Health care is one of those expenses you should factor into your retirement budget. And certain costs are fairly easy to account for.
Your Medicare Part B premiums, for example, are a fixed-cost expense (and if you receive Social Security, they will be paid automatically with your monthly benefits). Similarly, if you’ve been taking the same medications for years, you may have a good idea of ​​how much they cost if your Part D drug plan hasn’t changed.
Planning a hospital stay can be more complicated, especially because it’s hopefully something you don’t do often. But it’s important to know how much a hospital stay could cost you this year if you’re enrolled in Medicare.
Most Medicare enrollees do not pay a premium for Part A, which covers hospital care. But that doesn’t mean the care you get under Part A is free.
Every time you are admitted to the hospital, you are charged an inpatient deductible. In 2025, that deductible was $1,676, but it increased to $1,736 this year.
That deductible may also not cover your entire hospital stay. Once your stay exceeds 60 days, you will be responsible for daily coinsurance.
The daily coinsurance rate for days 60 to 90 of a hospital stay was $419 in 2025. However, this year it increased to $434.
You should also know that if your hospital stay exceeds 90 days, you will have to use your reserve days for life. The daily rate for this is $868 this year, up from $838 last year.
If these hospital costs seem astronomical to you, that’s because they are. But the good news is that if you buy Medigap coverage from the beginning, you can get help covering these costs if you end up needing a hospital stay.
Medigap is supplemental insurance designed to cover some of the out-of-pocket costs you incur as a Medicare member. Medigap will not pay for services that Medicare will not cover, such as dental work or vision exams. but willpower Typically, you pay the inpatient hospital deductible and pay the coinsurance bill. Medigap may also cover the cost of reserve days for life.
The best time to buy Medigap is during the initial enrollment period, which lasts six months and begins the month you turn 65 and are enrolled in Medicare Part B. During that time, you cannot be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition and insurers must offer you the best rates on their plan.