Medicare Part B Premiums May Increase Due To Expensive Alzheimer’s Drug

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We are all thrilled that a new drug has been approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to treat Alzheimer’s disease.  It has been over a decade since a new drug has been introduced to treat this horrible condition.   As regular readers of my blog know, both my father and my grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease when they passed away.  I asked Nana when she was 94 if she knew who I was and she looked at me for several minutes trying to come up with a name.  Finally, she said, “I don’t know who you are but I know that you love me.â€Â  On the bad news side of the equation of Leqembi is that it’s very expensive and could drive up Medicare Part B premiums by almost $10/month in 2024.   The drug will be the third most costly drug covered by Medicare Part B, according to the non-profit health researcher KFF.  Another estimate from a non-partisan seniors group The Senior Citizens League, estimates that the drug will add $5/month to the tab for everyone who has Medicare Part B.

There was a 15% increase in premiums in 2022 when another Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, was approved by the FTC and hit the market.  The Senior Citizens League has projected a 3.0% cost of living, or COLA, in 2024, and a Part B premium increase of 8.7%.  Medicare is estimated to cost about $5K/year to Medicare recipients who take the new drug, with $26,500 the government paying the balance of the treatment, according to KFF.

Price Hikes Abound At Nursing Homes And Assisted Living Facilities

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The COLA increase coming in January to Social Security recipients will help, but some segments of senior spending are rising at alarming double-digit rates.  The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story on price-hikes at nursing homes, assisted living and other senior living facilities.  It featured an interview with Dan Gallo, who received a letter saying that the cost of his grandmother’s care would go up 10.2% effective on September 15 to be followed by another 9.7% increase in 2023.  “How many seniors can afford an immediate $750 a month additional to their monthly fixed budget?†he asked rhetorically.  Blaming inflation, the nursing home said it would start adding a $25 daily fee to cover inflation

It’s Official : Social Security Payments To Rise By 8.7% In 2023

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The Social Security Administration announced that starting in January, Social Security checks will increase by 8.7%, the largest cost-of-living COLA increase since 1981.  The increase will benefit 70 million Social Security recipients benefits which will go from $1,699, on average, to $1,814.  This will be welcome news for those who have been struggling with high inflation.

Social Security Payments To Leap In The Double Digits Come January

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Social Security payments are expected to rise by more than 10% next January given the soaring inflation that we have experienced.  Mary Johnson, policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League, cautions that this number may be too high, particularly if inflation cools later in the year.  The best case scenario : A huge increase in January while inflation cools to a reasonable level in 2023.

How To Maximize Social Security Benefits

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Many people make the mistake of taking Social Security as soon as possible rather than their normal retirement age.  This can have a huge negative financial impact if you live a long life.  If you are in good health, most financial planners tell you to wait until you are 70 years old in order to maximize your benefits.  The Wall Street Journal regularly writes a report on various financial questions, one of the latest from a 64 year-old who was planning on waiting until she turned 68 before filing for Social Security.  However, she is thinking of taking it now because the huge cost-of-living (COLA) increase which will likely come next January.  Glenn Reffenach of the Journal wrote, “Not to worry.  Actually you already are qualifying for these adjustments.  The Social Security Administration on its website spells out how a person’s benefits are calculated and how COLAs, in specific, fit into that calculation.  Here’s the wording:

You are eligible for cost-of-living benefit increases starting with the year you turn age 62.  This is true even if you don’t get benefits until your full retirement age or age 70.â€

In essence, your Social Security benefit is recalculated each year even if you haven’t filed for benefits yet.

Big Boost In Social Security A Mixed Blessing

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Many seniors have been elated to read in the paper that their Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in their Social Security Payments is likely to rise more than 6% come January.  However, before you get too excited, news just broke that inflation in the U.S. hit a 31 year high in October at 6.2%.  “It increasingly appears that the COLA for 2022 will be the highest paid since 1983 when it was 7.4%,†Mary Johnson, Social Security policy analyst for the Senior Citizens League, told AARP Bulletin (October, 2021 P4).  The increase in 22021 was only 1.3% and over the past 10 years it has increased by 1.7%.  Let’s hope inflation rates decline next year!

Good News And Bad News About Social Security

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There was good news and bad news in the release from the Social Security Administration.  Recipients of Social Security will see a 5.9% boost in their payments starting next January.  On average, this will mean a $92 boost to $1,657/month, although payments can vary widely based on your lifetime earnings.  That’s the largest increase since 1982.   The bad news : inflation, which is what is driving the cost of living increase, is rising sharply.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/social-security-cola-increase-2022-11634067648?mod=djem10point

Social Security CPI Forecasted To Be Up 6.1%

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There is good news and bad news in a new report coming out from The Senior Citizens League, a non-partisan senior group, which raised their forecast for the Social Security from 5.3% to 6.1%.  That’s a huge increase from prior years.  However, it’s based on a basket of goods cost of living (COLA) increase, which means that the increase will likely just make up for a 6.1% hike in goods and services that you buy every day.  In addition, some things like real estate and rental prices, medical costs and long-term care are skyrocketing.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrae/2021/07/14/how-big-will-the-social-security-cost-of-living-adjustment-be-for-2022/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=personalized&cdlcid=607e1442fe2c195e916f3bb4&sh=433b142b52fa

Monterey, CA Social Security Payments Rise Slightly This Year

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Social Security participants are likely to get an ever-so-slightly increase this year (+1.3%) according to the numbers looking at the index that cost of living adjustments (COLA) are based on.  Of the 68 million people on Social Security and Disability, the average payment will go up by $19.70 to $1,537.  “It makes people have to take more out of savings,†Mary Johnson, a policy analyst for the Senior Citizen League, said.  That’s due to the fact that many people believe the index doesn’t adequately account for inflation.  “Other people who don’t have savings will go into debt.  Many people may go into poverty,†she said.  Still, the cost of living in Monterey is so high this is not going to make much of a dent for local seniors.

Social Security Benefits To Rise 1.3% In 2021

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The cost of living increase (COLA) for seniors and others receiving Social Security will rise only 1.3% in 2021, down from the 1.6% increase in 2020.  This works out to an average of $20/month for those receiving the benefit.  The Social Security Administration (SSA) sets the increase based on the Labor Department’s consumer-price-index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, also known as the CPI-W.