2026 Medicare Part A Premium Calculator

Most people pay $0 because they or a spouse have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered work. With 30 to 39 quarters, Part A costs $311 a month in 2026. With fewer than 30, it costs $565 a month. These are the amounts CMS published for 2026.

40 quarters, also called work credits. You can earn up to 4 a year, so it takes about ten years of work where you paid Medicare taxes. Your Social Security statement in your my Social Security account at ssa.gov shows how many you have.

Often, yes. If your spouse has 40 or more quarters, you may get premium-free Part A even with little or no work history of your own. Divorced and widowed spouses can qualify too. Social Security checks the details, such as how long you were married, so confirm your situation with them.

It only applies if you have to buy Part A. If you do not sign up when you are first eligible, your monthly premium can go up 10%, and you pay the higher premium for twice the number of years you could have had Part A but did not sign up.

For example, two years late on the full premium means $621.50 a month instead of $565, for 4 years, at 2026 figures.

No. The Part A penalty only applies to people who buy Part A. If yours is premium-free, there is no Part A penalty. A late start on Part B or Part D is different: those penalties can apply to anyone.

$1,736 per benefit period in 2026. A benefit period starts when you are admitted as an inpatient and ends after you have been out of the hospital or a skilled nursing facility for 60 days in a row, so you can owe it more than once in a year. Most Medicare Supplement plans pay all or part of it.

Not if you have 40 quarters: Part A is premium-free, and many people still working take it at 65 alongside their employer plan. If you contribute to a Health Savings Account, talk to us first, because Medicare enrollment stops new HSA contributions.

Yes, if your income and savings are limited. Medicare Savings Programs, run in Arizona through AHCCCS, can pay Medicare premiums for people who qualify. We can walk you through whether you might.

CMS announces the 2027 Part A premiums and deductible around November 2026. We update this calculator when they are published; until then it uses the 2026 amounts.