Every fall, Medicare beneficiaries face two things at once: the announcement of what Original Medicare will cost in the coming year, and the closing weeks of the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), which runs October 15 through December 7. In 2025, both arrived together, and the numbers for 2026 carry real financial weight for the roughly 68 million Americans enrolled in Medicare. If you have not yet reviewed your coverage for next year, you have a shrinking window to act — and the cost changes announced for 2026 give you good reason to look carefully.
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B in 2026 is $185.00. That is up $10.30 from the 2025 premium of $174.70. For most beneficiaries, this amount is automatically deducted from your Social Security check each month, so you may not feel it as a separate bill — but it is real money leaving your household. Over a full year, the 2026 Part B premium costs you $2,220, compared to $2,096.40 in 2025. That $123.60 annual increase may not sound dramatic, but for someone on a fixed Social Security income, it represents a meaningful reduction in take-home benefit.
The Part B annual deductible for 2026 is $257, up from $240 in 2025. This is the amount you pay out of pocket before Medicare begins covering 80 percent of approved outpatient services — doctor visits, lab work, outpatient surgery, durable medical equipment, and most preventive care. After you meet the deductible, you are responsible for the remaining 20 percent of Medicare-approved costs, with no out-of-pocket cap under Original Medicare alone. That unlimited 20 percent exposure is one of the primary reasons many beneficiaries pair Original Medicare with a Medigap supplemental policy.
On the hospital side, the Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible for 2026 is $1,676 per benefit period, up from $1,632 in 2025. This deductible is not annual — it resets with each new benefit period, which begins when you are admitted to a hospital and ends after you have been out of the hospital or skilled nursing facility for 60 consecutive days. In theory, you could face this deductible more than once in a calendar year if you have multiple hospitalizations separated by more than 60 days. For days 61 through 90 of a hospital stay, you pay a daily coinsurance of $419 in 2026. For lifetime reserve days (days 91 and beyond), the daily coinsurance rises to $838. Most people never reach those thresholds, but understanding them matters if you or a spouse has a serious chronic condition.
Skilled nursing facility (SNF) coinsurance also changed for 2026. The first 20 days of a covered SNF stay remain fully covered by Medicare Part A. From day 21 through day 100, you pay $209.50 per day in 2026, up from $204.00 in 2025. After 100 days, Medicare pays nothing — you are entirely responsible for SNF costs, which can easily exceed $300 to $400 per day depending on your location. This is a gap that Medigap Plan A through Plan N policies address to varying degrees, and it is worth understanding before you need skilled nursing care rather than after.
For beneficiaries who pay more than the standard Part B premium due to higher income, the 2026 Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) brackets have been updated. IRMAA is based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) from two years prior — so your 2026 premium is based on your 2024 tax return. If your 2024 individual income was above $106,000 (or $212,000 for married couples filing jointly), you pay a surcharge on top of the $185.00 base premium. The surcharges in 2026 range from an additional $74.00 per month at the lowest income tier to $443.90 per month at the highest tier. If you had a significant income reduction in 2024 or 2025 due to retirement, divorce, or the death of a spouse, you can file Form SSA-44 with the Social Security Administration to request a reduction in your IRMAA based on more recent income data.
Data Snapshot: According to CMS.gov data, Medicare Advantage enrollment reached approximately 33.8 million beneficiaries in 2025, representing more than half of all Medicare-eligible individuals. CMS reported that for 2025, beneficiaries could choose from an average of 43 Medicare Advantage plans per county — though that number varies significantly by geography, with urban counties in states like Florida and California often offering 60 or more plan options, while rural counties in states like Wyoming or Montana may have fewer than 10. The average Medicare Advantage plan premium for 2025 was approximately $17 per month, though many plans carried $0 premiums, making the Part B premium the primary cost for those enrollees.
With the AEP closing December 7, this is the moment to compare your current coverage against what is available for 2026. If you are in Original Medicare with a Medigap policy, your primary task is to review whether your Medigap plan still makes financial sense given the updated Part B costs and your anticipated healthcare use next year. Medigap Plan G, which covers the Part B excess charges, Part A deductible, and skilled nursing coinsurance (but not the Part B deductible), remains one of the most comprehensive options available to beneficiaries who enrolled in Medicare after January 1, 2020. Average monthly premiums for Plan G vary widely by state and age — a 65-year-old in Texas might pay $120 to $160 per month, while the same plan in New York could cost $250 or more — but the coverage structure is standardized by federal law regardless of which insurer sells it.
If you are currently in a Medicare Advantage plan, the AEP is your opportunity to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, return to Original Medicare, or add or drop a Part D prescription drug plan. Your plan is required to send you an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) by September 30 each year, detailing any changes to premiums, deductibles, copayments, drug formularies, and provider networks taking effect January 1. If you have not read that document, find it now — plan benefits can change substantially from year to year, and a plan that worked well in 2025 may have reduced its drug coverage, narrowed its network, or increased its out-of-pocket maximum for 2026.
One important nuance for beneficiaries considering a switch from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare: if you want to add a Medigap policy at that point, you are generally not guaranteed the right to buy one at standard rates unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period or live in a state with additional protections. In most states, Medigap insurers can use medical underwriting outside of your initial enrollment window, meaning they can charge you more or deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. The exceptions are states with birthday rules — California, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Oregon — where you have a 30-day window around your birthday each year to switch Medigap plans without underwriting. If you live in one of these states, that birthday window is separate from and in addition to the AEP, and it applies specifically to Medigap, not Medicare Advantage.
For beneficiaries who need help navigating these decisions without a sales pitch, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers free, unbiased counseling in every state. SHIP counselors are not insurance agents and do not earn commissions — they are trained volunteers and staff who can walk you through plan comparisons, help you understand your ANOC, and explain your rights during enrollment periods. You can find your local SHIP program through Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Given the complexity of the 2026 cost changes and the number of plan options available, speaking with a SHIP counselor before December 7 is one of the most practical steps you can take.
If you miss the December 7 AEP deadline, your options narrow considerably. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (OEP) runs January 1 through March 31 each year and allows you to switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another, or to drop Medicare Advantage and return to Original Medicare. However, the OEP does not allow you to switch from Original Medicare to Medicare Advantage, and it does not allow you to enroll in a standalone Part D drug plan if you are in Original Medicare. Special Enrollment Periods exist for specific life events — moving out of your plan's service area, losing employer coverage, qualifying for Extra Help with drug costs — but they are narrow and event-specific. The AEP is the broadest and most flexible window available to most beneficiaries, and December 7 is a hard deadline.
The 2026 premium and cost-sharing increases are not catastrophic, but they are cumulative. The Part B premium has risen from $148.50 in 2021 to $185.00 in 2026 — a 24.6 percent increase over five years. For beneficiaries whose Social Security cost-of-living adjustments have not kept pace, these increases erode purchasing power in real terms. Reviewing your coverage now, understanding exactly what you will pay under your current plan versus alternatives, and making an informed decision before December 7 is not just a good idea — it is one of the most direct ways to protect your healthcare budget for the year ahead.