What Medicare covers
The Medicare Part B deductible: how it works in 2026
Before Part B pays its 80%, you pay the yearly deductible. Leave the deductible field at its full amount to price a first bill of the year, or set it to zero for a bill later on.
What this service costs you
You pay
$187
| Medicare-approved amount | $187 |
| Part B deductible used | $187 |
| Deductible left after this | $96 |
Part B: you pay the yearly deductible ($283 in 2026), then 20% of the approved amount.
Same service at national rates: $192
How this is calculatedThe Part B deductible is $283 in 2026: once per calendar year, you pay the Medicare-approved amount of your Part B services in full until your payments reach that sum, and only then does Medicare start paying 80%. It is counted on approved amounts, not on what a doctor lists as the charge, and it starts again at zero each January 1. A year that opens with a follow-up visit ($95 approved) and a lower back MRI at an imaging center uses up the whole deductible on those two bills; the physical therapy that follows is billed at 20% from the first session. Several services never touch it: most preventive services, which cost $0 with a provider who accepts assignment, a screening colonoscopy that turns into polyp removal, and Part B-covered insulin used in a pump. Among Medigap policies, only Plans C and F pay the deductible, and only people eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020 can buy them. The 2027 amount is not published yet; CMS announces it in mid-November 2026.
Your first bills of the year against the deductible
You pay for the three
$628
| Bill 1: deductible $95 | $95 |
| Bill 2: deductible $188 | $190 |
| Bill 3: deductible $0 | $344 |
| Deductible left | $0 |
2026 deductible $283; 2027 amount not yet published by CMS.
Costs computed by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the costs are calculated
One year of bills, step by step
The deductible is not a fee you send to Medicare. It is the first slice of the approved amounts you are billed, taken in the order your claims are processed. The table follows one person through the first weeks of 2026, at national rates, with doctors who accept assignment.
| Bill | Approved | Deductible | 20% part | You pay | Deductible left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor office visit, established patient (typical 20-30 minutes) | $95 | $95 | $0 | $95 | $188 |
| MRI of the lower back without contrast | $192 | $188 | $1 | $189 | $0 |
| Physical therapy evaluation, moderate complexity | $98 | $0 | $20 | $20 | $0 |
| Physical therapy session (three 15-minute units of exercise) | $349 | $0 | $70 | $70 | $0 |
The first two bills absorb the deductible, and the second one is split: part of it goes to the deductible and the rest is charged at 20%. From the therapy evaluation onwards, every bill is 20% of the approved amount. Over these bills you pay $373 in all.
Timing a planned procedure
For a large bill, the deductible changes the total by its full amount. An outpatient knee replacement in a hospital leaves you $2,194 when it is the first Part B claim of the year, and $1,968 once the deductible has already been met by other care. Medical needs come first, but when the date is flexible, the calendar year matters.
Your first bills of the year against the deductible
You pay for the three
$628
| Bill 1: deductible $95 | $95 |
| Bill 2: deductible $188 | $190 |
| Bill 3: deductible $0 | $344 |
| Deductible left | $0 |
2026 deductible $283; 2027 amount not yet published by CMS.
Services that skip the deductible
- Preventive services with no cost sharing, such as the yearly wellness visit, screening mammograms and screening colonoscopies, when the provider accepts assignment.
- A screening colonoscopy that becomes polyp removal: you pay 15% of the approved amount in 2026 with no deductible, under 42 CFR 410.152. The share falls to 10% in 2027.
- Part B-covered insulin used in a pump: at most $35 for a month's supply, deductible not applied.
- Home health visits and hospice care, which cost nothing for covered services; a hospice drug copay of up to $5 per prescription can apply.
Medigap and the deductible
The standardized Medigap chart has a column for the Part B deductible, and only two letters fill it: C and F. If you became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, you cannot buy either; Plans D and G give the same benefits except the deductible. High-deductible versions of F and G exist in some states: you pay up to $2,950 in 2026 of deductibles, coinsurance and copayments before the policy pays anything. Plans K and L pay 100% of covered services for the rest of the year once you reach their out-of-pocket limit and the yearly Part B deductible.
Medicare Advantage
A Medicare Advantage plan applies its own cost sharing in place of the Part B deductible and 20%, as written in its Summary of Benefits. In the estimator, choose Medicare Advantage and type your plan's figures.
The 2027 deductible
CMS has not published the 2027 Part B deductible. It appears each year in the fact sheet on Part A and Part B premiums and deductibles, expected in mid-November 2026. We do not estimate it in advance; the amounts on this page will change when the official figure is out.