The Medicare 2026 premiums increase is starting to feel real for many American citizens as news showing how much the rise in Part B premium will cut into 2026 Social Security boosts.
Even though retirees are getting a 2.8% COLA raise in 2026, which works out to about $56 a month for someone getting the average Social Security check. People probably won’t see full rise due to the Medicare Part B premium is jumping by $17.90 a month, bringing the standard premium up to $202.90. Since many American citizens have Medicare Part B premium automatically taken out of their Social Security payment, the extra money they were expecting might lower down to around $38. And for some people with smaller monthly benefits the difference is even tighter. Someone getting only $600 a month, for example, will see a COLA of about $16.80, which is actually less than the premium hike, so the hold harmless rule will step in to make sure their check doesn’t go down, but they might not see any real increase either.
The 2026 premium jump is the second-largest dollar increase in the history, though it still came in a little lower than early forecasts, which predicted more than $21.50 a month. Higher-income households will also pay more, since Medicare charges bigger premiums to people with higher incomes, and roughly 8% of Part B users fall into those brackets. Some people might pay over $400 a month which could depend on the tax return.
Many retirees are getting frustrated due to the rising costs, small social payments and small benefits. It more disappointing for people when inflation is a high and expenses are skyrocketing. As enrollment time approaches, many people are checking their budgets and trying to understand what the Medicare 2026 premiums will mean for retirees’ monthly income and overall health care costs.
