Health care already accounts for about 13% of spending by the typical household headed by a senior. And 2026 will bring more bad news for the pocketbooks of folks on traditional Medicare.
All premiums and deductibles for traditional Medicare health insurance will increase in 2026, the federal government has announced.
Premiums for those with Medicare Advantage or stand-alone drug plans are expected to decrease a bit, however.
Following is a breakdown of how these costs and related ones will change.
Medicare Part B costs
Part B is the component of Medicare that typically covers outpatient care, such as physician services, outpatient hospital services and durable medical equipment.
Its rising costs include the:
- 2026 Medicare Part B standard premium: $202.90 per month, an increase of $17.90 from $185 in 2025
- 2026 Medicare Part B deductible: $283 per year, an increase of $26 from $257 in 2025
Both of these increases are about 10%, whereas overall inflation increased by 3% over the past year. So both costs will increase by far more than the inflation rate.
More bad news: For many people on Medicare, their Part B premium is deducted automatically from their monthly Social Security payment. This means the increased Part B premium for 2026 will effectively cancel out part of their 2026 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
This stems in part from how these amounts are determined: Social Security COLAs are tied to inflation, while Medicare premiums are tied to the Medicare program’s per-person cost, which often outpaces inflation.
In fact, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Social Security COLAs averaged 2.2% between 2000 and 2020, while annual increases in the Part B premium averaged 5.9% during the same period.
The Social Security COLA for 2026 is 2.8%.
Part B Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts
Medicare Part B premiums are based on income. In 2026, the aforementioned standard monthly premium of $202.90 will apply only to:
- Individuals, and married people filing separate federal income tax returns, with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of up to $109,000 (compared with $106,000 in 2025)
- Married couples filing joint returns with a MAGI of up to $218,000 (compared with $212,000)
Folks with incomes above those thresholds — which is about 8% of those with Part B — pay higher premiums, which will be up to $689.90 per month (compared with up to $628.90 per month), depending on income and federal tax-filing status. This is because what’s known as an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA, is tacked on to their Part B premium.
For a breakdown of all the new Part B IRMAAs, see the Part B charts in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ 2026 announcement.
Medicare Part A costs
Medicare Part A typically covers inpatient care, such as inpatient hospital services as well as skilled nursing facility services.
About 99% of Medicare beneficiaries don’t have to pay a premium for their Part A coverage due to how long they worked and therefore had Medicare taxes withheld from their paychecks. They might face other Part A costs in certain situations, however.
These costs can include the:
- 2026 Medicare Part A inpatient deductible (for the first 60 days of a hospitalization in a benefit period): $1,736, up from $1,676 in 2025
- 2026 Medicare Part A coinsurance (for the 61st through 90th day of a hospitalization in a benefit period): $434 per day, up from $419
- 2026 Medicare Part A coinsurance for lifetime reserve days: $868 per day, up from $838
- 2026 Medicare Part A skilled nursing facility coinsurance: $217 per day, up from $209.50
All of these increases are about 3.6%, outpacing the annual inflation rate a smidgen.
Medicare Advantage and Part D premiums
Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage are the two main types of Medicare.
Original Medicare is the traditional Medicare program offered directly by the federal government that includes Medicare Part A and Part B. Folks with Original Medicare also have the option of buying a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan, which covers prescription drugs, from a private insurance company.
Medicare Advantage plans are an all-in-one alternative to the traditional program and are offered by private insurance companies that contract with the federal government. Folks with Medicare Advantage generally cannot buy separate Part D plans, but the vast majority of these plans include prescription coverage.
Because Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are offered by private insurers, their costs, including any premiums and deductibles, vary by plan and insurer. On average, though, these premiums are projected to decrease in 2026.
The average Medicare Advantage premium is projected to be $14 per month, down from $16.40 for 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
After rebate dollars are applied, the average premium for Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage is projected to be $11.50 in 2026, down from $13.32. (Medicare Advantage plans that bid below the Medicare program’s Part D benchmark receive these rebate dollars, which insurers must use to offer supplemental benefits or reduce certain costs for plan enrollees.)
The average standard premium for stand-alone Part D plans is projected to be $34.50 in 2026, down from $38.31.
Part D Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts
Medicare Part D premiums are based on income. In 2026, the typical monthly premium will apply only to:
- Individuals, and married people filing separate federal income tax returns, with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of up to $109,000 (compared with $106,000 in 2025)
- Married couples filing joint returns with a MAGI of up to $218,000 (compared with $212,000)
Folks with incomes above those thresholds — about 8% of those with Part D — will pay higher premiums due to an IRMAA being tacked on to their Part D plan.
In 2026, these additional amounts will range from $14.50 to $91 (compared with $13.70 to $85.80), depending on income and federal tax-filing status.
For a breakdown of all the new Part D IRMAAs, see the Part D charts in the announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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