For most people, Medicare in 2026 costs $202.90 a month for Part B, plus a drug plan and either a Supplement or an Advantage plan. Part A is free if you paid Medicare taxes for ten years. A typical person on Original Medicare with a Plan G Supplement and a drug plan pays somewhere between $330 and $450 a month all in. A typical person on a $0-premium Advantage plan pays the $202.90 and then copays as they go.
The government pieces
Part A: $0 premium for almost everyone. The hospital deductible is $1,736 per benefit period in 2026.
Part B: $202.90 a month, deducted from your Social Security check if you receive one. The annual deductible is $283. Higher earners pay more, starting at $109,000 for a single filer and $218,000 for a joint return, based on the tax return from two years ago. See the answer on IRMAA.
The private pieces
Part D drug plan: premiums range from under $10 to over $100 a month depending on the plan. The deductible cannot exceed $615 in 2026, and your out-of-pocket for covered drugs is capped at $2,100 for the year.
Medicare Supplement: a Plan G premium for a new 65-year-old commonly runs $120 to $200 a month depending on your ZIP code and the company, and it runs higher if you smoke. Plan N runs less. Premiums rise with age and with the company's yearly increases.
Medicare Advantage: many plans charge $0 beyond Part B. You then pay copays, typically $0 to $50 for a primary or specialist visit and a few hundred dollars a day for hospital stays, up to the plan's yearly maximum, which can run from about $3,000 to $9,000 in network.
Two ways the same year can look
Healthy year, Supplement: premiums only, about $350 a month. Healthy year, Advantage: about $203 a month plus a few copays.
Hospital year, Supplement: the same $350 a month plus the $283 Part B deductible. Hospital year, Advantage: $203 a month plus copays up to the plan maximum, possibly several thousand dollars.
That is the trade in one paragraph. Low every month, or steady in the bad year.
These figures are for 2026. Medicare announces the next year's numbers each fall, and I update this page when they land. For your own numbers, request a plan check and I price the real plans in your ZIP code.