Slight Decreases in the 2012 Income Related Medicare Adjustment Amounts (IRMAA)
Publish On 2011-08-26 , 1:50 PM
Beginning in January 2011, Medicare Part D beneficiaries with an income above a certain level saw an increase in their monthly Medicare Part D prescription drug plan premiums, based on the newly implementation of the Medicare Part D Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA). The good news in 2012 is that the IRMAA will decrease slightly for people with higher earnings.
Medicare beneficiaries who have a modified adjusted gross income more than $85,000 individually or $170,000 for married couples filing jointly paid an additional Medicare Part D Income- Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) based on their income.
The IRMAA can change every year and is calculated using the recently released standard base premium. Since there was a slight decrease in the 2012 standard base premium ($31.08, down from $32.34 in 2011), people with higher incomes will also see a slight decrease in their IRMAA payments as shown in the following table.
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Beneficiaries who file individual tax returns with income that is:
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Beneficiaries who file joint tax returns with income that is:
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2012 Medicare Part D Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount:
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2011 Medicare Part D Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount:
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Less than or equal to $85,000
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Less than or equal to $170,000
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$0.00
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$0.00
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Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to $107,000
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Greater than $170,000 and less than or equal to $214,000
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$11.60
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$12.00
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Greater than $107,000 and less than or equal to $160,000
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Greater than $214,000 and less than or equal to $320,000
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$29.90
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$31.10
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Greater than $160,000 and less than or equal to $214,000
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Greater than $320,000 and less than or equal to $428,000
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$48.10
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$50.10
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Greater than $214,000
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Greater than $428,000
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$66.40
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$69.10
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Beneficiaries who are married but file separate tax returns with income that is:
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2012 Medicare Part D Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount:
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2011 Medicare Part D Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount:
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Less than or equal to $85,000
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$0.00
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$0.00
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Greater than $85,000 and less than or equal to $129,000
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$48.10
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$50.00
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Greater than $129,000
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$66.40
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$69.10
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Please note that the additional monthly Part D income-related adjustment amount is not collected by the Medicare Part D plans, but instead paid directly to the Federal government.
The amount of your IRMAA will be directly deducted from your Social Security, Railroad Retirement Board, or Office of Personnel Management benefits.
If there are not sufficient funds in your government benefits, then Medicare will bill you directly.
Medicare Part D beneficiaries affected by the 2012 IRMAA will receive a letter from the Social Security Administration notifying them of their Medicare Part D plan premium increase.
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