Medicare Part B Deductible Rises to $283 in 2026: What You'll Pay

If you're on Original Medicare, 2026 brings another increase to one of the costs you pay before your coverage actually kicks in. The Medicare Part B deductible for 2026 is $283 per year — up $26 from the $257 deductible that applied in 2025. That might not sound like a dramatic jump, but for beneficiaries on fixed incomes, every dollar counts, and understanding exactly how this deductible works — and how different coverage choices handle it — can make a real difference in your annual healthcare spending.

The Part B deductible applies to the medical side of Medicare, not the hospital side. Part B covers outpatient services: visits to your primary care doctor or specialist, lab work ordered in a doctor's office, outpatient surgery, mental health services, preventive screenings, durable medical equipment like walkers or CPAP machines, and most chemotherapy administered in a clinic. Every January 1st, your deductible resets to zero. The first $283 worth of Part B-covered services you receive in 2026 comes entirely out of your own pocket. After you've met that deductible, Medicare pays 80% of the Medicare-approved amount for covered services, and you're responsible for the remaining 20% — with no annual out-of-pocket cap under Original Medicare alone.

It's worth noting what the Part B deductible does not apply to. Most preventive services — including the annual wellness visit, flu shots, mammograms, colonoscopies, and certain cancer screenings — are covered by Medicare at 100% with no deductible required, as long as the visit is billed strictly as preventive. Where beneficiaries sometimes get caught off guard is when a preventive visit turns into a diagnostic one. If your doctor addresses a new symptom or adjusts a medication during what you expected to be a free wellness visit, that portion of the visit may suddenly become subject to the deductible and the 20% coinsurance. Always ask your doctor's billing staff how a visit will be coded before it happens.

The deductible increase from $257 to $283 continues a pattern that has accelerated over the past decade. In 2016, the Part B deductible was $166. By 2020 it had reached $198. It jumped sharply to $233 in 2022, partly driven by anticipated costs related to the Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, then dipped slightly to $226 in 2023 when those projections were revised downward. It climbed to $240 in 2024 and $257 in 2025 before reaching $283 in 2026. Over ten years, the deductible has risen by more than 70%, significantly outpacing general inflation. For a beneficiary who has been on Medicare since 2016, this is not a small cumulative change.

How your supplemental coverage — or lack of it — interacts with the Part B deductible is one of the most important financial decisions you'll make as a Medicare beneficiary. If you have Original Medicare with no supplemental coverage, you pay the $283 deductible yourself before any Part B cost-sharing begins. If you have a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) plan, the answer depends on which plan you have. Medigap Plan F, which was the most popular supplement for years, covers the Part B deductible in full — but Plan F is no longer available to beneficiaries who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020. If you enrolled in Medicare before that date and still have Plan F, your plan continues to cover the deductible. For everyone else, Medigap Plan G is now the most comprehensive option available, and it covers everything Plan F covers except the Part B deductible. That means Plan G holders pay the $283 deductible themselves each year, then have virtually no other out-of-pocket costs for Part B services for the rest of the year. Plan N also leaves the deductible to you, plus adds copays of up to $20 for office visits and up to $50 for emergency room visits that don't result in inpatient admission.

If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan rather than Original Medicare, the Part B deductible typically does not apply in the same way. Medicare Advantage plans replace Original Medicare's cost structure with their own — usually a combination of copays and coinsurance for specific service types, plus an annual out-of-pocket maximum that Original Medicare lacks. In 2026, the maximum out-of-pocket limit for Medicare Advantage plans is $9,350 for in-network services. Many plans set their actual limits lower than this cap. Some Medicare Advantage plans charge a $0 copay for primary care visits regardless of whether you've met any deductible. However, Medicare Advantage plans vary enormously by county and by insurer, so the specific cost structure of your plan matters more than any general rule.

For beneficiaries with limited income and resources, the Medicare Savings Programs can help cover Part B costs including the deductible. The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, for example, covers Medicare premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance for those who qualify based on income and asset limits, which vary by state. In 2026, the general federal income guideline for QMB eligibility is around $1,255 per month for individuals and $1,704 for couples, though states may use slightly higher limits. The Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLIMB) program covers only the Part B premium for those with slightly higher incomes. Applying for these programs is done through your state Medicaid office, not through Medicare directly, and many eligible beneficiaries never apply simply because they don't know the programs exist.

If you're approaching a Medigap enrollment decision in 2026, timing matters significantly. When you first enroll in Medicare Part B, you have a six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period during which insurers cannot deny you coverage or charge you more based on your health history. Outside of that window, insurers in most states can use medical underwriting, meaning a pre-existing condition like diabetes, heart disease, or COPD could result in a higher premium or outright denial. A handful of states offer additional protections: if you live in California, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, or Oregon, you may have a birthday rule or similar guaranteed-issue window that lets you switch Medigap plans annually without medical underwriting. If you're in one of these states and your current Medigap plan no longer fits your needs, that annual window is worth using.

The Annual Enrollment Period — October 15 through December 7 each year — is when Medicare beneficiaries can switch Medicare Advantage plans or move between Medicare Advantage and Original Medicare. If you're currently on a Medicare Advantage plan and the 2026 cost structure no longer works for you, that window is your primary opportunity to make a change, with coverage effective January 1. There's also the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, during which you can make one switch if you're already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Neither of these windows applies to Medigap plans, which operate on their own separate rules.

The bottom line for 2026 is straightforward: the $283 Part B deductible is a real cost that every Original Medicare beneficiary needs to account for in their annual healthcare budget. If you're paying it out of pocket with no supplement, make sure you're not skipping necessary care to avoid triggering it — the deductible resets every January regardless of whether you use it. If you have Plan G, you'll hit that $283 threshold relatively quickly if you see doctors regularly, and after that your costs are minimal for the rest of the year. And if you're unsure whether your current coverage is still the best fit, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers free, unbiased counseling from trained volunteers in every state. You can find your local SHIP counselor at shiphelp.org — it's one of the most underused resources available to Medicare beneficiaries.