Medicare says this at its Website: “Most people pay $104.90 each month in 2016. The standard Part B premium amount in 2017 will be $134 (or higher depending on your income). However, most people who get Social Security benefits will pay less than this amount ($109 on average).”

“The monthly Medicare premium in 2017 technically will be $134.00, up 10 percent from this year, for people with incomes of $85,000 or less. It’s a big increase, but half as much as the Trustees suggested it might be. More importantly, because Social Security benefits are barely increasing, the vast majority of people with Medicare will see a far smaller premium increase.

“In late June, in the Medicare Trustees’ annual report to Congress on Medicare’s financial state, the Trustees projected as much as a 20 percent increase in Medicare premiums for some people because of rapidly rising health care costs. However, about 70 percent of people with Medicare are seeing a premium increase of $4.00 a month from last year’s premium of $105. That’s because of a “hold harmless” provision that protects most people with Medicare from paying more in Medicare premiums than the increase in their Social Security monthly benefits.

“Since Social Security benefits are barely increasing in 2017, up just 0.3 percent or about $4.00 a month, Medicare monthly premiums can only increase that much for the majority of people with Medicare.”

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