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Medicare premiums will drop next year. How much can you save?

Those on Medicare will be paying less next year, which is welcome news for those who pay premiums on the program’s Part B plan, according to The Washington Post.

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The rare decrease in cost, which is the first one in 10 years, will be about 3% of the average monthly premium.

“That’s something we may never see again in the rest of our lives,” said Mary Johnson, the Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League.

“That can really be used to pay off credit cards, to restock pantries that have gotten low because people can’t afford to buy as much today as they did a year ago and do some long-postponed repairs to homes and cars.”

Medicare Part B covers routine doctor visits and outpatient care. Seniors were hit with a 14.5% increase — a $21.60 spike — in the cost of the plan for this year’s premium.

For seniors who have both Social Security and Medicare services, the Medicare Part B premium is automatically deducted from their monthly Social Security checks.

The drop will lower the typical Part B premium by $5.20 a month, meaning the standard monthly premium, the premium most people pay, will be $164.90, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on Tuesday.

The annual deductible for Part B — expenses paid for out-of-pocket — will decline to $226 in 2023. That is a $7 decrease from the 2022 deductible of $233.

“(To) millions of seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare, that means more money in their pockets while still getting the care they need,” President Joe Biden said in announcing the premium cut.

“Desperation is setting in at the White House,” the Republican National Committee said in response to Biden’s speech Tuesday. “Voters have a clear choice in the midterms as they know Biden and the Democrats sent costs for groceries soaring, created a recession and increased taxes.”

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