These Medicare Premiums Will Rise Sharply in 2026. What to Know.

Medicare Part B covers outpatient and doctors’ services. (Dreamstime)

Key Points

• The standard Medicare Part B premium will increase by almost 10% to $202.90 monthly for 2026, largely because of higher healthcare costs.
• The 2026 Part B premium increase will absorb much of the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients.
• The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $283 in 2026, an increase of $26 from the current year.

The standard Medicare Part B premium will rise almost 10% to $202.90 a month for 2026, soaking up much of an increase in Social Security payments to account for inflation.

While the Part B premium came in slightly less than the $206.20 the program’s trustees forecast in their annual report this year, it was still one of the largest increases in the program’s history on a dollar basis, says Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst.

This year, the standard Part B premium is $185 a month. The increase is mostly because healthcare prices and usage levels are expected to be higher, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Friday.

Healthcare costs have long outpaced general inflation, and this year is no exception. The increase in Part B premiums dwarfs the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment that Social Security recipients will get for 2026. Premiums for Part B are automatically deducted from the monthly benefit checks of many Social Security recipients.

Accounting for the higher Part B premiums, the cost-of-living adjustment will add just $38 a month to the average Social Security retirement benefit of $2,008 a month. Under a provision known as “hold harmless,” payments to people who receive $640 or less in monthly Social Security benefits won’t be reduced.

The standard Part B premium applies to Medicare recipients with incomes of $109,000 or less for a single filer and $218,000 for married couples filing jointly. The roughly 8% of beneficiaries with incomes above that pay a monthly surcharge known as the income-related monthly adjustment amount.

This extra charge ranges from $81.20 a month, at incomes up to $137,000 for an individual and $274,000 for a couple, to $487 a month, for individuals with incomes of $500,000 or more. The highest level for married couples is $750,000 or more. People in that top tier will pay $689.90, including a base premium of $202.90 and the surcharge of $487.

The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $283 in 2026, an increase of $26 from this year’s $257.

Part B covers outpatient and doctors’ services. Most beneficiaries pay no premium for Part A hospitalization coverage because they have enough work credits to qualify for $0 premiums. The inpatient hospital deductible will rise to $1,736 next year from $1,676 this year.

Write to Elizabeth O’Brien at elizabeth.obrien@barrons.com