A person enrolled in Original Medicare can pay their premiums online. The Medicare website offers several secure payment methods, and some options can be automatic.
People who do not get benefit payments from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) receive bills for Medicare premiums.
Individuals can pay their bills online, with no fee to use the service.
A person can make an online payment for:
- Medicare Part A premiums (if applicable)
- Medicare Part B premiums
- Medicare Part D premiums (if applicable)
Glossary of Medicare terms
We may use a few terms in this piece that can be helpful to understand when selecting the best insurance plan:
- Deductible: This is an annual amount that a person must spend out of pocket within a certain time period before an insurer starts to fund their treatments.
- Coinsurance: This is a percentage of a treatment cost that a person will need to self-fund. For Medicare Part B, this comes to 20%.
- Copayment: This is a fixed dollar amount that an insured person pays when receiving certain treatments. For Medicare, this usually applies to prescription drugs.
Medicare bills usually arrive on or around the 10th day of the month. They tell a person how much they need to pay for their Medicare coverage.
The bill will list the dates for which a person is paying. This is usually a 1-month period for Part A and Part D but a 3-month period for Part B.
Medicare must receive payment by the 25th day of the month.
Part A
A person will not pay for Part A if they or a qualifying family member has worked and paid Medicare taxes for 40 quarters or at least 10 years over their lifetime.
If someone does not qualify for premium-free Medicare, they will receive a monthly bill for the premium amount.
Part B
Anyone enrolled in only Part B must pay at least the basic premium every 3 months. However, if they have Part A and Part B, they typically pay monthly.
The amount varies depending on a person’s income, and the bill will confirm this amount. However, the standard monthly premium in 2025 is $185.
Part D
Private insurance companies administer Part D plans, so a person will not receive a bill from Medicare for these costs. They should pay plan premiums directly to their plan provider.
However, people who earn above a certain amount may have to pay more for their Part D premiums.
In these instances, rather than paying the extra amount, known as the income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA), to the private insurer, they pay it directly to Medicare.
Medicare will include this portion of the cost in a bill.
Medicare Advantage (Part C)
As with Part D, private insurance companies administer Medicare Advantage plans, and a person will pay their premiums directly to their plan provider.
However, Medicare still requires a person to pay their Part B premium and will send a bill for this part.
When does Medicare not send a bill?
Some people receive SSA retirement benefits or RRB benefits.
In these situations, Medicare deducts the premiums from the benefits, so Medicare will not send the person a monthly bill.
Using their Medicare account, a part of the Medicare website, a person can pay their premium with a credit or debit card.
Once they have logged into their account, they can select “Pay my premium” and enter the amount they would like to pay.
The website will then direct the person to the Department of the Treasury’s payment program (Pay.gov) to complete the payment.
After a person has completed their payment, they will receive a reference number for their records, and the credit card, debit card, or bank statement will show a transaction to “CMS Medicare.”
While credit and debit card payments may go through more quickly, individuals may also use their bank’s online payment service to move money from their savings or checking account to Medicare.
Processing payments from checking or savings accounts can take up to 5 business days.
Some banks will charge a fee for paying bills online, but Medicare will not charge a fee to process the payments.
To set up a payment through a bank, a person should take care to provide the correct information to the bank, including:
- the amount to be paid
- the individual 11-character Medicare Number, which is on a person’s Medicare card or bill
- the name of the payment recipient — in this case, CMS Medicare Insurance
- Medicare’s premium collection address, which is Medicare Premium Collection Center, PO Box 790355, St. Louis, MO 63179-0355
Some banks may also be able to set up automatic payments to Medicare. A person should check with their bank to discuss the payment options available.
Anyone who receives a bill for Medicare premiums and has a bank account is eligible for Medicare Easy Pay.
Easy Pay automatically deducts a person’s Medicare premiums from a savings or checking account.
To sign up, a person should complete the Authorization Agreement for Preauthorized Payments form, SF-5510. The form is available in English and Spanish.
A person should mail their completed form to the Medicare Premium Collection Center. Completion of the signup process takes 6 to 8 weeks.
After successfully registering for Medicare Easy Pay, a person will receive a Medicare statement with the text, “This is not a bill.” This statement advises the person that Medicare will take the premium from their bank account.
An individual can expect to see the payment leave their bank account on or close to the 20th day of the month.
A Medicare bill will inform a person if their payments are late. There are usually three billing attempts before Medicare initiates the late payment process. The process is as follows:
- First bill: This bill comes every month if a person pays on time (or every 3 months for those who pay for Part B only). Medicare must receive payment on or before the due date.
- Second bill: If Medicare does not receive payment on or before the due date on the first bill, a person will receive a second bill to pay in full by the specified due date.
- Delinquent: If Medicare does not receive payment for 90 days, a person must pay the total amount by the specified due date or risk losing their Medicare coverage.
Medicare resources
For more resources to help guide you through the complex world of medical insurance, visit our Medicare hub.
A person has several options to pay their premiums online, including:
- via the Medicare.gov website, using a credit or debit card
- online banking
- Medicare Easy Pay (automatic payments)
Many people also pay their Medicare premiums directly from their SSA or RRB benefits.
People who do not receive these benefits must pay their Part A and Part B premiums and the Part D IRMAA each month. Those who only pay for Part B will pay every 3 months.
Medicare bills arrive on or around the 10th day of the month, and the payment is due by the 25th.
Medicare gives a person 90 days to pay before stopping their coverage.
