Medicare Part B Premium Hike Likely in 2027
Medicare’s monthly Part B premium, which covers physician visits and outpatient hospital services, is expected to rise again in 2027 after topping $200 for the first time in 2026.
In its annual report, the Medicare Board of Trustees projects the standard monthly premium for Part B — which also covers diagnostic tests, preventive screenings and drugs administered by providers — will increase by $6.60 to $209.50 per month in 2027. Trustees expect the Part B deductible, the amount you pay before Medicare coverage kicks in, to go from $283 to $292 in 2027.
The actual Part B premium and deductible for 2027 will be announced later this fall by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
One month before the midterm elections, President Donald Trump announced that 20.8 million original Medicare beneficiaries will receive a one-time $90 rebate payment this month designed to help them pay their Part B premium. “My Administration will, immediately, begin sending 'Checks' of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums,” Trump wrote in a late-night Oct. 2 post on Truth Social.
But the payments will cover less than half of one month’s standard Part B premium of $202.90 in 2026.
“This one-time payment may not go far at offsetting rising costs for health care and other everyday essentials,” says a blog post by Juliette Cubanski, vice president and director of the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF, a health care research organization.
Those eligible for the money must be enrolled in original Medicare, live in the U.S., and cannot receive premium assistance from Medicaid, CMS says. The estimated 36.1 million people enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans issued by commercial insurers are ineligible for the rebate.
Most eligible recipients will receive the payment by direct deposit in their bank account from the Social Security Administration. Those without direct deposit will receive a check to their registered Medicare mailing address.
Funding for the payments will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which was established by Congress to make improvements to Part A and Part B in original Medicare. Cubanski says the $90 payments would nearly deplete the fund, which contained just over $2 billion.
Medicare enrollees can call 800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) to check their eligibility for the rebate. Those who want information about the status of their payment should call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213.
If the Medicare trustees’ projected Part B premium increase of 3.25 percent materializes for 2027, it would be far less than last year’s 9.7-percent spike that raised the standard Part B premium by $17.90 to $202.90 in 2026.
In the past 10 years, the trustees’ Part B premium projections have been accurate three times. They were off by just 10 cents for 2024 and 30 cents for 2020.
If your modified adjusted gross income reported on your IRS tax return from 2 years ago is above a certain level, you’ll pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) along with the standard Part B premium. Roughly 5.1 million beneficiaries did so in 2025. People subject to the IRMAA adjustment are also ineligible for the $90 rebate payment.
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