Good news for many Medicare enrollees: Average monthly premiums for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans will fall in 2025. The average monthly premium for a stand-alone Part D prescription plan is projected to be $40 next year, a decline of $1.63, or nearly $20 annually, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said in September. Average Medicare Advantage monthly premiums are expected to decrease by $1.23 a month to $17 in 2025. Medicare Advantage members must be enrolled in Parts A and B of Medicare. Part A is free if a person or their spouse has paid Medicare taxes for at least 40 quarters, the equivalent of 10 years. Part B premiums are recalculated every year.
Medicare Alert
About 60 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees who stay in their current plan will have no MA premium next year, CMS officials say. The agency projects that more than 4 in 5 enrollees will have the same or lower premiums in 2025 if they stay with the same plan.
Even though average premiums aren’t rising, Part D and Medicare Advantage plans can make other changes to drug lists and costs, so it’s important to compare plans during open enrollment, which runs through Dec. 7. The slight reduction in Part D coverage and in Advantage plan premiums is not the only good news for Medicare beneficiaries in 2025. One of the most significant changes to the prescription plans will take effect next year when out-of-pocket spending for covered drugs will be capped at $2,000, far less than what someone with high medication costs pays this year. Average premiums could be lower next year in part because of a monetary incentive that CMS is giving insurers to keep enrollees’ monthly bills stable.
People with Medicare will have access to an average of 15 Part D plans and 34 Medicare Advantage plans with prescription drug coverage. New plans take effect Jan. 1.