Updated August 7, 2026. Quick answer: the 2026 figures a household actually meets during open enrollment are the $202.90 standard Part B premium, the $283 Part B deductible, and the $1,736 Part A hospital deductible — which applies per benefit period, not per year, and can therefore be paid more than once in twelve months. Every figure here is Medicare’s own, with its year attached.
What a household pays in 2026
| Figure | 2026 | The part people get wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Part B standard premium | $202.90/month | Higher for higher incomes. Payable every month “even if you don’t get any Part B-covered services.” |
| Part B deductible | $283/year | Once per calendar year, then 20% coinsurance on most services. |
| Part A hospital deductible | $1,736 | Per benefit period, not per year. Medicare: “There’s no limit to the number of benefit periods you can have in a year.” |
| Part A premium | $0 for most | Those without the work record pay $311 or $565 a month to buy it. |
| Skilled nursing, days 21–100 | $217/day | Days 1–20 are $0; day 101 onward is all costs. This is not long-term care coverage. |
| Part B coinsurance | 20% | And Original Medicare has no yearly out-of-pocket limit without supplemental coverage. |
All figures read from medicare.gov — Medicare costs on 7 August 2026, and labelled by Medicare as 2026 amounts.
Paste-ready lines
For reporters and newsletter writers. Each line is complete, year-labelled and attributed — copy it as it stands.
- “The standard Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 a month in 2026, with a $283 annual deductible (Medicare).”
- “Medicare’s 2026 hospital deductible is $1,736, and it applies per benefit period — not once a year, so a household can pay it more than once in twelve months (Medicare).”
- “Original Medicare has no annual out-of-pocket maximum in 2026 unless the beneficiary adds supplemental coverage (Medicare).”
- “Medicare covers skilled nursing at $0 a day for days 1–20 and $217 a day for days 21–100 in 2026, and nothing from day 101 (Medicare).”
Edition and next update
This is the 2026 edition. These figures are announced annually, and the household ones move with the CMS annual notice and the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment.
Next update: when the 2027 figures are announced — historically October to November. The 2026 edition will be archived at its own address and this one will carry the 2027 numbers, so the link you are reading stays current.
What we do not promise. There is no automated watcher behind this page. What exists is a dated register of changes we already know are coming, checked at every batch close rather than waited on, plus a re-read whenever we touch the page for another reason. We would rather describe that plainly than claim a monitoring cadence we do not run.
Cite this page
Suggested citation: “Medicare open enrollment statistics, 2026 edition,” Clear Money Guide, retrieved [date], clearmoneyguide.com/medicare-open-enrollment-statistics/, citing Medicare.
The figures are Medicare’s and should be cited to Medicare. This page’s framing and the per-benefit-period caution are ours, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. No advertising appears on this page.
Related
Medicare cost statistics covers the national spending picture — a different question from what a household pays, and the figures there are not restated here. The open enrollment checklist is the decision layer. Does Medicare cover long-term care? audits the claim these figures are most often used to support.