2021 Medicare Part B Deductible
For 2021, the Medicare Part B Deductible is $203 (Deductible) and $148.50 (Standard premium).
Effective 2021-01-01Source: 2021 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (CMS)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2020
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deductible | $198 | $203 | +$5 (+2.5%) |
| Standard premium | $144.60 | $148.50 | +$3.90 (+2.7%) |
Who it applies to
All Medicare Part B beneficiaries, including those who pay income-related monthly adjustment amounts.
What changed this year, and why
The annual Medicare Part B deductible and the standard monthly premium increase for 2021.
Common questions
- What is the Medicare Part B deductible for 2021?
- The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $203 for 2021, up from $198 in 2020.
- What is the standard Medicare Part B premium for 2021?
- The standard monthly premium is $148.50 for 2021, up from $144.60 in 2020. Beneficiaries with higher incomes pay more through income-related monthly adjustment amounts.
What the Part B deductible applies to
Medicare Part B is the portion of Original Medicare that pays for medical care you receive outside of a hospital stay. It covers physician services, outpatient hospital care, certain home health visits, durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs or walkers, and other medical and health services that are not covered by Part A. Because Part B pays for these services, the annual Part B deductible is the amount you must pay out of pocket each year before Medicare begins to pay its share of the cost of most of those services. In 2021, the Medicare Part B deductible is $203. Once you have met that deductible, Part B typically pays its approved amount for the remaining covered services, and you are responsible for any applicable coinsurance or copayment. The standard monthly premium for Part B in 2021 is $148.50, which most enrollees pay in addition to meeting the deductible.
Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and certain other medical and health services not covered by Medicare Part A.
2021 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (CMS)
Part A has its own separate deductible
Medicare Part A has its own deductible that is entirely separate from the Part B deductible. Part A covers a different set of services - primarily inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility care, and some home health services - and the beneficiary must satisfy the Part A deductible before Part A begins paying its share of those inpatient costs. A beneficiary can therefore be responsible for two different deductibles in the same year: the Part A deductible for hospital admissions and the Part B deductible for physician and outpatient services. The two deductibles do not offset each other, and paying one does not reduce or eliminate the other.
Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health care services.
2021 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (CMS)
Why most people pay no Part A premium
Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing facility stays, and certain home health services. Most people who enroll in Medicare owe no monthly premium for Part A. CMS reports that about 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries qualify for premium-free Part A because they—or a spouse—accumulated at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment during their working lives, meaning they paid Medicare payroll taxes for the required period. A small share of beneficiaries who have not met that threshold must pay a monthly premium to enroll in Part A voluntarily. Even when no Part A premium is owed, beneficiaries are still responsible for the Part A inpatient hospital deductible and any applicable coinsurance when they receive covered care. The Part B deductible and premium are separate from Part A and apply to outpatient and physician services.
Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health care services. About 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries do not have a Part A premium since they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment.
2021 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (CMS)
The Part A deductible is per benefit period, not per year
The Part A inpatient hospital deductible resets each time a beneficiary begins a new benefit period, not once per calendar year. A benefit period starts the day a person is admitted to a hospital or skilled nursing facility and ends after 60 consecutive days without any inpatient care. The deductible covers the beneficiary's share of costs for the first 60 days of inpatient hospital care within that benefit period. If a beneficiary is discharged, stays out of the hospital for 60 days, and is then readmitted, a new benefit period begins and the Part A deductible must be paid again - even if the two admissions fall within the same calendar year. There is no annual cap on the number of times the deductible can apply, so beneficiaries with repeated hospitalizations may pay it more than once in a single year.
The Part A inpatient hospital deductible covers beneficiaries’ share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period.
2021 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (CMS)
Married, living together, filing separately: the income surcharge jumps
A beneficiary who is married, lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year, and yet files a separate tax return is subject to much stricter income thresholds for the Part B income-related monthly adjustment amount than a single filer or a couple filing jointly. For married-filing-separately beneficiaries, the lowest surcharge tier begins as soon as income exceeds $88,000. Beyond that threshold and up to $412,000, the income-related monthly adjustment amount is $326.70, producing a total monthly premium of $475.20. At $412,000 and above, the adjustment rises to $356.40 and the total premium reaches $504.90. The practical effect is that a married couple living together who choose the married-filing-separately status will see the surcharge begin at the same $88,000 level used for single filers, with the top bracket arriving at only $412,000 rather than the higher ceilings used for other filing statuses. Most couples in this situation therefore file jointly to preserve the more generous income thresholds before surcharges begin.
Premiums for high-income beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouse at any time during the taxable year, but file a separate return, are as follows: Beneficiaries who are married and lived with their spouses at any time during the year, but who file separate tax returns from their spouses: Income-related monthly adjustment amount Total monthly premium amount Less than or equal to $88,000 $0.00 $148.50 Greater than $88,000 and less than $412,000 326.70 475.20 Greater than or equal to $412,000 356.40 504.90
2021 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (CMS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
2021 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles (CMS)
- Deductible
The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $203 in 2021, an increase of $5 from the annual deductible of $198 in 2020.
The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $148.50 for 2021, an increase of $3.90 from $144.60 in 2020.