2018 Brings Good News for Medicare Beneficiaries

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- HealthPocket^® released its examination of 2018 Medicare Advantage and Part D plans this morning. Nationally, the 2018 average premiums for both Medicare Advantage plans and Part D prescription drug plans are lower than found in 2017. The average monthly premium for a Medicare Advantage plan will be $60.36 in 2018. This is less expensive than 2017's average of $62.48 as well as 2016's average of $64.92. HealthPocket also found that nearly 30 percent of these 2018 Medicare Advantage plans will have a $0 premium (though enrollees must continue to pay their normal Medicare Part B premium obligations).

HealthPocket's comparison of monthly premiums for Part D drug plans found that the national average premium in 2018 of $52.36 is slightly less expensive than the average premium of $53.22 in 2017. The average deductible in 2018 is $243.55, which is 7 percent more expensive than 2017's average deductible of $227.43.

HealthPocket also examined the premium and drug deductible averages in each state. Among the findings were:

• Florida was the low-cost leader when comparing average Medicare Advantage premiums among the states ($17.06 average monthly premium)
• The most expensive average drug deductible for Medicare Advantage plans was Montana at $359.67
• Delaware, Maryland, and the Washington D.C. region tied for the lowest average Part D average premium in 2018 at $40.98
• The two states with the highest average Part D premium were Idaho and Utah ($65.52)

The full national and state-by-state findings as well as the report methodology can be reviewed at "2018 Brings Good News for Medicare Part D & Medicare Advantage Enrollees."

HealthPocket.com is a free website that compares and ranks all health insurance plans, helping individuals, families, and small businesses to make their best health plan decisions. HealthPocket publishes health insurance market analyses and other consumer advocacy research. HealthPocket's research is nonpartisan and uses only objective data from government, non-profit, and private sources that carry no conditions that might restrict the site from serving as an unbiased resource. HealthPocket, Inc. is independently managed and based in Mountain View, California. Learn more at www.HealthPocket.com.

SOURCE HealthPocket

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