Nearly 2 million Georgians will face higher healthcare costs next year as Medicare premiums climb for both doctor visits and prescription drug coverage, increases experts warn could strain budgets already stretched thin.
According to the latest Medicare Trustees Report, monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits and outpatient services, are expected to jump from $185 to $206 in 2026. The rise will impact more than 1.6 million Georgians enrolled in the program.
For older adults like 76-year-old Diane Corbin, the news is “devastating.”
Corbin, who lives in Atlanta’s Grove Park neighborhood, pays $180 a month for Part B coverage, already a major slice of her Social Security check.
“I’m not going to be able to afford it. Barely can now,” Corbin told CBS Atlanta.
She’s watched her premium rise nearly $40 since she first enrolled at age 65.
“It was $140 when I first got on,” she said. “It goes up every year.”
Prescription costs may also surge
Another major change coming in 2026: insurers offering Medicare Part D, which covers most prescription drugs, will be allowed to raise monthly premiums by up to $50, significantly higher than today’s $35 cap.
That could affect thousands of Georgians like Corbin, who relies on daily medication for high blood pressure.
“We need our medicine,” she said. “That’s why we’re still living.”
Why are Medicare costs rising?
Experts point to several forces pushing premiums upward:
1. More seniors are using the system
As the U.S. population ages, demand for Medicare-covered services has surged.
“Insurance plans are no longer seeing the same profitability they saw 5 or 10 years ago,” said Jacqueline Nikpour, a health policy professor at Emory University.
“Many of these plans are exiting the market altogether.”
2. Healthcare innovation comes with a price
New treatments, diagnostic tools, and longer life expectancy all increase Medicare’s long-term costs.
“As much as innovation is helping people live longer lives,” Nikpour said,
“it’s causing healthcare costs to go up.”
“Just enough to exist”
CBS Atlanta met Corbin at the Dogwood Senior Center, where she picks up a hot meal, a resource she’s become more dependent on as prices rise.
She says the financial pressure is becoming impossible to ignore.
“There’s just enough money for me to exist on,” she said. “I may have to get help from my family.”
A small boost is coming
There is one bit of relief on the horizon: the Social Security Administration will issue a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) next year. Advocates say the increase may help, but likely won’t fully offset higher healthcare costs.
Still, for seniors across Georgia, every dollar counts.
CBS Atlanta will continue to track Medicare and Social Security updates affecting older adults and families statewide.
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