Medicare premiums 2027: what your loved one will pay

Short answer

Standard 2026 Part B is $202.90 a month and the annual deductible is $283. The 2026 Trustees Report projects 2027 Part B at $209.50 a month, up $6.60. Part A’s 2026 inpatient deductible is $1,736 per benefit period. CMS confirms the 2027 numbers in mid-November each year; the change takes effect January 1, 2027, and is deducted automatically from Social Security for most people.

When CMS announces the 2027 premiums

CMS releases the annual Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles fact sheet in mid-November. Last year, the 2026 fact sheet was published on November 14, 2025. The 2027 announcement is expected in a similar window — roughly November 10 to November 25, 2026.

Three things happen at that moment:

1. The 2027 standard Part B monthly premium and annual deductible become official.
2. The 2027 Part B IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) brackets are published — the surcharge tiers that apply if a beneficiary’s income exceeds certain thresholds.
3. The 2027 Part A costs are confirmed: inpatient hospital deductible, coinsurance day-ranges, skilled nursing coinsurance, and the voluntary Part A premiums for people who don’t automatically qualify from their work history.

The new figures take effect January 1, 2027. For most beneficiaries, Social Security withholds the new premium beginning with the January payment. If your loved one is direct-billed for their Part B premium — because they don’t yet collect Social Security or Railroad Retirement — the new amount appears on their first quarterly bill of the year.

We will update this page with the confirmed 2027 figures within 24 hours of the CMS announcement.

The 2027 Part B premium — projection today, confirmed in November

The current standard Part B monthly premium — the amount most beneficiaries pay — is $202.90. That is what CMS set for 2026, a $17.90 increase from the 2025 premium of $185.00.

For 2027, the most authoritative pre-announcement figure comes from the Medicare Trustees. The 2026 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds, published June 9, 2026, projects the 2027 standard Part B monthly premium at $209.50 — a $6.60 increase (about 3.25%).

This is the smallest projected annual increase since Part B premiums actually decreased in 2023. It is also, notably, a slower rise than the pattern the Trustees project for the years that follow.

The multi-year Trustees projection

The 2026 Trustees Report projects standard Part B premiums beyond 2027:

The Trustees write that the projected increases from 2028 onward are, on average, more than double the 2027 increase. In other words: 2027 is projected to be an unusually calm year for Part B. The years that follow are not.

Projections are not commitments. The actual 2027 Part B premium and deductible will not be final until CMS publishes the fact sheet in mid-November.

The 2027 Part D premium — already published

Part D — prescription drug coverage — works on a different calendar. CMS publishes the Part D annual bid information every July.

The July 28, 2026 CMS fact sheet confirms two figures that anchor Part D premiums for 2027:

• The 2027 Part D National Average Monthly Bid Amount (NAMBA) is $296.05.
• The 2027 Part D base beneficiary premium is $41.33.

The NAMBA is the average of plans’ bids and is used to calculate the base premium. Individual plan premiums vary above and below the base. Beneficiaries whose income exceeds the IRMAA thresholds pay a Part D IRMAA surcharge in addition to the plan premium; those surcharge figures are typically announced with the November Parts A and B fact sheet.

One structural change worth noting: CMS confirmed in the July fact sheet that the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration will end at the close of 2026, with the program returning to traditional market conditions in 2027. Practically, this means the mechanism that has damped Part D premium volatility since 2024 goes away. Some plans may show sharper premium moves at open enrollment for 2027 than they did last year.

The 2027 Part A costs

Part A covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility stays, hospice, and some home health. Most beneficiaries pay no Part A monthly premium — they earned it through payroll taxes over their working years.

The current 2026 Part A cost structure looks like this:

Source: CMS 2026 Parts A & B fact sheet.

CMS updates each of these numbers annually. Every one of them will have a 2027 value in the mid-November announcement. Historically, the inpatient deductible and coinsurance day-ranges move together and reflect underlying cost-of-hospital-care trends. Modest increases across the board are the expected pattern.

What’s changing versus 2026 — dollar-delta view

Here is the year-over-year picture as it stands today, combining what’s confirmed with what’s projected:

We will fill in each “To be announced” cell within 24 hours of the CMS fact sheet publication.

What your loved one needs to do

For most beneficiaries: nothing.

• Social Security withholds the premium automatically. When the 2027 premium is confirmed, SSA adjusts the deduction beginning with the January payment. There is no form to file, no phone call to make, and no risk of missed payment.
• Direct-billed beneficiaries receive an updated bill. If your loved one pays their Part B premium directly — for instance because they haven’t yet claimed Social Security — the first bill of 2027 will reflect the new amount. Medicare bills quarterly for premium-only beneficiaries.
• Medicare Advantage plan holders pay Part B too. A Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan does not replace Part B — it delivers Part B benefits alongside plan-specific benefits. The Part B premium still applies and is still typically deducted from Social Security. Plan-specific premiums are separate and are set by the plan.

Two situations do require action:

1. Your loved one’s income has dropped since 2025. The 2027 Part B and Part D IRMAA surcharges will be calculated from 2025 tax-return income (the two-year lookback). If a qualifying life-changing event has reduced income since then — retirement, work reduction, loss of a spouse, divorce — SSA can recalculate the surcharge on the current year’s income. The mechanism is Form SSA-44 (Life-Changing Event), filed after receiving the IRMAA determination letter but before the new premium takes hold. SSA recognizes eight qualifying life-changing events; each has its own evidence requirement.
2. Your loved one thinks the IRMAA determination is wrong. The determination letter names the tax year SSA used. If that year was atypical — a one-time distribution, a Roth conversion, a sale of a principal residence — the SSA-44 route also applies, provided the change fits one of the eight qualifying events.

