Medicare Part A deductible 2026

The Medicare Part A deductible 2026 is $1,736.00 per benefit period, not per year. After you pay it, days 1 to 60 of a hospital stay cost nothing more. Days 61 to 90 cost $434.00 a day, and lifetime reserve days cost $868.00 a day. Skilled nursing days 21 to 100 cost $217.00 a day. Most people pay no Part A premium.

Key facts
Part A deductible	$1,736.00 per benefit periodPaid for each benefit period, not once a year.
Days 1 to 60	0 dollars after the deductibleMedicare pays the rest of the approved amount.
Days 61 to 90	$434.00 a dayYou pay this coinsurance each day.
Lifetime reserve days	$868.00 a day60 days total, used once in a lifetime.
Skilled nursing days 21 to 100	$217.00 a dayDays 1 to 20 are covered at 0 dollars.
Premium-free Part A	40 work quartersMost people pay no Part A premium.
Part A premium if short of quarters	$311.00 or $565.00 a month30 to 39 quarters, or fewer than 30.
Part B premium	$202.90 a monthSeparate from Part A and paid by almost everyone.

What the Part A deductible is

The Part A deductible is the amount you pay for inpatient hospital care before Medicare begins to pay its share. For 2026, it is $1,736.00. The important detail is the unit: it is charged per benefit period, not per calendar year. A benefit period starts on the day you are admitted as an inpatient and ends when you have been out of the hospital or skilled nursing facility for 60 consecutive days. If a second admission happens more than 60 days after discharge, a new benefit period begins and the deductible is owed again.

That structure means a person with two hospital stays in the same year, separated by more than 60 days, can owe the deductible twice. A person with a single long stay owes it once, plus the daily coinsurance for the later days. The deductible is not an annual cap on exposure; it is a per-stay threshold.

Medicare Part A coinsurance 2026

What Medicare pays after the deductible

After the deductible is met, Medicare pays the full approved amount for days 1 through 60 of the hospital stay. You pay nothing more for the approved services during those days. For days 61 through 90, you pay $434.00 per day. After day 90, you can draw on up to 60 lifetime reserve days, each costing $868.00. Those reserve days are not renewed; once they are used, they are gone.

The daily amounts are per day, not per stay, so a 75-day stay costs 15 days at the $434.00 rate. A stay that runs past 150 days total puts you past the reserve days, and you pay all costs from that point. The daily coinsurance is not subject to any annual out-of-pocket limit in Original Medicare, which is one reason supplemental coverage matters for people with frequent or long hospitalizations.

Skilled nursing and the 100-day rule

Part A also covers skilled nursing facility care after a qualifying hospital stay. Days 1 through 20 are covered at 0 dollars. Days 21 through 100 cost $217.00 per day. After day 100, Medicare stops paying and you owe the full cost. The stay must be for skilled care, such as rehabilitation or skilled nursing, not custodial care, and the benefit period rules apply here too.

The skilled nursing benefit is one of the most misunderstood parts of Medicare. A person who needs help with daily activities but not skilled care does not qualify, and a person who qualifies can lose the benefit if the care plan changes to custodial. The Part A deductible does not apply to skilled nursing, but the daily coinsurance does.

Medicare Part A cost 2026

Who pays a Part A premium

Most people get Part A without a monthly premium because they or a spouse have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered work. A person with 30 to 39 quarters pays $311.00 a month for Part A. A person with fewer than 30 quarters pays $565.00 a month. To buy Part A, you must also enroll in Part B and pay both premiums.

The quarters are earned through work covered by Medicare taxes. A person can qualify on a spouse's record, including a deceased or divorced spouse's record in some cases, and a person who worked in a government job that paid Medicare taxes can qualify on that record. The work record should be checked before budgeting, because the difference between 0 dollars and $565.00 a month is large over a year.

What Part A does not cover

Part A does not cover most prescription drugs, physician services outside a hospital stay, routine dental, vision, hearing, or long-term custodial care. A person who needs those services relies on Part B, Part D, a Medicare Advantage plan, or out-of-pocket payment. Part A also does not cap out-of-pocket spending for the year, so a long or repeated hospitalization can be expensive even with Medicare.

The deductible and coinsurance are the same nationwide. They do not vary by state, by hospital, or by the type of care. What varies is the amount of care a person uses and the supplemental coverage chosen to fill the gaps.

