Medicare Plans in Utah: Coverage and Costs (2026)

In Utah, Medicare offers one core choice: keep Original Medicare (Parts A and B) with a Medigap and Part D plan, or pick a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) that bundles it all. If you are turning 65 or helping a parent enroll, this is the decision to start with. In 2026, the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month and the Part D out-of-pocket drug cap is $2,100 a year.1,2

Utah adds two rules worth knowing up front: the state has no annual Medigap "birthday rule," so the six months after you turn 65 is your one guaranteed chance to buy any Medigap plan without health questions, and free, unbiased counseling is available statewide through the Utah State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) at the Utah Insurance Department.3 This guide walks through every part of Medicare as it applies to Utah residents in 2026: what each part costs, how plan choices break down across the state, and how to get help paying for it.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Original Medicare: Parts A and B
• Medicare Advantage Plans in Utah (Part C)
• Medicare Part D: Prescription Drugs
• Medigap Plans in Utah (Medicare Supplement)
• Help Paying for Medicare in Utah
• How to Apply for a Medicare Savings Program in Utah
• Medicare Enrollment Periods
• Free Medicare Help: Utah SHIP
• Where to Get Help in Utah
• Frequently Asked Questions

About these numbers: The 2026 premiums and deductibles below come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), effective January 1. Medicare costs change every year, and each year's official figures are posted at medicare.gov. To talk with a person about your own coverage, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week except some federal holidays; TTY users call 1-877-486-2048.6 Utah SHIP, reached through the Utah Insurance Department, offers the same help locally and for free.

Original Medicare: Parts A and B

Original Medicare is run directly by the federal government and comes in two parts.

Part A (Hospital Insurance)

Part A covers inpatient hospital stays, limited skilled nursing facility care, hospice, and some home health care. In 2026, the inpatient hospital deductible is $1,736 per benefit period, and most people pay $0 for the Part A premium after 40 or more quarters of Medicare-covered work.1

The hospital deductible resets each benefit period. A benefit period starts the day you are admitted and ends once you have gone 60 days in a row without inpatient hospital care or skilled care in a skilled nursing facility. A readmission after that gap triggers a new deductible.

Part B (Medical Insurance)

Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient care, preventive services, durable medical equipment, and mental health care. It does not cover routine dental, vision, or hearing.7

• Monthly premium: $202.90 (higher if your income exceeds $109,000 single or $218,000 married, under the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA)1
• Annual deductible: $283
• After the deductible: you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for most services

Part B is optional in name only, and nearly everyone enrolls. If you delay past your initial window without qualifying for a Special Enrollment Period or a Medicare Savings Program, you owe a late penalty of 10% for every 12 months you could have had it, added permanently to your premium. Creditable drug coverage is the Part D exception, not the Part B one.8

Medicare Advantage Plans in Utah (Part C)

Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans are an alternative to Original Medicare, sold by private insurers. They cover everything Parts A and B do, and most bundle Part D drug coverage along with extras like dental, vision, and hearing.

Plan availability in Utah varies by geography. The Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden metro areas have the widest selection, with multiple carriers competing. Rural counties, particularly in the west desert and eastern canyon country, typically have fewer plans, and in some areas only one or two options. Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see exactly which plans are available in your ZIP code.

How These Plans Work

• You keep paying your Part B premium of $202.90 on top of any plan premium, though many plans charge $0 extra. Some plans go further and may help pay part or all of your Part B premium.1,9
• Plans run on networks (HMO, PPO, or HMO-POS). Confirm your doctors are in-network before you enroll.
• Every plan caps your annual out-of-pocket spending. Original Medicare has no such cap: CMS says there is no yearly limit on what you pay out of pocket unless you have supplemental coverage such as Medigap, Medicaid, employer, retiree, or union coverage.9 In 2026, the federal maximum for in-network Medicare Advantage spending is $9,250, and many plans set lower caps.1
• Extras vary. Compare the dental, vision, hearing, and transportation benefits, not just the premium.

Enter your doctors and prescriptions into the Medicare Plan Finder, and it shows which plans cover them and your estimated annual cost.

Medicare Part D: Prescription Drugs

Part D covers outpatient prescription drugs. You can get it as a standalone plan paired with Original Medicare, or bundled into a Medicare Advantage plan.

The Inflation Reduction Act eliminated the old coverage gap (the donut hole), so that higher-cost middle stage is gone. In 2026, Part D moves through three phases:

1. Deductible: you pay full price until you meet your plan's deductible, which can be up to $615 in 2026.
2. Initial coverage: you pay 25% coinsurance while your plan and drug makers cover the rest.
3. Catastrophic: once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches $2,100, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.2

That $2,100 cap is the number that matters most.2 The 2026 national base Part D premium is $38.99 a month, and actual standalone plan premiums typically run about $34.50 a month, set by each carrier and varying by county.1 People who qualify for Extra Help often pay much less, sometimes nothing.

Medigap Plans in Utah (Medicare Supplement)

Medigap policies, also called Medicare Supplement insurance, are sold by private insurers to fill the gaps in Original Medicare: the deductibles, coinsurance, and copays. They work with Original Medicare, and a Medigap policy can't pay a Medicare Advantage plan's copays, coinsurance, deductibles, or premiums. In Utah, these policies are regulated by the Utah Insurance Department.

Utah offers the federally standardized plans, labeled A, B, C, D, F, G, K, L, M, and N. Plans C and F are closed to anyone who first became Medicare-eligible on or after January 1, 2020.10 Plan G is the popular pick for people newly eligible: it covers the Part A deductible, Part A and Part B coinsurance, and skilled nursing coinsurance, leaving only the $283 Part B deductible on you.4,1

Your One Guaranteed Window

Your strongest opening is the federal Medigap Open Enrollment Period, the six months that begin when you are 65 and enrolled in Part B. During that window an insurer must sell you any plan it offers at the standard rate, no matter your health history.4

Utah has no annual "birthday rule" and no other state-created yearly window that lets you switch Medigap plans without health questions.3 Once your six-month window closes, an insurer in Utah can use medical underwriting, meaning it can charge you more or turn you down based on your health, unless a federal guaranteed-issue right applies. The choice you make in those first six months carries real weight.

Medigap or Medicare Advantage?

While you're in a Medicare Advantage plan it's illegal for anyone to sell you a Medigap policy unless you're switching back to Original Medicare. Choose Medigap and you stay on Original Medicare with the freedom to see any provider who accepts Medicare nationwide, at a higher monthly premium. Choose Medicare Advantage and you trade some of that flexibility for a network structure and, often, a lower upfront cost. Because Utah will not guarantee you a second shot at Medigap once your first six months pass, weigh that trade carefully before your window closes.

Help Paying for Medicare in Utah

Two programs can significantly reduce Medicare costs for people on fixed incomes. Both are funded through Medicaid and Social Security, not by Medicare itself.

Medicare Savings Programs

Utah administers Medicare Savings Programs through Utah Medicaid, part of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), under the state's own name for them, the Medicare Cost-Sharing Programs. They pay some or all of your Medicare premiums and cost-sharing based on your countable income and assets.5

QMB is the most generous: it covers your Part B premium plus your deductibles and coinsurance, which can mean thousands of dollars saved a year. Utah's Table II, effective March 1, 2026, sets the asset limit for QMB, SLMB and QI at $9,950 for a single individual and $14,910 for a married couple, matching the federal figure, and those asset limits update each January. That is a limit on countable assets, not on everything you own. Utah counts cash on hand, bank accounts, things easily turned into cash such as stocks or bonds, and other non-cash property such as vehicles or a vacation home, and says it does not count the home a family lives in, furniture, or most personal items. It also cautions that each program has its own rules about counting assets, so ask Utah Medicaid how the Medicare Cost-Sharing rules treat what you own.5 That is not an absolute cutoff: states can disregard certain income and resources, so apply rather than rule yourself out if you are somewhat over. QI also has to be applied for again every year.5 The income figures above are each tier's federal poverty level percentage plus a $20 income deduction, and Utah deducts more before comparing you to the limit: impairment-related work expenses, and $65 plus half of the earned income that remains. If you are working, that last one matters, because it can put gross wages well above a limit and countable income still under it.5

Extra Help for Part D

Extra Help, also called the Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), pays Part D premiums, deductibles, and copays for people with limited income and resources.

• Income limit: about $1,995 a month for an individual, $2,705 for a couple (150% of the federal poverty level), in the 48 contiguous states and DC; Alaska and Hawaii limits run higher11
• Resource limits: $16,590 for an individual, $33,100 for a married couple, rising to $18,090 and $36,100 if you tell Social Security you expect to use some of your resources for burial expenses11
• If you qualify for QMB, SLMB, or QI, you automatically qualify for Extra Help5

Apply through the Social Security Administration (SSA) at ssa.gov, or call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to set up an appointment.12 A Utah SHIP counselor can also walk you through the application.

How to Apply for a Medicare Savings Program in Utah

If your income and resources are near the limits above, applying for a Medicare Savings Program is the single fastest way to cut your Medicare costs in Utah. Here is the process.

Medicare Enrollment Periods

Miss a deadline and you can face coverage gaps or permanent penalties.

Changes made during Annual Open Enrollment take effect January 1 of the following year. If you miss your Initial Enrollment Period and no Special Enrollment Period or Medicare Savings Program applies, the Part B late penalty adds 10% to your premium for each full 12 months you delayed; the Part D penalty adds 1% of the national base premium per month of delay unless you had creditable drug coverage or qualify for Extra Help. Both penalties are permanent.8

Free Medicare Help: Utah SHIP

You do not have to sort this out alone, and you should not pay a broker to help. Utah's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free, unbiased Medicare counseling through the Utah Insurance Department. SHIP counselors do not sell insurance and take no commissions.

A SHIP counselor can help you:

• Understand your Medicare options and what each part covers
• Compare Medicare Advantage, Part D, and Medigap plans side by side
• Apply for Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help
• Sort out billing disputes, denials, and appeals
• Spot and report Medicare fraud through the Senior Medicare Patrol

Where to Get Help in Utah

Learn More

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.