Personal Finance & Estate › Medicare, Medi-Cal & long-term care › Medicare (federal health insurance at 65+)
Medicare Part B (doctors & outpatient)
$202.90/mo standard (2026)· Government program
Law or rule (2026)Set by statute, regulation or the agency; numbers change yearly.
Medicare's medical insurance for doctor visits, outpatient care, tests, equipment and preventive services, paid with a monthly premium.
See it on the Personal Finance & Estate map →How it works
The 2026 standard premium is $202.90 a month, with a $283 yearly deductible; after that you generally pay 20% of approved costs, with no yearly cap in Original Medicare. Higher earners pay more through IRMAA. Enrollment is voluntary but timing matters: unless you have coverage from a current employer, sign up in the 7-month window around 65. Each full year you were late adds 10% to the premium for life. Most people pair it with Medigap or keep it while joining a Medicare Advantage plan.
Why it matters for you
Its uncapped 20% coinsurance is the gap behind the Medigap-versus-Advantage choice, and its late-enrollment penalty never goes away.
Rules, limits and sources (2026)
CMS announces premiums and deductibles each fall; the Social Security Act (Part B, Sec. 1831 onward) and the 'Medicare & You' handbook set the rules.
Watch out for
The premium rose about 9.7% for 2026, far faster than Social Security's 2.8% raise; whether costs keep outpacing benefits is a live worry.
Inside this (1)
Connections (3)
▸Medicare Part B (doctors & outpatient) is the doctor part of Medicare (federal health insurance at 65+)Law or rule (2026)
How they connect
Part B is Medicare's voluntary medical insurance for doctors and outpatient care. Unlike Part A, it is funded about three-quarters by general federal revenue and one-quarter by enrollee premiums. With Part A it makes up Original Medicare, and you keep paying for it even inside a Medicare Advantage plan.
When it applies
Created alongside Part A in the 1965 Medicare law; coverage began in July 1966 with a $3 monthly premium.
The rule
Social Security Act Title XVIII, Part B (Sec. 1831 onward); the 25% premium share is set in Sec. 1839.
Watch out for
Part B spending is growing fast, driven by physician-given drugs and outpatient care; how to slow it without shifting costs to seniors is debated.
▸IRMAA (income surcharge on Parts B & D) adds surcharges to Medicare Part B (doctors & outpatient)Watch out
How they connect
Most enrollees pay a Part B premium covering about 25% of program costs; IRMAA raises that share to 35%, 50%, 65%, 80% or 85% as income rises. In 2026 that means $284.10 to $689.90 a month per person instead of $202.90. Each spouse is charged separately, usually out of Social Security checks.
When it applies
Enacted in the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act and phased in from 2007; tiers were tightened in 2018 and a top tier added in 2019.
How sure?
Social Security Act Sec. 1839(i); CMS's yearly premium fact sheet lists each tier and its income range.
Watch out for
Thresholds are inflation-indexed, but whether Congress expands means-testing to shore up Medicare's finances is a recurring proposal.
▸Medicare Part B (doctors & outpatient) is usually paid by deduction from Social Security (OASDI)Law or rule (2026)
How they connect
If you collect Social Security, your Part B premium, any IRMAA and, if you choose, Part D premiums come straight out of the monthly check. A 'hold-harmless' rule stops a premium rise from cutting most people's net check below last year's, but not for new enrollees or IRMAA payers. Those not yet collecting are billed quarterly.
When it applies
In place since Medicare began in 1966; collecting Social Security at 65 also enrolls you in Parts A and B automatically.
The rule
Social Security Act Sec. 1840 (premium deduction) and Sec. 1839(f) (hold-harmless); SSA benefit notices show the deduction.
Watch out for
For 2026 the premium rose $17.90 a month, absorbing about a third of the average retiree's roughly $56 COLA raise; whether that squeeze continues is uncertain.