2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles: What You'll Pay

Every fall, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announces the cost-sharing figures that will govern Original Medicare for the coming year. For 2026, those numbers are now final — and if you're one of the roughly 67 million Americans enrolled in Medicare, understanding exactly what you'll owe for hospital care, outpatient visits, and skilled nursing stays is essential for budgeting your healthcare year. These aren't abstract policy numbers. They're the figures that determine what comes out of your Social Security check each month and what you'll owe at the hospital registration desk. For Florida beneficiaries in particular, the absence of a birthday rule for Medigap policies makes understanding these costs — and locking in the right supplemental coverage — especially consequential.

The Part B monthly premium is the number most people think of first, because it's deducted directly from Social Security payments before you ever see the money. In 2026, that premium is $185.00 per month, up $10.30 from the $174.70 you paid in 2025. Over a full year, that increase adds up to $123.60 more out of your pocket. Part B covers outpatient services: doctor visits, lab work, preventive screenings, durable medical equipment, and outpatient surgery. Almost everyone on Medicare pays this premium, whether they're in Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. The Part B annual deductible in 2026 is $257, up from $240 in 2025. Once you've met that deductible, Medicare Part B typically covers 80% of approved costs, leaving you responsible for the remaining 20% with no out-of-pocket cap in Original Medicare — unless you carry a Medigap supplement policy.

Part A — the hospital insurance side of Medicare — works on an entirely different cost structure. Most people don't pay a monthly premium for Part A if they or their spouse worked and paid Medicare taxes for at least 40 quarters, which equals 10 years. But Part A comes with cost-sharing that can be surprisingly steep when you actually need it. The Part A inpatient hospital deductible in 2026 is $1,676 per benefit period. This is not an annual deductible — it resets every time you start a new benefit period, which begins when you're admitted to a hospital and ends only after you've been out of the hospital and haven't received skilled care for 60 consecutive days. In theory, you could face this $1,676 charge more than once in a single calendar year if you have multiple hospitalizations separated by that 60-day gap.

For hospital stays that stretch beyond the initial period, daily coinsurance charges apply. In 2026, days 1 through 60 of a hospital stay are covered after you pay the $1,676 deductible — no additional daily charge. From days 61 through 90, you owe $419 per day in coinsurance. If your stay extends beyond 90 days, you can draw on your 60 lifetime reserve days, but those come with a coinsurance charge of $838 per day. Once lifetime reserve days are exhausted, Medicare pays nothing for inpatient hospital care. This is why Medicare counselors consistently recommend either a Medigap supplement policy or a Medicare Advantage plan with a defined annual out-of-pocket maximum — Original Medicare alone has no ceiling on what you can owe during a catastrophic illness.

Skilled nursing facility care has its own cost structure under Part A in 2026. If you've had a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least three days and are admitted to a Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility, the first 20 days are covered at 100% with no coinsurance. Days 21 through 100 carry a daily coinsurance of $209.50 in 2026. After day 100, Medicare pays nothing for skilled nursing care. For someone recovering from a hip replacement, stroke, or serious cardiac event who needs extended rehabilitation, those daily charges accumulate fast. A 60-day skilled nursing stay, for example, would cost you roughly $8,380 in coinsurance for days 21 through 60 alone — a figure that catches many families off guard when they're already dealing with a health crisis.

If you don't qualify for premium-free Part A because you didn't work the required 40 quarters, you can still purchase Part A coverage. In 2026, beneficiaries with 30 to 39 quarters of Medicare-covered employment pay $284 per month for Part A. Those with fewer than 30 quarters pay the full premium of $518 per month. These figures matter particularly for people who immigrated to the United States later in life, spent significant time self-employed without paying into Medicare, or had extended gaps in their work history. If you're in this situation, it's worth calculating whether purchasing Part A makes financial sense compared to paying out-of-pocket for hospital care, or whether enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan that bundles both Part A and Part B coverage might offer better value for your circumstances.

