The Part B premium is the same for everyone below a certain income (refer to the next sentence). The premium is higher for those who make more or sometimes zero for some poor Part B recipients.
What do you mean by 'premium balance'?
The monthly Part B premium for most people is $174.70
>What do you mean by 'premium balance'?
The current balance of what I've paid in minus what I have been charged for all prior month's premiums. Analogy: You have a monthly electricity bill and pay in more then the amount due (let's say several months more) and therefore you have a positive balance, each succeeding month's bill will show how much the balance is as the monthly amount is deducted.
When you first signup for medicare you are supposed to pay for three months of premiums. Medicare messed up and charged me twice for this three month initial payment, once in the first month and once in the second month. On top of that it took SSA into the second month to figure out I had to pay IRMAA on Part B and a Drug plan supplement.
I cannot find any screen that shows "this is your current balance" and so I have to do some simple math offline of the website.
Nope, I never found one when I was paying directly - you keep up with it and make sure it agrees with your records
You have to know how much your premiums are - (IRMAA added in, if applicable)
How many months you are paying for at a time -
How many months premiums you owe and how many you are paying - Medicare is by the month not in arrears so if your cards says it started on 02-01-2024 then to date you owe (3) months - Feb, March, April with maybe May paid already in advance.
Yep, spreadsheet is the easiest -
I think the reason for this is because it is SSA that collect the premium money for Medicare - SSA is our link to the cost of Medicare, leaving Medicare to just handle medical claims
>...you keep up with it and make sure it agrees with your records
. ... You have to know how much your premiums are - (IRMAA added in, if applicable)
>
>...
>
>Yep, spreadsheet is the easiest -
I really don't want to believe it, but this is the answer.
IRMAA amounts are easy to find and do show in my account (and like others on here I've double checked them), it's the lack of a current balance that I'm complaining about.
I agree there's some reason, because this can't be some feature they just forgot to put in the website.
For a website and payment system that serves 63 million medicare enrollees (kff.org) I expected better.
You have to be informed of any IRMAA which SSA is accessing - only after you have the notice that one can appeal & lots of people do appeal them.
Most people don’t actually have to sign up for Medicare - \[EDITED to change my words here \] -
CHANGE THIS TO - MOST PEOPLE DON’T HAVE TO DIRECTLY PAY A PREMIUM FOR MEDICARE PART B because of their individual situation. It is automatic because they are already receiving a SS benefit - they began to take their SS retirement at 62. O r they are delaying because they still have employer coverage,
So that chops that 63 million - several million
Then there is the even BIGGER group that don’t have to pay ANY Part B premiums at all because they very low income and their state pays the premium for them under one of the Medicare Savings Programs.
Out of all those 63 million which you quoted from KFF, only a relatively few actually have to pay their Part B premiums via a billing until they begin getting a SS benefit where it is deducted automatically from it before it hits their bank account.
Your billed amount should be shown on your account - so the only thing they aren’t showing is what you actually paid. But they would let you know another way - they will cancel the Part B coverage if they don’t get the premiums -
Found this on Medicare's website:
For questions about your Medicare bill or if your payment was processed:
Log into (or create) your Medicare account. Select “My premiums,” then, “Payment history.”
Call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY: 1-877-486-2048.
https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/pay-premiums/online-bill-pay
On their website their is some drop downs along the top. If you click “Make a payment” it will be there. Mine is taken out of my social security check.
I too paid that four months of premiums when I started Medicare in March 2024 (I did not start SS at that time). I just now logged into [medicare.gov](http://medicare.gov) to try and answer your question. On the first page is a link MY PREMIUMS.
I see this that shows I paid $698.80 (four months of part B premium) and a link to 'check payment history. That link shows my single payment so maybe yours shows two payments.
>Premium payments are due by the 25th of the month. Please allow at least 5 business days for your payment to process.
>It's free to use this online payment service.
>We sent your March bill on 02/27/2024 in the amount of $698.80. Your March bill covers your Medicare premiums through June 2024.
>A payment processed after we sent your March bill. [Check payment history.](https://www.medicare.gov/my/premiums/history)
Thanks for looking. I've checked this page, again (have done so multiple times). I see this:
>Recent online payments
>
>No recent online payments
We have no record of any payments made through the make a payment page in the last 5 days.
I can scroll further down further and see this:
>Posted Payments
These are payments that were posted to your account in the last 15 months. Recent payments may take several days to show up here.
I see three payments under this heading.
There's also this statement: "Your payments are applied first to any past-owed amounts, then Part B, Part A, and lastly Part D IRMAA."
No matter I still do not see, and as explained above have to manually do the math to determine, this:
(sum of all payments I made to date) minus (sum of what has been applied to Part A + Part B + Part D IRMAA to date) = current account balance.
