QUICK SUMMARY: Medicare Part B premiums hit $202.90 per month in 2026, a $17.90 increase that cut most retirees’ Social Security COLA down to roughly $38 in actual take-home gains. Part D deductibles and out-of-pocket caps also increased. Separately, CMS negotiated lower prices on ten high-cost drugs including Eliquis and Januvia. Here is what changed with your Medicare benefits, what it costs you, and what to review before Open Enrollment.
Standard Medicare Part B premiums reached $202.90 this year. That’s a $17.90 jump from $185 in 2025. For most retirees, it came out of their Social Security check automatically, before it arrived. The 2026 COLA added about $56 to the average monthly benefit. After the Part B increase, most retirees kept roughly $38 of that raise. For lower-income households, the Part B hike exceeded the COLA in dollar terms, meaning their check shrank.
That is the headline number. Two more cost increases hit your coverage this year and received far less attention.
How Much Did Your Medicare Benefits Go Up This Year?
Medicare Part B premiums rose $17.90 in 2026, the second-largest dollar increase in program history, reducing the net COLA for a $2,000 beneficiary to approximately $38 per month.
- The standard monthly Part B premium is now $202.90, the first time it has crossed $200. The annual Part B deductible rose to $283, up $26 from last year. If Medicare premiums are automatically deducted from Social Security, both of these hit before you see a dollar.
- The Part A deductible applies per hospital stay rather than annually. It rose to $1,736 from $1,676 in 2025. Most enrollees pay no monthly Part A premium, but a hospital admission costs more out of pocket than it did last year.
Each time Social Security goes up, Medicare takes more out. According to Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson, Part B premiums rose nearly 3.5 times faster than the Social Security COLA this year. That is not an anomaly. It is a pattern the Senior Citizens League has documented across multiple consecutive COLA cycles.
Did Your Part D Drug Costs Change This Year?
The Part D deductible ceiling rose to $615 and the out-of-pocket cap increased to $2,100, pushing prescription costs higher before coverage contributes anything.
The standard deductible ceiling for Part D drug plans is now $615, up from $590 in 2025. Plans vary, but if yours carries a deductible, you are paying $25 more before your coverage contributes anything toward prescriptions.
The annual out-of-pocket cap on prescription drug costs increased to $2,100, up from $2,000. Once you hit that ceiling, your Part D plan covers 100 percent of covered medication costs for the rest of the year. But you have to reach it first.
For context on how Medicare cost increases interact with the COLA calculation and what it means for your retirement check, that breakdown runs the numbers from the other direction.
Which 10 Prescriptions Are Now Cheaper Under Medicare?
Congress authorized CMS to negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and ten widely used medications now cost less for Medicare enrollees this year.
The 10 medications now available at CMS-negotiated prices are:
- Eliquis — blood clots
- Xarelto — blood clots, cardiovascular risk
- Entresto — heart failure
- Jardiance — diabetes
- Januvia — diabetes
- Farxiga — diabetes, heart failure
- Imbruvica — blood cancers
- Enbrel — arthritis
- Stelara — autoimmune conditions
- Fiasp / NovoLog — insulin
If you take any of these, your out-of-pocket cost at the pharmacy may already be lower than it was last year. Contact your plan provider to confirm the negotiated price is being applied to your specific plan.
The proposed Medicare and Medicaid budget trade-offs from the defense spending debate could affect the future of these negotiated prices.
Why Do Medicare Costs Keep Rising Faster Than Social Security?
CMS sets Part B premiums based on projected healthcare utilization. When medical inflation outpaces general inflation, premiums outpace the COLA. That gap has been widening for over a decade.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services calculates Part B premiums annually using projected costs for physician and outpatient services. When those costs climb faster than general inflation, the COLA cannot keep pace.
This year, the ratio was nearly 3.5 to 1. A 65-year-old retiring today can expect to spend an average of $172,500 on healthcare throughout retirement, according to Fidelity. The gap between what Social Security provides and what Medicare costs is structural. It is not tied to any single administration’s decisions.
Coverage that worked well last year may not work the same this year. The costs that chip away at retirement funds are the ones that arrive in small annual increments, right up until they cross a threshold like $200 a month.
What Should You Do Before the Next Billing Cycle?
The next Open Enrollment Period runs from October 15 to December 7. Two reviews are worth making before then.
First, if you take any of the 10 CMS-negotiated medications, confirm that your current plan applies the lower price. Your plan provider can verify this directly. Not every plan reflects the negotiated rate automatically.
Second, if your household income is above $109,000 for single filers or $218,000 for joint filers, you may be paying an IRMAA surcharge on top of the standard $202.90 premium. A review of your projected income before year-end could reduce your Part B cost for 2027.
Your medicare benefits change every year. Most of those changes go in one direction. Knowing where the increases landed and where the one break is puts you ahead of the next billing cycle.
Medicare gets more complicated every year and the rules that governed your coverage last year may not apply the same way today. Philip Moeller, the Medicare analyst cited in this article, wrote the guide I recommend to anyone who wants to stop guessing and start understanding exactly what their plan covers, what it costs, and when the rules work in their favor.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my Medicare Part B premium increase so much this year?
CMS raised the standard Part B premium to $202.90 per month, up $17.90 from 2025. According to Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson, Part B premiums rose nearly 3.5 times faster than the Social Security COLA this year. CMS bases premiums on projected healthcare utilization costs, which have outpaced general inflation for over a decade.
How much of my Social Security COLA actually reached my check after Medicare?
For a beneficiary receiving $2,000 per month, the 2.8% COLA added roughly $56. After the $17.90 Part B increase, the net gain was approximately $38. For lower-income beneficiaries, the Part B hike exceeded the full dollar value of their COLA, meaning their monthly check was smaller in January than it was in December.
Did my Part D prescription drug costs go up this year?
The Part D deductible ceiling rose to $615 (from $590 in 2025), and the out-of-pocket cap increased to $2,100. Ten high-cost drugs, including Eliquis, Xarelto, Entresto, Jardiance, and Januvia, now carry CMS-negotiated lower prices. If you take any of these, your net Part D costs may be lower than last year.
Why do Medicare costs keep outpacing my Social Security raise?
CMS sets Part B premiums based on projected healthcare utilization. When medical inflation runs faster than general inflation, as it has for over a decade, premiums grow faster than the COLA. This year, the gap was nearly 3.5 to 1. The Senior Citizens League has documented this pattern across multiple consecutive COLA cycles.
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