The two oldest US presidents have watched Medicare costs skyrocket — soon it will cost more to fund than Social Security
The two oldest US presidents have watched Medicare costs skyrocket — soon it will cost more to fund than Social Security.
Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump (Biden's predecessor and successor) are the two oldest U.S. presidents to date, while Congress has a median age of around 60 — and the U.S. still hasn't figured out a good way to pay for Medicare , the insurance program for older Americans.
A new report from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR) shows that Medicare costs are expected to eclipse Social Security in 11 years . At the same time, Medicare has become more expensive for everyone using it — Medicare Part B premiums jumped by 10% in 2026, one of the largest price hikes in the program's history .
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"The bottom line here is not new — we're using too much of our national and personal resources to pay for healthcare," said CRR senior advisor Alicia H. Munnell in a report on its website.
This doesn't just matter to the government budget. Medicare users could also continue to see prices go up as government costs rise.
"Healthcare is arguably one of the most underestimated expenses in retirement," said Richard Chan, CEO of digital insurance platform CoverRight, in an email to Moneywise. "It seems reasonable, that under current law, consumers should expect to likely bear a growing share of Medicare costs over time."
Here's what the report says lies at the heart of Medicare's increasing costs.
Medicare coverage can be confusing to navigate because plans are made up of several different parts :
Medicare Part A: Covers inpatient procedures, and is by default a part of Original Medicare;
Medicare Part B: Covers outpatient procedures, and is by default a part of Original Medicare; and
Medicare Part D: Covers prescription medication, and must be purchased in addition to Original Medicare.
There's also Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage. Unlike Parts A, B and D, Medicare Advantage isn't offered by the government. It's offered by Medicare approved private insurance companies.
Medicare Advantage must cover everything that Parts A and B of Original Medicare cover, and most generally cover Part D. They might also come with extra benefits that Original Medicare doesn't offer, such as vision and dental insurance. In exchange, there are more limits to which doctors you can see with a Medicare Advantage plan.
Even so, Medicare Advantage has become increasingly popular with older Americans, thanks to its extra benefits and frequently better coverage . But according to CRR, it's also more expensive — in ways a redesign could fix.
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Original Medicare pays per service each beneficiary receives, but Medicare Advantage pays a flat fee for each beneficiary on a plan. Exactly what Medicare Advantage pays depends on where each beneficiary lives, how healthy each beneficiary is and how highly rated the specific Medicare Advantage plan is.