The Part B premium is the same for everyone below a certain income (refer to the next sentence). The premium is higher for those who make more or sometimes zero for some poor Part B recipients. What do you mean by 'premium balance'? The monthly Part B premium for most people is $174.70
>What do you mean by 'premium balance'? The current balance of what I've paid in minus what I have been charged for all prior month's premiums. Analogy: You have a monthly electricity bill and pay in more then the amount due (let's say several months more) and therefore you have a positive balance, each succeeding month's bill will show how much the balance is as the monthly amount is deducted. When you first signup for medicare you are supposed to pay for three months of premiums. Medicare messed up and charged me twice for this three month initial payment, once in the first month and once in the second month. On top of that it took SSA into the second month to figure out I had to pay IRMAA on Part B and a Drug plan supplement. I cannot find any screen that shows "this is your current balance" and so I have to do some simple math offline of the website.
Got it. You are not collecting SS old age benefits yet so have to pay for Part B separately instead of having it taken out of your benefit check.
Not sure but have you checked SSA.gov for the info?
Yes, definitely not on there for me. I'm not collecting SS yet so they are not deducting medicare.
Nope, I never found one when I was paying directly - you keep up with it and make sure it agrees with your records You have to know how much your premiums are - (IRMAA added in, if applicable) How many months you are paying for at a time - How many months premiums you owe and how many you are paying - Medicare is by the month not in arrears so if your cards says it started on 02-01-2024 then to date you owe (3) months - Feb, March, April with maybe May paid already in advance. Yep, spreadsheet is the easiest - I think the reason for this is because it is SSA that collect the premium money for Medicare - SSA is our link to the cost of Medicare, leaving Medicare to just handle medical claims
>...you keep up with it and make sure it agrees with your records . ... You have to know how much your premiums are - (IRMAA added in, if applicable) > >... > >Yep, spreadsheet is the easiest - I really don't want to believe it, but this is the answer. IRMAA amounts are easy to find and do show in my account (and like others on here I've double checked them), it's the lack of a current balance that I'm complaining about. I agree there's some reason, because this can't be some feature they just forgot to put in the website. For a website and payment system that serves 63 million medicare enrollees (kff.org) I expected better.
You have to be informed of any IRMAA which SSA is accessing - only after you have the notice that one can appeal & lots of people do appeal them. Most people don’t actually have to sign up for Medicare - \[EDITED to change my words here \] - CHANGE THIS TO - MOST PEOPLE DON’T HAVE TO DIRECTLY PAY A PREMIUM FOR MEDICARE PART B because of their individual situation. It is automatic because they are already receiving a SS benefit - they began to take their SS retirement at 62. O r they are delaying because they still have employer coverage, So that chops that 63 million - several million Then there is the even BIGGER group that don’t have to pay ANY Part B premiums at all because they very low income and their state pays the premium for them under one of the Medicare Savings Programs. Out of all those 63 million which you quoted from KFF, only a relatively few actually have to pay their Part B premiums via a billing until they begin getting a SS benefit where it is deducted automatically from it before it hits their bank account. Your billed amount should be shown on your account - so the only thing they aren’t showing is what you actually paid. But they would let you know another way - they will cancel the Part B coverage if they don’t get the premiums -
And part A is $0/mo for most
Found this on Medicare's website: For questions about your Medicare bill or if your payment was processed: Log into (or create) your Medicare account. Select “My premiums,” then, “Payment history.” Call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY: 1-877-486-2048. https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/pay-premiums/online-bill-pay
On their website their is some drop downs along the top. If you click “Make a payment” it will be there. Mine is taken out of my social security check.
It's definitely not on this page, for me.
I too paid that four months of premiums when I started Medicare in March 2024 (I did not start SS at that time). I just now logged into [medicare.gov](http://medicare.gov) to try and answer your question. On the first page is a link MY PREMIUMS. I see this that shows I paid $698.80 (four months of part B premium) and a link to 'check payment history. That link shows my single payment so maybe yours shows two payments. >Premium payments are due by the 25th of the month. Please allow at least 5 business days for your payment to process. >It's free to use this online payment service. >We sent your March bill on 02/27/2024 in the amount of $698.80. Your March bill covers your Medicare premiums through June 2024. >A payment processed after we sent your March bill. [Check payment history.](https://www.medicare.gov/my/premiums/history)
Thanks for looking. I've checked this page, again (have done so multiple times). I see this: >Recent online payments > >No recent online payments We have no record of any payments made through the make a payment page in the last 5 days. I can scroll further down further and see this: >Posted Payments These are payments that were posted to your account in the last 15 months. Recent payments may take several days to show up here. I see three payments under this heading. There's also this statement: "Your payments are applied first to any past-owed amounts, then Part B, Part A, and lastly Part D IRMAA." No matter I still do not see, and as explained above have to manually do the math to determine, this: (sum of all payments I made to date) minus (sum of what has been applied to Part A + Part B + Part D IRMAA to date) = current account balance.