Yes, Medicare has deductibles, and they apply separately to different parts of the program. Part A (hospital insurance) has a per-admission deductible of $1,676 in 2025. Part B (outpatient and doctor visits) has an annual deductible of $257 in 2025, rising to $283 in 2026. Part D (prescription drugs) has a maximum deductible of $590 in 2025. How much you actually pay depends on which parts of Medicare you use and whether you have supplemental coverage.
The Part A Hospital Deductible
Part A works differently from most insurance deductibles. Instead of resetting once a year, it resets each “benefit period.” A benefit period starts the day you’re admitted to a hospital as an inpatient and ends once you’ve been out of the hospital (and not in a skilled nursing facility) for 60 consecutive days. If you’re hospitalized again after that 60-day gap, a new benefit period begins and you owe the deductible again.
That means you could pay the $1,676 deductible more than once in a single year if you have separate hospital stays with 60-day gaps between them. Most people who are relatively healthy never pay it at all in a given year, but someone with recurring hospitalizations could face it multiple times. There’s no annual cap on how many benefit periods you can have.
The Part B Annual Deductible
Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient care, lab tests, preventive screenings, and durable medical equipment. Its deductible is straightforward: you pay the first $257 of Part B-covered services each calendar year (increasing to $283 in 2026). After that, you typically pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for most services, with Medicare covering the remaining 80%.
Many preventive services, like flu shots and certain cancer screenings, are covered at 100% and don’t count toward the deductible at all. The Part B deductible is relatively modest, but the 20% coinsurance after meeting it has no upper limit in Original Medicare, which is one reason many people carry supplemental coverage.
The Part D Prescription Drug Deductible
Part D plans can charge a deductible of up to $590 in 2025 before they begin covering your prescriptions. During the deductible phase, you pay 100% of your drug costs out of pocket. Not every Part D plan charges the full amount, and some plans waive the deductible entirely or apply it only to certain tiers of drugs. You’ll need to check your specific plan’s terms.
Once you’ve met the deductible, you move into the plan’s initial coverage phase, where you pay copays or coinsurance for each prescription. The 2025 redesign of Part D also introduced a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket drug spending, which is a significant change from previous years.
Medicare Advantage Plans Set Their Own Rules
Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans are offered by private insurers and must cover at least everything Original Medicare covers, but they can structure costs differently. Some plans have no deductible at all for medical services. Others combine medical and drug coverage under a single plan with its own deductible structure. Copays and coinsurance vary widely between plans.
One key difference: Medicare Advantage plans are required to have an annual out-of-pocket maximum, which Original Medicare does not. So while your deductible and cost-sharing structure may look different, your total financial exposure in a given year has a ceiling. The tradeoff is that Advantage plans typically restrict you to a network of providers.
Medigap Plans That Cover Deductibles
If you have Original Medicare, you can purchase a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy to help cover deductibles and coinsurance. Not all Medigap plans cover the same costs, so which plan letter you choose matters.
- Part A deductible: Medigap Plans C and F cover it fully, Plan K covers 50%, Plan L covers 75%, and Plan M covers 50%. Plans A, B, D, G, and N do not cover the Part A deductible. Note that Plans C and F are only available to people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020.
- Part B deductible: Only the now-restricted Plans C and F covered the Part B deductible. If you turned 65 on or after January 1, 2020, no available Medigap plan will cover this cost for you.
Plan G is currently the most comprehensive option available to new enrollees. It covers everything Plan F did except the Part B deductible, meaning you’d pay $257 per year out of pocket for that but have most other costs covered.
Financial Help With Medicare Costs
If your income is limited, Medicare Savings Programs run by your state can help pay premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance. The most comprehensive is the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, which covers nearly all Medicare cost-sharing. For 2026, you may qualify as an individual with monthly income up to $1,350 and resources under $9,950, or as a couple with income up to $1,824 and resources under $14,910.
The Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program has slightly higher income limits ($1,616 per month for individuals, $2,184 for couples in 2026) but covers only the Part B premium, not deductibles. Income limits are higher in Alaska and Hawaii, and some states use more generous thresholds than the federal minimums. Your state Medicaid office handles applications for all of these programs.