Following are the 2009 adjustments to Medicare premium, deductible, and coinsurance rates:

Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) Monthly Premiums for 2009:
$0 - Requires 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered employment.
$244 - 30-39 quarters of Medicare-covered employment.
$443 - Less than 30 quarters of Medicare-covered employment.

Medicare Part B: (Medical Insurance) Monthly Premium for 2009
$96.40 - Less than $85,000 annual income ($170,000 Joint Tax Return)
$134.90 - Less than $85,001 - $107,000 ($170,001 - $214,000 Joint Return)
$192.70 - Less than $107,001 - $160,000 ($214,001 - $320,000 Joint Return)
$250.50 - Less than $160,001 - $213,000 ($320,001 - $426,000 Joint Return)
$308.30 - more than $213,000 (more than $426,000 Joint Return)

A penalty will be assessed for late enrollment. For Part B, the penalty is a 10% surcharge for every full 12 months the enrollment is late, and will be in effect for as long as the beneficiary has Part B.

Medicare Deductible and Coinsurance Amounts for 2009:

Part A: (inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health care) For each benefit period Medicare pays all covered costs except the Medicare Part A deductible of $1,068 during the first 60 days and coinsurance amounts for hospital stays that last beyond 60 days and no more than 150 days.

For each benefit period the beneficiary pays:
A total of $1,068 for a hospital stay of 1-60 days.
$267 per day for days 61-90 of a hospital stay.
$534 per day for days 91-150 of a hospital stay (Lifetime Reserve Days).
All costs for each day beyond 150 days are the responsibility of the beneficiary

Skilled Nursing Facility Coinsurance
$133.50 per day for days 21 through 100 each benefit period.

Part B: (Medicare eligible physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment)
$135.00 per year + 20% of the Medicare-approved amount

Read the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) fact sheet here

As workers continue to look to their employers for health-insurance coverage, lawmakers are considering new ideas for helping some small companies bear these costs - hoping those efforts will, in turn, lower the number of uninsured in Texas. One in four people there can't afford health insurance.

Texas legislators are studying two options: One, to subsidize health-insurance premiums for small businesses and individuals. And two, seeking a waiver from Medicare that would allow qualified individuals to use Medicare funds to buy private health insurance. These programs should be in place in 5-10 years.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that, across the country, 15.3 percent of people were uninsured in 2007, indicating a drop. In contrast, the number of Texans without health coverage rose from 23.9 percent to 24.8 percent.

John Greeley, public information officer for the Texas Department of Insurance, said the high number of Texas small businesses paying relatively low wages has contributed to Texas having more uninsured people - and uninsured employees - than any other state.

Other factors contributing to the high number of uninsured Texans include race and place of birth. 32.1 percent of Hispanics in Texas are uninsured; in all other states that rate is less than 20 percent. Only 12.7 percent of U.S.-born citizens across the U.S. are uninsured.