Part B premiums increased to $202.90 in 2026, which is a 9.7% increase from the $185 that premiums cost in 2025. Orman specifically warned Social Security retirees about this because the big increase in Medicare insurance costs in 2026 would mean that the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) applied to seniors' retirement checks this year would be substantially reduced by the added premiums they now have to pay.
Many of the [low-income earners] that I've talked to really want me to sit down and explain how it worked for them, because they've just been excluded from a system like this for their whole careers. They want to know what the catch is.