Seniors had reason to let out a whimper of pleasure when the Biden Administration announced that Medicare’s monthly, part B premiums would go down by 3% next year — the first such decline in a decade.
To be sure, the sums that they will save will be small, with most of those covered on the government insurance program next year paying $164.90 a month for Part B and seeing a savings of $5.20. But over the course of 2023, administration officials say, this sum will help seniors recoup what they were charged in 2022 when they were hit one of the largest, single-year Medicare premium increases in recent times.
So, while the head-spinning fiscal mess of Medicare costs may be straightening out a tad, the underlying debacle that caused it all is still festering and ready to cause more prescription drug regulatory fiascoes.