When the change hits their bank account

For beneficiaries whose premium is deducted from Social Security:

• The January 2027 Social Security payment — typically the second, third, or fourth Wednesday depending on birth date — will reflect the new Medicare Part B premium.
• If IRMAA applies, the surcharge is embedded in the same deduction.
• Some beneficiaries also see a small hold-harmless adjustment if the Social Security COLA is smaller than the Part B premium increase. The 2027 projection ($6.60 increase) is small enough that this is unlikely to trigger hold-harmless for most people.

For beneficiaries who pay Medicare directly:

• The first quarterly bill of 2027 — issued in December 2026 for the January–March 2027 quarter — will show the new amount.
• Beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Easy Pay see the new deduction on their first January bank withdrawal.

What if the numbers turn out higher than the projection

The Trustees Report projections are careful estimates. The actual 2027 Part B standard premium could come in slightly above or below $209.50 depending on the final Physician Fee Schedule rule (typically published in early November) and updated cost trend data.

If the 2027 premium arrives noticeably higher than projected, three things matter for a caregiver:

• The IRMAA thresholds are also inflation-adjusted, which softens the impact for beneficiaries who are near a bracket boundary.
• The hold-harmless provision protects beneficiaries whose Social Security COLA is smaller than the Part B increase — for those already collecting Social Security, the Medicare deduction cannot grow the Social Security check downward.
• The SSA-44 route remains available for any life-changing event that has reduced income since 2025.

What this article does not cover

This article covers what your loved one will pay in 2027 and why. It does not cover strategies to stay under IRMAA thresholds — that is a conversation for a financial adviser or a CPA, ideally the same person who prepares their tax return. Withdrawal sequencing, Roth conversion timing, capital-gain realization windows, and charitable-giving structures all interact with IRMAA. None of that belongs in a Medicare-costs article; it belongs in a financial plan.

If your loved one is close enough to an IRMAA threshold that a $100 income difference would push them into the next bracket, that is worth flagging to a financial adviser before year-end 2025 income becomes locked. The two-year lookback means every dollar of 2025 income already counts toward 2027 IRMAA.

When to work with a patient advocate

Three situations where the specific expertise of a patient advocate saves time and money:

1. The IRMAA determination letter looks wrong. An advocate can read the letter alongside the underlying tax return, identify whether SSA has used a year that reflects a one-time income event, and prepare the SSA-44 filing with the documentation SSA requires. Our IRMAA article covers the eight qualifying events; an advocate applies them to the specific case.
2. The premium letter arrives during a broader Medicare transition. New enrollees, beneficiaries switching from an employer plan to Medicare, or beneficiaries changing between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage often see multiple documents arrive at once. An advocate sorts what applies to what.
3. The family is coordinating for a parent who cannot navigate the paperwork. Cognitive decline, hospitalization at year-end, or geographic distance from the beneficiary all make the annual premium-adjustment cycle more complex. An advocate holds the calendar and the paperwork.

Baba Care advocates handle Medicare-cost letters, IRMAA appeals, and coverage transitions for families across the U.S. Contact us if the 2027 premium letter arrives with a question you’d rather not answer alone.

Frequently asked questions

When will CMS announce the 2027 Medicare premiums? Historically in mid-November. The 2026 fact sheet was published November 14, 2025. Expect the 2027 announcement in a similar window — roughly November 10–25, 2026.

Why is the 2027 IRMAA calculated on 2025 income? The Part B and Part D IRMAA surcharges use a two-year lookback because that is the most recent complete tax return SSA has when the annual premium is set.

Will the Part B premium go up in 2027? The 2026 Trustees Report projects a $6.60 monthly increase, from $202.90 to $209.50 — the smallest projected increase since the 2023 premium decrease. Actual figure is confirmed in the mid-November CMS announcement.

Does my loved one need to sign up for the new premium? No. For beneficiaries receiving Social Security, the new premium is deducted automatically starting with the January 2027 payment. For direct-billed beneficiaries, the new amount appears on the first quarterly bill of 2027.

What if my loved one’s income has dropped since 2025? Filing Form SSA-44 (Life-Changing Event) can request that SSA recalculate the IRMAA surcharge based on more recent income. SSA recognizes eight qualifying events — retirement, marriage, divorce, death of spouse, work reduction, loss of income-producing property, loss of pension income, employer settlement — each with a specific evidence requirement.

Does the 2027 premium change apply to Medicare Advantage plans? Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans deliver Part B benefits, so the Part B premium is still owed and is still typically deducted from Social Security. Plan-specific premiums are set by the plan and are announced during open enrollment.

What happens to the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration in 2027? CMS confirmed in July 2026 that the demonstration ends at the close of 2026. Part D returns to traditional market conditions in 2027, which may show as sharper year-over-year premium variability at open enrollment.

How will Baba update this article after CMS announces? Within 24 hours of the CMS fact sheet publication. Every “To be announced” cell in this article will be filled with the confirmed 2027 figure; projections will be replaced with primary-source citations from the CMS fact sheet and the Federal Register rate rule.

About Baba Care. Baba Care is a patient advocacy service supporting families navigating Medicare and complex care decisions. We are not affiliated with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration, or any insurance carrier. Our advocates work directly for beneficiaries and their families.

Medical / financial disclaimer. This article is educational and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. For personal circumstances, consult a licensed financial adviser, CPA, or attorney. For personal medical decisions, consult a licensed clinician.