Most Medicare beneficiaries will pay $17.90 more per month for Part B insurance premiums in 2026, a whopping 9.6% increase from this year’s premium of $185 to $202.90 in 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on November 14, 2025. Some enrollees will pay even more due to monthly surcharges imposed on high-income individuals and married couples.

The monthly Medicare Part B premium increase will eat up much of the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in Social Security benefits (See “Social Security Benefits to Increase 2.8% in 2026“)  announced the previous month. Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $56 per month on average starting in January 2026.

Still, it could have been worse. The 2025 Medicare Trustees report released earlier this year had projected that the standard monthly Medicare Part B premium could rise to $206.50 in 2026.

Medicare consists of several parts. Part A hospitalization insurance is premium free for 99% of Medicare beneficiaries who have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment, according to CMS. Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice, inpatient rehabilitation and some home health care services.

Medicare Part B covers doctors’ fees and outpatient services. Each year, Medicare Part B premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance rates are determined by provisions of the Social Security Act. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $202.90 in 2026, up from $185 monthly premium in 2025. The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $283 in 2026, up $26 from the annual deductible of $257 in 2025.

Since 2007, a beneficiary’s Part B monthly premium has been based on income. These Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts, or IRMAA surcharges, for 2026 are based on income reported on 2024 federal tax returns. These high-income surcharges affect roughly 8% of people with Medicare Part B, the CMS announcement said. The income brackets that determine the surcharges also increased for 2026.

Standard Medicare Part B premiums and high-income surcharges are normally deducted directly from monthly Social Security benefits. Medicare enrollees who do not receive Social Security benefits must pay their Medicare premiums directly to the Social Security Administration.

Individuals whose modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) was $109,000 or less in 2024 (up from $106,000 in 2025) and married couples whose joint MAGI was $218,000 or less in 2024 (up from $212,000 in 2025) will pay the standard Medicare Part B premium of $218 per month in 2026. Those with higher incomes will pay more per month for both Part B health insurance and Part D prescription drug coverage.

There are five IRMAA income brackets with Medicare Part B surcharges ranging from an additional $81.20 per month in 2026 to an additional $487 per month per person in 2026. That means, Medicare beneficiaries in the highest income brackets—$500,000 or more for individuals and $750,000 or more for married couples—would pay $689.90 per month per person for Medicare Part B in 2026. In addition, high-income beneficiaries are also subject to Part D prescription drug plan surcharges ranging from an additional $14.50 per month to an additional $83.30 per month.

Each fall, the Social Security Administration sends IRMAA notification letters to alert beneficiaries who are subject to high-income surcharges based on their latest available tax return. However, if you’ve had a life-changing event that reduced your household income since then, you can ask to lower the additional amount you’ll pay for Medicare Part B and Part D. Life-changing events include marriage, divorce, the death of a spouse, and loss of income due to retirement or reduced work hours.

Fill out the Social Security Administration’s Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount Life-Changing Event form 44 and send your completed form and evidence of your reduced income to the Social Security Administration. Or call the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 and tell the representative you want to appeal your Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount.