A new KFF brief offers an overview of premiums and benefits in 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) plans based on data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Landscape and Benefits files.
Here are five key findings:
Zero premium plans: Two-thirds of all MA plans with Part D prescription drug coverage won’t charge a premium (other than the Medicare Part B premium) in 2026. The same was true in 2025.
Supplemental benefits offerings decline: Most MA plans will continue to offer vision, dental, and hearing coverage but many will cut other benefits. For example, 66 percent of plans in 2026 will offer an allowance for over-the counter items compared to 73 percent in 2025 and 57 percent of plans will provide a meal benefit in the upcoming year compared to 65 percent in 2025.
A mixed bag for supplemental benefits in Special Needs Plans: There is also a decline in certain supplemental benefits offered in Special Needs Plans. Only 67 percent of plans will offer transportation in 2026 compared to 81 percent in 2025 and 47 percent will offer bathroom safety devices next year compared to 54 percent in 2025. However, there is an increase in the number of plans offering in-home support services (25 percent in 2026 compared to 17 percent in 2025), and support for caregivers (16 percent in 2026 compared to 5 percent in 2025).
SSCBI benefits more common in Special Needs Plans: More Special Needs Plans offer Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) compared to MA plans. For example, 85 percent of Special Needs Plans will offer food and produce as an extra benefit for a subset of plan’s enrollees compared to 11 percent in individual plans and 72 percent will offer general supports for living, such as housing and utilities compared to eight percent in individual plans.
Reduced Medicare Part B premiums: Thirty-two percent of individual MA plans will offer some reduction in the Medicare Part B premium in 2026 as a supplemental benefit, as they did in 2025. More than a third will offer a reduction of more than $100 a month. Twenty-eight percent will offer a reduction of $10 or less per month.
Click here to read the entire KFF brief.