Medicare Costs Are Rising in 2026: What You'll Pay Now

If you're a Medicare beneficiary living on a fixed income, 2026 brings a familiar and frustrating pattern: the costs of your federal health coverage are going up again. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized the premium and deductible figures for 2026, and across nearly every category — Part A, Part B, and the income-related surcharges known as IRMAA — beneficiaries will be paying more than they did in 2025. Understanding exactly where those increases land, and how large they are, is the first step toward making smart decisions about your coverage this year.

Let's start with Part B, which covers your outpatient care: doctor visits, lab work, preventive services, durable medical equipment, and most outpatient procedures. The standard monthly Part B premium for 2026 is $185.00, up from $174.70 in 2025. That $10.30 monthly increase translates to $123.60 more per year coming out of your Social Security check. For most beneficiaries, this deduction happens automatically, so you may simply notice your net Social Security deposit is a bit smaller starting in January 2026. The Part B annual deductible — the amount you must pay before Medicare starts covering 80% of approved costs — also rose, from $240 in 2025 to $257 in 2026. Once you meet that deductible, you're still responsible for 20% of Medicare-approved costs with no out-of-pocket cap under Original Medicare alone, which is why many beneficiaries pair Part B with a Medigap supplemental policy.

Part A, which covers inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility care, hospice, and some home health services, has its own cost structure that works differently from Part B. 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 (10 years). But the Part A inpatient hospital deductible — what you owe for each benefit period before Medicare pays — increased to $1,676 in 2026, up from $1,632 in 2025. A benefit period begins the day you're admitted as an inpatient and ends when you've been out of the hospital or skilled nursing facility for 60 consecutive days. Critically, there is no annual limit on how many benefit periods you can have, which means a beneficiary who is hospitalized twice in a year with a gap of more than 60 days between stays could face that $1,676 deductible twice — totaling $3,352 in hospital deductibles alone before coinsurance even kicks in.

For days 61 through 90 of a hospital stay in 2026, you'll owe $419 per day in coinsurance, up from $408 per day in 2025. If your stay extends into what Medicare calls your 60 lifetime reserve days — days 91 and beyond — the daily coinsurance jumps to $838 in 2026, compared to $816 in 2025. These figures underscore why a serious illness or prolonged hospitalization can create significant financial exposure for beneficiaries who rely solely on Original Medicare without a Medigap plan or Medicare Advantage coverage to cap their costs. Skilled nursing facility stays have their own cost tiers: days 1 through 20 are fully covered by Medicare in 2026, but days 21 through 100 require a daily coinsurance payment of $209.50 in 2026, up from $204.00 in 2025.

Higher-income beneficiaries face an additional layer of cost through the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA. This surcharge applies to both Part B and Part D (prescription drug coverage) premiums and is based on your income from two years prior — meaning your 2026 IRMAA is calculated using your 2024 tax return. If your 2024 modified adjusted gross income was above $106,000 as an individual filer (or $212,000 for married couples filing jointly), you'll pay more than the standard $185.00 Part B premium. The surcharges are tiered: individual filers with income between $106,001 and $133,000 pay a total Part B premium of $259.00 per month in 2026. Those earning between $133,001 and $167,000 pay $370.00 per month. The highest earners — individuals above $500,000 or couples above $750,000 — pay $628.90 per month for Part B alone. If you had a significant income event in 2024, such as a large Roth conversion, sale of property, or required minimum distribution, it's worth reviewing whether you'll be subject to IRMAA in 2026 and whether you qualify to appeal it using IRS Form SSA-44 if your income has since dropped.

These rising costs have a direct bearing on one of the most important coverage decisions you face: whether to stay in Original Medicare with a Medigap plan, or to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. Medigap plans — particularly Plan G, which is the most popular option for new enrollees since Plan F was closed to new beneficiaries in 2020 — cover the Part A deductible, the Part B coinsurance after you meet the Part B deductible, and most other cost-sharing gaps in Original Medicare. In 2026, a Plan G policyholder pays the $257 Part B deductible out of pocket and then owes nothing more for Medicare-covered services for the rest of the year, regardless of how many doctor visits or hospital days they accumulate. Plan G premiums vary significantly by age, location, and insurer — typically ranging from roughly $100 to $300 or more per month for a 65-year-old — but the predictability they offer can be valuable when Original Medicare's cost-sharing is rising year over year.

Medicare Advantage plans, offered by private insurers and approved by CMS, bundle Part A and Part B coverage and typically include Part D drug coverage as well. Many Advantage plans in 2026 continue to advertise $0 monthly premiums, though the trade-off is a network of providers, prior authorization requirements, and cost-sharing structures that vary widely by plan. The maximum out-of-pocket limit for Medicare Advantage plans in 2026 is set by CMS at $9,350 for in-network services, though many plans set their own limits lower. If you're comparing an Advantage plan to Original Medicare plus Medigap, look beyond the monthly premium and examine the plan's copays for specialist visits, hospital stays, and any services you use regularly. A plan with a $0 premium but a $400 per-day hospital copay for days 1 through 5 could cost you more than a Medigap Plan G if you face a hospitalization.

If you're currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan and the 2026 cost increases in Original Medicare are making you reconsider your options, your primary window for switching is the Annual Enrollment Period, which runs October 15 through December 7 each year, with changes taking effect January 1. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, running January 1 through March 31, allows you to switch from one Advantage plan to another or return to Original Medicare, but it does not allow you to add a Medigap plan without medical underwriting in most states. If you want to move from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare and add a Medigap plan, you'll generally need to pass medical underwriting — meaning insurers can charge you more or deny coverage based on your health history — unless you live in one of the states with a birthday rule or other guaranteed issue protections. States including California, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois, and New York, among others, offer annual windows to switch Medigap plans without underwriting.

For beneficiaries with limited income and resources, the Medicare Savings Programs administered by state Medicaid agencies can help cover Part B premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance. The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary program, for example, may cover your Part B premium entirely if your income falls below roughly $1,275 per month as an individual in 2026 (thresholds vary by state). The Extra Help program for Part D can also significantly reduce prescription drug costs. If your income is near these thresholds, contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) counselor — a free, unbiased resource available in every state — to find out whether you qualify. You can locate your local SHIP counselor at shiphelp.org or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.