Oct 8, 2015 3 min read

Sen. Bob Casey is among a group of 10 Democrats in the U.S. Senate is hoping for bipartisan support to pass a bill that would contain expected increases in both Medicare and supplemental health coverage that will kick in next year.

Casey, during a telephone press conference with reporters Thursday, referred to final figures that are due in a few weeks, but placed himself in the “I’m in the whatever-it-takes category” even though it’s unclear how to offset the billions of dollars that the proposed legislation would cost.

Much has been made this year of the 50th anniversary of Medicare, but many of those who rely on this health care entitlement would have little to celebrate in the midst of price increases for Medicare Part A, which covers hospitalization, and Medicare Part B, which includes doctor visits and laboratory tests.

The Medicare Trustees Report predicted that Medicare Part B premiums would increase for some beneficiaries by more than 50 percent next year.

The official premium rates will be released in the next few weeks, according to Casey’s staff. These numbers are not expected to change because there was no Social Security cost-of-living increase for 2016 and because of Medicare cost containment. Seventy percent of beneficiaries’ premiums will remain the same. at $104.90. because they are ‘held harmless’ and without a cost-of-living adjustment, their Medicare premiums cannot increase. The remaining 30 percent have the burden of making up the difference and are expected to pay a premium of $159.30.

The deductible is also expected to increase to $223 from $147 to $223 for all beneficiaries. The Protecting Medicare Beneficiary Act of 2015 would reduce the Part B premium in 2016 for the 30-percent group to $104.90 from $159 and reduce the deductible for all beneficiaries to $147 from $223.

Adding up monthly premium increases of $54 and the 2016 deductible increase of $76, Casey placed the increase at about $725.

“That’s a lot of money over the course of a year,” he said.

“These dollars are precious in terms of (recipients) meeting expenses, buying food, heating their homes and taking care of basic necessities.”

Congress would have to act before the end of the year to affect Medicare payments coming due. Already on the year-end calendar is Dec. 11, when current funding of the federal government is set to expire.

There are 49,008 people in Washington County covered by Medicare, 40,157 who are age 65 and up and another 8,851 who are disabled, according to 2012 figures Casey’s office provided.

In Greene County, the total number of Medicare recipients is 8,086, including 6,142 age 65 and up and 1,944 people who are disabled.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania had 1.95 million residents age 65 and older, representing slightly more than 15 percent of the state’s total population.