Looking at Medicare 2026: Cost Increases and Decreases
The implications of legislation enacted in recent years will have an impact in 2026, and it could be positive or negative for individual beneficiaries, depending on their type of coverage. Price negotiation provisions enacted via the “Inflation Reduction Act” from the Biden Administration, along with the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes coming out of the Trump Administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” have created a bit of a maelstrom in the health care world, as explained in an NBC News post by health and medical reporter Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
Lovelace’s post addresses the impact of drug pricing changes, citing real-world experiences of how the changes are affecting some patients. He also examines the effects of ACA subsidy changes and evolving Medicaid requirements, among other issues, as evicence of the level ofchange facing beneficiaries in 2026. Lovelace summarizes the matter with this quote: “If you’re on Medicare, there’s some good news,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a nonpartisan research group. “If you’re on the ACA or Medicaid, it may be bad news ahead for you.”
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