Standard Medicare Part B monthly premium to jump 9.7% in 2026

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

64% : The standard Medicare Part B premium will increase to $202.90 per month in 2026, up $17.90, or 9.7%, from $185 per month in 2025, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.The
63% : increase marks the second-highest Part B premium increase in dollars, according to Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare analyst.
58% : Any increase to those monthly premium payments affects how much of an increase Social Security beneficiaries may see in their monthly checks in 2026.The Social Security Administration has announced a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026, which is expected to add about $56 per month on average to retirement benefits.The Part B premium for 2026 may be seen by beneficiaries as "taking a significant chunk of or even most of their COLA," Johnson said.A hold harmless provision ensures that Social Security benefit payments do not decrease from one year to the next as a result of Medicare Part B premium increases.
48% : That said, other automatic deductions from Social Security checks for premiums tied to private Medicare Advantage insurance plans or Part D prescription drug coverage may reduce benefits, according to Johnson.The $202.90 standard Part B premium rate will apply to individuals with modified adjusted gross income less than or equal to $109,000, and for married couples who file taxes jointly with modified AGI less than or equal to $218,000.Approximately 8% of Medicare Part B beneficiaries pay what is called an income-related monthly adjustment amount that is added to their monthly premiums if their incomes are higher, according to CMS.The annual deductible for Part B will be $283 in 2026, according to the agency, a 10% increase from the $257 annual deductible in effect for 2025.The increases to both Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles are primarily due to "projected price changes and assumed utilization increases that are consistent with historical experience," according to the CMS fact sheet on the price changes.Income-related adjustment amounts are typically based on tax returns filed two years prior.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.