WASHINGTON — The head of a Senate panel that oversees Medicare says the Biden administration should use its legal authority to cut back a hefty premium increase soon hitting millions of enrollees, as a growing number of Democratic lawmakers call for action amid worries over rising inflation.
Last month, Medicare announced one of the largest increases ever in its “Part B” monthly premium for outpatient care, nearly $22, from $148.50 currently to $170.10 starting in January.
The agency attributed roughly half the hike, about $11 a month, to the need for a contingency fund to cover Aduhelm, a new $56,000 Alzheimer’s drug from Biogen whose benefits have been widely questioned.
For most Medicare enrollees, the premium is deducted from their Social Security checks. Without further action, it would swallow up a significant chunk of seniors’ 5.9% cost of living increase.
“Rather than assessing the current $21.60 per month … premium increase in full, I urge you to reduce the amount,” Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote health secretary Xavier Becerra. “Taking this type of approach would reduce near-term expenses for seniors on fixed incomes.”
There was no immediate response from the administration.
But Wyden wrote Becerra that as secretary of Health and Human Services, he has “broad authority” to determine the “appropriate contingency margin” to use in setting premiums.
Given that Medicare is still developing its formal policy for covering Aduhelm, Wyden said there is a clear rationale for collecting less up front at this particular time.
“It is possible that any near-term Medicare coverage for Aduhelm … could have a limited and narrow scope,” he wrote. “Uncertainty” over the drug’s financial impact on Medicare appeared to be driving much of the calculation of the new premium, Wyden noted.
Soon after Medicare announced the increase last month, Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders called on the administration to roll it back and he was joined by a group of Democrats last week.
Some advocates representing older people are anticipating a backlash from Medicare recipients if nothing is done.
“Once the Part B premium for 2022 starts getting deducted from their Social Security benefits, I think Congress is really going to be in for it,” said analyst Mary Johnson of the nonpartisan Senior Citizens League, which advocates to preserve benefits for retirees.
The Labor Department reported Friday that consumer prices jumped 6.8% over the past year, the biggest inflation increase in nearly four decades. Prices for basic necessities from food, to energy costs, to housing were at the root. Inflation worries are adding to the political uncertainty for Democrats heading into the 2022 midterm elections.