Medicare’s 2024 Changes

*A small number of people who did not pay Medicare taxes while working and some disabled people pay a premium. **In addition to the basic Part B premium. Roughly three-fourths of Part C enrollees will see no premium increase.

SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS UP 3.2% FOR 2024

SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS will get a 3.2 percent increase in their monthly checks next year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has confirmed. That compares to the cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 8.7 percent that recipients received this past January.

The change reflects a cooldown of inflation over the past year, the SSA said.

Starting in January, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit will rise by $59, from about $1,848 to $1,907, says the SSA. The average disabled worker benefit will increase from $1,489 to $1,537.

The COLA will be applied to veterans benefits and retirement pay as well as Social Security payments.

The modest gains for 2024 will be partially offset by an increase in monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, the portion of Medicare that covers outpatient services such as doctor visits (see story at above). For most Medicare enrollees, Part B premiums are deducted directly from their Social Security payments, so the rate hike will eat into the COLA.

MORE THAN 100 Americans 65 or older died each day from falls in 2021, a big increase from 2020, and the highest rate so far this century, a government study reports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 38,742 fall-related deaths among older adults that year—a 7.6 percent rise from 2020. The CDC says about 3 million people over 65 go to the hospital each year with injuries from falls.

There are several reasons why falls become both more common and more dangerous with age, says Liron Sinvani, M.D., a geriatrics specialist with Northwell Health.

Slower reaction time can affect ability to recover from a stumble. Bone and muscle loss can mean a fall causes more damage. Worsening eyesight and hearing can make it harder to pick up fall-risk cues. Blood-thinning medications can make it hard to stop bleeding, and other drugs can affect balance.

Those factors can leave older people vulnerable to head injuries, which cause almost half of deaths due to falls in those 65-plus, a separate study shows.

MEDICAL DEBT REMAINS a serious problem among older Americans: Nearly 4 million people over 65 together owe about $54 billion in unpaid medical bills. That averages to $13,800 per debtor, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

That debt can wreck credit ratings, making it harder to borrow money. But that could change under a White House proposal that would keep unpaid medical bills off consumer credit reports.

$13,800

average amount owed by the nearly 4 million people over 65 with medical debt

The CFPB said in a statement that including medical debt in credit scores is unfair because of the high rate of mistakes in medical billing.

“We systematically see populations that are well covered, well insured ... with high percentages of unpaid bills,” says Hector Ortiz, a CFPB senior policy analyst.

Hospitals commonly try to coerce payment of bills by threatening people’s credit status, says an analysis by KFF Health News.

The formal rule is expected to be issued sometime in 2024.

DOG DIALECT

EVER FIND YOURSELF embarrassed to be talking to your pooch in a cutesy voice? Don’t be. Research published in the journal Communications Biology shows dogs’ brains are wired to respond to “exaggerated prosody,” also known as baby talk. Researchers speculate that trait evolved as dogs became man’s best friend.