How to plan for the Part A costs

A person preparing for a possible hospitalization should plan for three separate exposures: the deductible for each benefit period, the daily coinsurance for a long stay, and the Part A premium if work quarters are short. The deductible is the most predictable, because it is a fixed amount per benefit period. The daily coinsurance is the variable, because it depends on the length of the stay and whether lifetime reserve days are used. The premium is the one that can be avoided by checking the work record early, before the budget is set.

Supplemental coverage changes the picture. A Medigap policy can pay the Part A deductible and the daily coinsurance, and a Medicare Advantage plan sets its own cost sharing with an annual out-of-pocket limit. A person with either type of coverage should still understand the underlying Medicare amounts, because the supplemental plan's cost sharing is usually built on top of them.

Worked example

Consider a person admitted to the hospital for 8 days in March 2026. The person pays the $1,736.00 deductible. Because the stay is under 60 days, Medicare pays the rest of the approved amount for the hospital care. The total out-of-pocket cost for the stay is $1,736.00, plus any Part B charges for physician services billed separately.

Now suppose the same person is admitted again in August for 75 days, more than 60 days after the March discharge. A new benefit period begins, so the person pays another $1,736.00. Days 1 through 60 of the August stay are covered after that deductible. Days 61 through 75, which is 15 days, cost $434.00 each, or $6,510.00 for those 15 days. The total for the second stay is $1,736.00 plus $6,510.00.

A third case: the person needs 30 days in a skilled nursing facility after the hospital stay. Days 1 through 20 cost nothing. Days 21 through 30, which is 10 days, cost $217.00 each, or $2,170.00. That amount is separate from the hospital deductible and is owed in addition to it.

Where the Part A deductible can surprise you

The deductible is per benefit period, not per year, so two stays 61 days apart cost two deductibles.
Lifetime reserve days do not renew. A person who uses them has fewer left for a later year.
Skilled nursing coverage depends on the type of care. Custodial care is not covered even when it follows a hospital stay.
This page explains the standard figures. It does not estimate a specific person's hospital costs, because those depend on the care used and any supplemental coverage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Medicare Part A deductible {year} amount?

The Part A deductible for 2026 is $1,736.00 per benefit period. A benefit period begins on admission and ends after 60 consecutive days out of the hospital or skilled nursing facility.

Is Medicare Part A deductible per year or per stay?

Per benefit period. A new benefit period begins after 60 consecutive days without inpatient care, which means the deductible can be owed more than once in a year.

How much does Medicare pay for hospital days 61 to 90?

You pay $434.00 per day for days 61 to 90 of a hospital stay. Medicare pays the rest of the approved amount.

What are lifetime reserve days?

Lifetime reserve days are up to 60 additional hospital days Medicare can pay for after day 90 of a stay. Each costs $868.00 per day, and they do not renew.

Does Medicare cover skilled nursing facility care?

Yes, for up to 100 days after a qualifying hospital stay. Days 1 to 20 cost nothing, and days 21 to 100 cost $217.00 per day. The care must be skilled, not custodial.

Who pays a Medicare Part A premium?

Most people pay nothing. A person with 30 to 39 work quarters pays $311.00 a month, and a person with fewer than 30 quarters pays $565.00 a month.

Source table

Figure	Value used	Official source
Part A deductible and coinsurance	$1,736.00 deductible; $434.00 a day	CMS 2026 Part A and B fact sheetChecked October 28, 2026
Skilled nursing coinsurance	$217.00 a day	CMS 2026 Part A and B fact sheetChecked October 28, 2026
Part A premiums by work quarters	$311.00 / $565.00 a month	CMS 2026 Part A and B fact sheetChecked October 28, 2026
Part B premium	$202.90 a month	CMS 2026 Part B fact sheetChecked October 28, 2026

See the hand-worked examples in the verification log

Where to check a hospital or skilled nursing stay before it happens

The figures are the standard Medicare amounts for 2026, checked against the CMS fact sheet on 2026-10-28. Medicare pays the approved amount; the hospital's charges can be higher than the approved amount, so the setting and the provider matter. Before a planned stay, confirm whether the facility accepts assignment and whether your supplemental coverage fills the deductible and coinsurance.

For the surrounding costs, use the Part B late enrollment penalty calculator if coverage timing is in question, the Medicare Savings Program and Extra Help calculator if income is limited, and the Part D out-of-pocket cap guide for drug costs during a stay.