Medicare Premium Hike May Offset Social Security COLA

Higher Medicare Part B premiums in 2012 could offset as much as 25% of a planned cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries. On Wednesday, the Social Security Administration announced that beginning in January beneficiaries will receive a 3.6% cost-of-living increase, or an extra $39 monthly on average, the first increase since 2009. In May, Medicare trustees projected that premiums for Part B, which covers physician services, would be about $106.60 monthly in 2012. At that rate, about one-quarter of beneficiaries would have lower premiums, while the rest would pay about $10.20 more each month.

• "Medicare Premiums Taketh What Social Security Giveth?" (Ohlemacher, AP/Christian Science Monitor, 10/19).
• "Medicare Premiums May Offset Social Security Hikes" (Pender, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/20).