It’s official. Medicare costs will eat up much of older Americans' Social Security cost-of-living increase next year.
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient care, doctors' services, durable medical equipment and preventive service, will be $202.90 in 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Nov. 14. That's up $17.90, or nearly 9.7%, from $185.00 in 2025.
It's smaller than the $21.50 increase the Medicare Trustees had forecast earlier but still the second largest dollar jump in program history behind 2022's $21.60 gain and almost 3.5 times the 2.8% Social Security raise for next year. That means seniors will probably see a drop, again, in their standard of living, experts said.
Seniors were the only ones who saw an increase in poverty in 2024. All other age groups saw a decrease or stayed the same.
"The public is likely to perceive this Part B increase as taking a significant chunk of or even most of their COLA," said Mary Johnson, independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst. "In other words, another continuation in relentless cost increases battering consumer finances."
