Medicare Part D

Medicare Part B and D income thresholds shift for Tahlequah in 2026

Tahlequah, Okla. — If your income has climbed in recent years, your 2027 Medicare bill may look different from your neighbor's. Higher earners pay an extra amount on top of the standard Part B and Part D premiums, and the income thresholds that trigger those surcharges are set each fall by CMS. With the Annual Enrollment Period running Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, now is a smart time to understand where you stand.

What IRMAA actually is

IRMAA stands for the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount. It's an extra charge added to your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums when your income is above a set level. It is not a penalty — it's a sliding scale that asks people with higher incomes to pay a larger share of Medicare's cost.

Two important points to keep in mind:

• IRMAA applies to both Part B (doctor visits, outpatient care) and Part D (prescription drugs), even if you get Part D through a Medicare Advantage plan.
• The surcharge is billed by Medicare, not by your insurance company. If you owe it, you'll see it on your Social Security statement or receive a bill from CMS.

The income thresholds that trigger IRMAA

For 2026, IRMAA begins when your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is above $109,000 for a single filer, or above $218,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Below those numbers, you pay only the standard Part B premium and whatever your Part D plan charges — no surcharge.

Above those thresholds, the surcharge grows in tiers. The higher your income, the higher the added monthly amount for both Part B and Part D. Medicare publishes the full tier chart each year at Medicare.gov under "Part B costs."

Medicare looks back two years

Here's the part that surprises many people in Cherokee County: the income Medicare uses for your 2027 surcharge comes from your 2025 tax return. Social Security pulls that figure from the IRS.

That two-year lookback matters if:

• You retired recently and your income has dropped.
• You sold a home, cashed out investments, or took a large one-time IRA withdrawal in 2024.
• You experienced a life event like divorce or the death of a spouse.

If a "life-changing event" has reduced your income, you can ask Social Security to recalculate using Form SSA-44. Common qualifying events include retirement, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, or loss of pension income.

What's changing for Part D in 2027

Even if IRMAA doesn't affect you, the drug benefit itself is changing in ways worth knowing:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once you hit that in covered drug spending, you pay nothing for the rest of the year on covered prescriptions.
• Maximum Part D deductible: $615 for 2026 and $700 for 2027.
• Coverage gap eliminated: The old "donut hole" is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: You can choose to spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.

These changes apply to everyone with Part D, regardless of income. IRMAA is added on top.

What Tahlequah residents can do during AEP

Tahlequah is in Cherokee County, where residents can compare stand-alone Part D plans and Medicare Advantage plans during the Annual Enrollment Period, Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you also have the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 through March 31 to switch once.

A few practical steps:

1. Check your 2025 tax return and estimate whether you fall above the IRMAA threshold. 2. If you had a life-changing event, download Form SSA-44 from ssa.gov. 3. Review your Annual Notice of Change letter from your current plan. 4. Use the Plan Finder at Medicare.gov to compare your options in Cherokee County.