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TimothyT725746
Contributor ⭐
September 1, 2026

Medicare Premiums Reduction Act of 2026

  • September 1, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 34 views

Raising the IRMA threshold  income limits are a very important issue for those of us on medicare and fixed incomes.    Is AARP putting resources towards support of this bill

2 replies

GailL1
GailL1
Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐
September 1, 2026

You know why that won’t work - right?

  1. those are the (2) categoies where the most people have to pay the IRMAA surcharges,
  2. what would happen?  The appropriate amount from the elimination of these two categories would just be used to raise Part B premiums for those who pay them AND the states who pay them for those who can’t - 

So a majority of Medicare beneficiaries would be against raising their Part B premiums for this purpose and the states would absolutely be against it - since it raises their cost to Medicare.

Posting the link of what the IRMAA surcharges are - just so people here understand the context of your post.’

SSA.gov - Medicare Part B - Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount

But hey, I like it - but that is because I have to pay them. 

New rates based on this proposal would be:- the proposed bill would eliminate the 35% and the 50% categories. 

“If the modified adjusted gross income is: The applicable percentage is:
More than $171,000 but not more than $205,000 65 percent
More than $205,000 but less than $500,000 80 percent
At least $500,000 85 percent.”;

 

IT‘S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . . . .. . . . Roseanne Roseannadanna
TimothyT725746Author
Contributor ⭐
September 1, 2026

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.      For fiscal concerns, maybe eliminating the first 2 tiers is not the solution but some help for those in high cost of living states where income barely exceeds thresholds would be nice.

The percentages you listed were confusing to me.   Looked into it further.  This is from “ 42 USC 1395r: Amount of premiums for individuals enrolled under this part “.   The threshold $ amounts have been adjusted since 2019 but can map to 2026 IRMA brackets.
 

“

2019

  If the modified adjusted gross income is:
    The applicable percentage is:
More than $85,000 but not more than $107,000     35 percent  
More than $107,000 but not more than $133,500     50 percent  
More than $133,500 but not more than $160,000     65 percent  
More than $160,000 but less than $500,000     80 percent  
At least $500,000     85 percent.
“

2026 IRMA thresholds and surcharges:
Individual Tax Return (2024 MAGI)    Joint Tax Return (2024 MAGI)    Monthly Part B Surcharge    Monthly Part D Surcharge    Total Monthly Part B Premium
$109,000 or less    $218,000 or less    $0.00    $0.00    $202.90
$109,001 – $137,000    $218,001 – $274,000    $81.20    $14.50    $284.10
$137,001 – $171,000    $274,001 – $342,000    $202.90    $37.50    $405.80
$171,001 – $205,000    $342,001 – $410,000    $324.60    $60.40    $527.50
$205,001 – $499,999    $410,001 – $749,999    $446.30    $83.30    $649.20
$500,000 or more    $750,000 or more    $486.90    $91.00

 

I thought the percentages correspond to reduction in amount of subsidy applied against full premium

individual income:

under $109,001 - get full subsidy 

$109,001 – $137,000 - loses 35% of subsidy ? (part B surcharge is 81.20, therefore subsidy = $232?)
$137,001 – $171,000 - loses 50% of subsidy ? (part B surcharge is 202.90, therefore subsidy = 405.80?)

since subsidy is not the same for the 2 brackets (based on % subsidy lost) I’m not sure how those percentages apply.

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