Medicare Costs in 2026 at a Glance

In 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month and the Part B deductible is $283. Part A is premium-free for most people, with a $1,736 deductible for each benefit period. Out-of-pocket costs for covered Part D drugs are capped at $2,100 for 2026, rising to $2,400 in 2027. Higher earners pay more for Parts B and D through IRMAA, and signing up late can add a penalty for life. Every federal figure below comes from CMS. The 2027 Part B premium and deductible are usually announced in November, and we will update this guide when CMS publishes them.

Part A: hospital insurance

A benefit period starts the day you are admitted and ends once you have been out of a hospital or skilled nursing facility for 60 days in a row, so the deductible can apply more than once in a year. After day 150 of a hospital stay, Original Medicare pays nothing.

To see what that means in dollars: a 10-day hospital stay costs $1,736 under Original Medicare alone. A 25-day stay in a skilled nursing facility afterward adds 5 days at $217, or $1,085. Two separate admissions more than 60 days apart can mean paying the $1,736 deductible twice in the same year.

Part B: medical insurance

The 2026 standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, or $2,434.80 for the year, and the annual deductible is $283 (CMS, 2026). After the deductible you generally pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for doctor services, outpatient care, therapy and medical equipment, and Original Medicare puts no annual cap on that 20 percent.

That missing cap is the cost people underestimate. An outpatient surgery with a $10,000 Medicare-approved amount leaves you 20 percent, $2,000, on Original Medicare alone. A Medicare Supplement or a Medicare Advantage plan is how most people put a ceiling on that exposure.

You pay the standard premium if you sign up for Part B for the first time in 2026, do not get Social Security benefits, are billed directly, or have Medicare and Health First Colorado and the state pays your premium. Social Security tells you your exact amount each year.

Late enrollment penalties

If you do not sign up for Part B when you are first eligible, and you do not have group coverage from your own or your spouse's current job, your premium goes up 10 percent for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but did not. The penalty lasts for as long as you have Part B.

Here is what that looks like in 2026: wait two full years and the penalty is 20 percent of $202.90, or $40.58 a month, for a premium of $243.48. That is $486.96 a year, every year, and it rises when the standard premium rises.

Part D has its own penalty: 1 percent of the national base premium ($38.99 in 2026, $41.33 in 2027) for each full month without creditable drug coverage. If you have to buy Part A, its penalty is 10 percent, paid for twice the number of years you went without it. Our Part B and Part D penalty calculators show your own numbers.

IRMAA: the income-related surcharge

If your modified adjusted gross income from your 2024 tax return is above these levels, you pay more for Part B and Part D in 2026 (CMS, 2026):

Part D: prescription drug coverage

Premiums are set by each plan. In Colorado, the 8 standalone Part D plans in the CY2027 CMS Landscape file range from $5.30 to $260.20 a month, with deductibles from $300 up to the $700 maximum. None has a $0 premium for 2027.

Medicare Advantage and Medigap costs near Brighton

Medicare Advantage premiums, copays and out-of-pocket maximums are set plan by plan. In the CY2027 CMS Landscape file, Adams County has 36 standard Medicare Advantage plans (Special Needs Plans not counted). Counting the Part C premium only, 33 of them are $0. Counting the whole monthly premium for medical and drug coverage together (Parts C and D), 30 are $0; the other 3 of the 33 charge a drug premium. The highest premium is $194, and in-network out-of-pocket maximums run from $3,300 to $9,850, with a median of $6,200. You keep paying your Part B premium either way.

Medicare Supplement premiums depend on the plan letter, the company, your age, your ZIP code and whether you use tobacco. The Colorado Division of Insurance publishes premium charts by company in its Medigap guide, for non-smokers at ages 65, 70, 75 and 80 and for people under 65 with disabilities, using sample ZIP code 80202 in Denver. Its 2026 to 2027 guide notes that the same Plan G can cost $150 a month from one company and $250 from another, so ask each company for its rate in your own ZIP code, such as 80601 or 80603 in Brighton.

Two ways a year of costs can look, in dollars

Here is an illustration, not a quote. It uses the 2026 Part B premium (the 2027 amount is not announced yet), the Colorado Division of Insurance example range for Plan G, and 2027 plan figures from the CMS Landscape file. It leaves out the Part B deductible on the Medicare Advantage side, because each plan sets its own copays.

If these costs are hard to manage

• Health First Colorado runs the Medicare Savings Programs. If you qualify for QMB, SLMB or QI-1, the state pays your $202.90 Part B premium, worth $2,434.80 a year, and the QMB level also pays Medicare deductibles and coinsurance.
• Extra Help lowers Part D premiums and copays. In 2026 you may qualify with income below $23,940 single or $32,460 married (SSA).
• Our Extra Help and Medicare Savings Programs guide has the 2026 Colorado income limits and how to apply.

What to check before you budget for 2027

• Watch for the 2027 Part B premium, deductible and IRMAA brackets, which CMS usually announces in November.
• Read your plan's Annual Notice of Change for 2027 premiums, copays and the out-of-pocket maximum.
• If your income fell, file form SSA-44 so IRMAA is based on your current income.
• Price your drugs for 2027: the Part D deductible limit rises to $700 and the cap to $2,400.
• If you are paying a Medigap premium, ask your company for its 2027 rate, and compare it with the Division of Insurance charts.

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The bottom line

For 2026, budget $202.90 a month for Part B, the $283 Part B deductible, and a $1,736 Part A deductible per benefit period if you have no other coverage, plus whatever your supplement, Advantage or drug plan charges. In dollars, a year on Original Medicare with Plan G and a low-premium drug plan runs roughly $4,600 to $5,800 before drug copays, while a $0 premium Advantage plan starts at $2,434.80 but can reach about $11,000 in a hard year at the county median maximum. If your income is above $109,000 single or $218,000 joint, check IRMAA; if it is limited, check the Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help first. Call our Brighton office for your own numbers.