Medicare has announced the "Part B" premium for 2017, and for most beneficiaries it's a modest increase.
Next year's tiny Social Security cost-of-living increase means that about 70 percent of Medicare recipients will be protected from rising medical costs. For this group, the average premium will be about $109 a month.
That's about 4 percent more than the $104.90 they paid this year.
Medicare's Part B covers outpatient services such as office visits.
For the remaining beneficiaries, the average 2017 premium will be $134, or 10 percent higher.
On top of the basic premium, individual retirees making more than $85,000 and married couples with incomes above $170,000 pay an extra surcharge. Those range to nearly $300 at the highest income levels.
The Part B deductible will be $183.
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