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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
For older adults like 76-year-old Diane Corbin, the news is “devastating.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“I’m not going to be able to afford it. Barely can now,” Corbin told CBS Atlanta.<\/p>\n
She’s watched her premium rise nearly $40 since she first enrolled at age 65.<\/p>\n
“It was $140 when I first got on,” she said. “It goes up every year.”<\/p>\n
Prescription costs may also surge<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
That could affect thousands of Georgians like Corbin, who relies on daily medication for high blood pressure.<\/p>\n
“We need our medicine,” she said. “That’s why we’re still living.”<\/p>\n
Why are Medicare costs rising?<\/p>\n
Experts point to several forces pushing premiums upward:<\/p>\n
1. More seniors are using the system<\/p>\n
As the U.S. population ages, demand for Medicare-covered services has surged.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Many of these plans are exiting the market altogether.”<\/p>\n
2. Healthcare innovation comes with a price<\/p>\n
New treatments, diagnostic tools, and longer life expectancy all increase Medicare’s long-term costs.<\/p>\n
“As much as innovation is helping people live longer lives,” Nikpour said,<\/p>\n
“it’s causing healthcare costs to go up.”<\/p>\n
“Just enough to exist”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She says the financial pressure is becoming impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n
“There’s just enough money for me to exist on,” she said. “I may have to get help from my family.”<\/p>\n
A small boost is coming<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Still, for seniors across Georgia, every dollar counts.<\/p>\n
CBS Atlanta will continue to track Medicare and Social Security updates affecting older adults and families statewide.<\/p>\n
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