High-income beneficiaries face an additional layer of costs through the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, known as IRMAA. CMS uses your tax return from two years prior to determine whether you owe a surcharge on top of the standard Part B premium. For 2026, the income thresholds and corresponding premiums work as follows: individuals with modified adjusted gross income up to $106,000 — or married couples filing jointly with income up to $212,000 — pay the standard $185.00 per month. Income between $106,001 and $133,000 for individuals triggers a premium of $259.00 per month. The brackets continue upward: $333.00 per month for income between $133,001 and $167,000; $407.00 for $167,001 to $200,000; $481.00 for $200,001 to $500,000; and $628.90 per month for individuals earning above $500,000. Part D prescription drug coverage also carries IRMAA surcharges in 2026, ranging from $13.70 to $85.80 per month on top of your plan's regular premium. If your income has dropped significantly since the tax year CMS is using — due to retirement, divorce, death of a spouse, or loss of income-producing property — you can file Form SSA-44 with the Social Security Administration to request that a more recent, lower-income year be used instead. This appeal can reduce or eliminate your surcharge and is worth pursuing if your financial situation has changed.

For Florida beneficiaries, these federal cost figures are the baseline — but your total out-of-pocket exposure depends heavily on what supplemental coverage you carry. Florida does not have a birthday rule for Medigap policies. In states like California, Oregon, Nevada, and about a dozen others, beneficiaries get a 30-day window each year around their birthday to switch Medigap plans without answering health questions. Florida offers no such protection. If you want to change Medigap plans after your initial open enrollment window closes, insurers in Florida can review your health history and potentially deny coverage or charge higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions. This makes your initial Medigap enrollment decision — which begins the month you turn 65 and are enrolled in Part B — particularly consequential if you live in Florida. Choosing the right plan from the start, rather than assuming you can switch later, is a practical priority.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation oversees Medigap insurers operating in the state and can help you verify that a plan is licensed and in good standing. Their website is floir.com. Florida also operates a robust State Health Insurance Assistance Program called SHINE — Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders — through the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. SHINE counselors provide free, unbiased Medicare counseling and can walk you through how the 2026 cost-sharing figures affect your specific situation, compare Medigap plan options from multiple insurers side by side, and help you evaluate whether Original Medicare with a supplement or a Medicare Advantage plan makes more financial sense given your health needs and budget. To reach a SHINE counselor, visit elderaffairs.org/shine or call the Elder Helpline at 1-800-963-5337.

One practical point worth understanding as you review your 2026 budget: the Part B premium increase of $10.30 per month is partially offset for many beneficiaries by the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. The 2026 Social Security COLA was 2.5%, which for the average beneficiary receiving around $1,900 per month translates to roughly $47 more per month before the Part B premium is deducted. After accounting for the premium increase, most Social Security recipients will see a modest net increase in their monthly payment. However, beneficiaries whose Social Security benefit is small enough that the premium increase would reduce their check below the prior year's amount are protected by the hold-harmless provision — a federal rule that prevents Medicare from reducing your Social Security payment year-over-year solely because of premium increases. This protection does not apply to beneficiaries who pay their Part B premium directly rather than through Social Security, those newly enrolling in Part B, or those subject to IRMAA surcharges.

Looking at the full picture, Original Medicare's cost-sharing structure has become increasingly complex and potentially expensive for beneficiaries who experience serious illness. The combination of no out-of-pocket maximum, per-benefit-period deductibles that can repeat within a single year, and daily coinsurance charges for extended hospital or skilled nursing stays means that a catastrophic health event can generate tens of thousands of dollars in cost-sharing under Original Medicare alone. The 2026 figures make this exposure more acute than in prior years. Reviewing your supplemental coverage each fall during the Annual Enrollment Period — which runs October 15 through December 7 — is not just a good idea. For beneficiaries currently in Original Medicare without a Medigap policy or creditable employer coverage, the 2026 cost-sharing numbers are a compelling reason to evaluate your options before the next enrollment window closes. Changes made during AEP take effect January 1, 2027, so acting before December 7 each year is the key deadline to keep in mind.