Medicare premiums rise modestly next year
Medicare has announced the “Part B” premium for 2017, and for most beneficiaries it’s a modest increase.
Next year’s tiny Social Security cost-of-living increase means that about 70 percent of Medicare recipients will be protected from rising medical costs. For this group, the average premium will be about $109 a month.
That’s about 4 percent more than the $104.90 they paid this year.
Medicare’s Part B covers outpatient services such as office visits.