\n Senior citizens are the latest group of Americans to face steep increases in their health insurance premiums for 2026.\n <\/p>\n
\n Medicare Part B premiums will jump nearly 10% next year, the largest increase in four years<\/a> and second-largest hike, in dollar terms, in the program\u2019s history. The standard monthly premium will be $202.90, an increase of $17.90 from this year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That will eat up nearly one-third of the $56 monthly Social Security cost-of-living adjustment<\/a> that retirees will receive in 2026.\n <\/p>\n \n The steep increase in premiums for Medicare Part B \u2014 which covers doctors\u2019 visits, outpatient hospital services, medical equipment and drugs administered by physicians, among other services \u2014 comes at a time when health insurance premiums are rising sharply for those with job-based coverage<\/a> and Affordable Care Act policies.<\/a> This upward trend puts more pressure on Americans already struggling with affordability as the prices of food<\/a>, utilities<\/a> and other necessities remain stubbornly high.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIn a world in which people are concerned about the affordability of health care and all other needs, it\u2019s pretty distressing that this increase is so large,\u201d said Jeanne Lambrew, director of health care reform at The Century Foundation.\n <\/p>\n \n Increasing medical and pharmaceutical costs, as well as usage, are common drivers of the rise in health care premiums across coverage types.\n <\/p>\n \n Medicare is also contending with the continuing wave of baby boomers becoming eligible to enroll, plus the ongoing shift toward surgeries and other medical services being performed at outpatient facilities, rather than in hospitals, where care is covered by Medicare Part A, said Rachel Schmidt, research professor at Georgetown University\u2019s Medicare Policy Initiative.\n <\/p>\n \n CMS noted that monthly premiums would have risen by another $11 had it not approved a change in payment for skin substitutes that the agency says will reduce spending by nearly 90% on the wound care products. Medicare shelled out more than $10 billion for these products last year, up from $256 million in 2019.\n <\/p>\n \n Meanwhile, Medicare Part D prescription drug policies, which are offered by insurers, will see fewer changes for 2026 than they did for this year. The Biden administration had to rush last fall to stand up a multibillion-dollar subsidy program<\/a> for insurers to prevent steep premium increases stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act. The law, which the Democrat-led Congress approved in 2022, required insurers to be on the hook for more of the drug costs once enrollees hit the catastrophic coverage phase above a $2,000 cap<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The number of plans being offered for 2026 will decrease modestly, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman, which noted that Elevance is exiting the market. Many insurers are hiking their premiums by as much as $50 for next year, though some are lowering them or holding them steady.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf seniors in the standalone PDP market are willing to shop, there is still stability,\u201d said Brooks Conway, a principal at Oliver Wyman.\n <\/p>\n \n Roughly 69 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare, which also covers people with disabilities. The annual open enrollment period ends December 7.\n <\/p>\n