The 2026 Medicare Part B premiums will be increasing almost 10% over 2025. Next year’s premiums were recently published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $202.90 for 2026, an increase of $17.90 (9.7%) from $185.00 in 2025. The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $283 in 2026, an increase of $26 (10.1%) from the annual deductible of $257 in 2025.
According to CMS, the premium increases are “mainly due to projected price changes and assumed utilization increases that are consistent with historical experience.”
It also added that because of a 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule issued in October, the premium increases were $11 per month lower than they would have been otherwise. This was due primarily to an increase in Medicare spending on skin substitutes, something that has grown from $256 million in 2019 to over $10 billion in 2024, largely due to abusive pricing practices. To address this, CMS will change the payment method for skin substitutes in 2026, reducing spending by nearly 90% and encouraging the use of clinically proven products.
Between 2024 and 2025, the standard monthly premium increased 5.9% and the annual deductible increased 7%.
FEHB premiums have seen even larger increases. The average increase for the enrollees’ share of the 2026 FEHB premiums will be 12.3%. In 2025, it was 13.5%.
For Postal workers and retirees in the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program, the total average increase in the enrollees’ share of premiums will be 11.3%. Postal retirees who retire and become Medicare-eligible after December 31, 2024 are required to enroll in Medicare Part B under the new PSHB program.
2026 Medicare Part B Premiums
| Beneficiaries who file individual tax returns with modified adjusted gross income: | Beneficiaries who file joint tax returns with modified adjusted gross income: | Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount | Total Monthly Premium Amount |
| Less than or equal to $109,000 | Less than or equal to $218,000 | $0.00 | $202.90 |
| Greater than $109,000 and less than or equal to $137,000 | Greater than $218,000 and less than or equal to $274,000 | $81.20 | $284.10 |
| Greater than $137,000 and less than or equal to $171,000 | Greater than $274,000 and less than or equal to $342,000 | $202.90 | $405.80 |
| Greater than $171,000 and less than or equal to $205,000 | Greater than $342,000 and less than or equal to $410,000 | $324.60 | $527.50 |
| Greater than $205,000 and less than $500,000 | Greater than $410,000 and less than $750,000 | $446.30 | $649.20 |
| Greater than or equal to $500,000 | Greater than or equal to $750,000 | $487.00 | $689.90 |
