Most Medicare enrollees will face premiums that are 10% higher next year, creating budget anxiety for millions of seniors.
Older adults and people with disabilities will pay almost $203 per month in 2026 for their Medicare Part B premium, the Trump administration said late Friday. That’s about 10% higher than the $185 per month that Medicare beneficiaries pay this year.
Rising health care costs are a major concern among voters, and more expensive Medicare premiums could add to that frustration ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Medicare’s Part B premium covers all kinds of routine outpatient care — everything from lab services to same-day hospital care to intravenous and injectable drugs people get in a doctor’s office. But the costs of that premium have gone up substantially over the past decade, due in large part to more Medicare enrollees getting care in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and projections associated with controversial drugs like Aduhelm.
Medicare’s actuaries said most of the higher premiums for next year are attributable to the cost of care received in outpatient hospital settings and the higher costs associated with running Medicare Advantage, the version of Medicare that is handled by private health insurers. Hospitals have profited immensely from facility fees that are attached to their outpatient clinics, and Medicare Advantage continues to cost taxpayers more than the traditional Medicare program.
Actuaries said the use of physician-administered drugs helped bring down the cost of the premium. They did not elaborate if that was due to lower use of all drugs, or higher use of biosimilar drugs.
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The Trump administration praised itself, saying the Part B premium would have been $214 per month if it weren’t for its recent rule that cracked down on what the government spends on skin substitutes. But the projected jump still greatly outpaces inflation and will put a strain on Medicare enrollees who lived on fixed incomes.
The higher premiums could force even more older adults to consider jumping to Medicare Advantage plans, most of which either partially or fully subsidize the costs of the Part B premium. A majority of plans offer so-called $0 premiums, and having to pay no premium is one of the biggest draws for people who choose Medicare Advantage over traditional Medicare.
