll will depend on the consumer and their plan comparison needs.
Compare your Medigap plan options by visiting MedicareSupplement.com
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