Medicare Drug Benefit Premiums Rise, but Less Than Expected

clipped from blogs.wsj.com The average premium Medicare beneficiaries pay for prescription drug coverage will rise 12% next year — though in real terms that’s only three bucks a month more than they’re already paying. Based on bids from the private insurers who provide the Medicare Part D benefit, the feds said yesterday that the average premium next year would be $28 a month. (UnitedHealth, Humana and Cigna are among those providing the plans, Bloomberg notes.) The rise is due largely to people taking more medicines, and to the rising cost of drugs, the Associated Press says. It’s worth noting that many of the most expensive drugs on the market now, such as some cancer treatments given via infusion, are covered by a different Medicare benefit, so the high cost of those drugs doesn’t figure into the Part D premiums.