Retirees who rely on Medicare Part B for the majority of their medical needs will see a nearly 10 percent increase in monthly premium amounts for 2026.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
released its Medicare Part A and Part B premiums, deductibles, and co-insurance amounts for next year on Nov. 14, and Part B deductibles jumped to $202.90 per month. That increase is in addition to a spike in annual deductibles for Medicare Part B beneficiaries—usually paid in full before Medicare benefits kick in—to $283, up $26 from the annual deductible set in 2025.
CMS said the increase to Part B’s standard premium and monthly deductible is attributable to higher costs and an expected uptick in utilization of medical services. Premiums would have been $11 higher had the Trump administration not enacted
changes in the physician fee schedule for skin substitute treatments, CMS noted.
The premium and deductible increases affect individual beneficiaries who report modified adjusted gross income (AGI) of $109,000 or less on their tax returns, and beneficiaries who file jointly with a reported AGI of $218,000. About 8 percent of Medicare Part B beneficiaries are above those income thresholds and have income-related monthly adjustments, CMS said.
The premium and deductible increases will more than outweigh projected cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) to Social Security payments in 2026. According to the Social Security Administration, beneficiaries will receive a 2.8 percent COLA
adjustment, or about $56, starting with January’s Social Security payments. Beneficiaries saw a 2.5 percent increase in 2025; however, Part B monthly premiums have
outpaced COLA adjustments over the past three years, according to AARP, previously known as the American Association of Retired Persons.
While the cost increases to Part B were slightly less than the almost 12 percent that Medicare trustees
predicted this past summer, they follow an almost 6 percent spike in costs from 2024 to 2025.
Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O'Niell said in a
post on X that the increases to Part B coverage were still lower than predicted.
“Thanks to the Trump Administration’s focus on affordability, next year’s Medicare Part B premium will be 63% less than expected,” O'Niell said. “We achieved tremendous cost savings on skin substitutes, which are notorious for their excessive costs and weak clinical evidence, to help keep Medicare affordable and sustainable for future generations.”
Deductibles for Medicare Part A, which covers a wide range of services such as hospice and skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, and inpatient hospitalization, rose $60, or nearly 3.6 percent, to $1,736 for beneficiaries admitted to hospitals as patients. Part A premiums rose almost 9 percent to $565 per month.
Medicare Part B covers a range of services, including doctor’s visits and outpatient services, as well as home health services and equipment such as walkers and wheelchairs.
