The Medicare Part B pre­mi­ums were sup­posed to increase sub­stan­tial­ly – as in 52% — in 2016 Now with the pas­sage of the recent bud­get, there has been a reprieve, with an increase of “only” 15% — along with a flat $3 charge per month to help pay down a loan the gov­ern­ment gave to Medicare to off­set lost rev­enue (huh?)