Your Medicare Plan Is Changing for 2027: What to Review Before Open Enrollment

If you have a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, you should receive an Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, from your plan each fall. It explains what will change in your coverage beginning January 1, including changes to costs, benefits and other plan details. 

It can be easy to look at the premium, see that your plan is still available and assume you’re good for another year. But even if you’ve been happy with your coverage, the plan you have in 2026 may not work exactly the same way in 2027.

With Medicare Open Enrollment beginning October 15, now is a good time to see what’s changing before deciding whether to keep your current coverage.

Start With Your Annual Notice of Change

Your ANOC is one of the best places to start because it tells you what’s changing with the plan you already have.

As you review it, pay particular attention to:

• Your monthly premium and deductible

• Copays and coinsurance for the care you use

• Changes to prescription drug coverage

• Your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies

• Dental, vision, hearing and other supplemental benefits

A change doesn’t automatically mean you need a different plan. What matters is understanding how those changes affect the way you actually use your coverage.

A Few 2027 Medicare Numbers to Know

CMS has released its projections for 2027, and there are a few numbers worth knowing as you review your options.

Across Medicare Advantage plans, CMS projects the weighted average monthly premium will decrease from $14.37 in 2026 to $12 in 2027. For stand-alone Part D plans, the projected average is moving from $35.09 to $36 per month. 

Those averages give you some context, but they don’t tell you what your plan will cost. Your premium, deductible, copays and benefits can look very different from the national average.

For Part D, there are also two changes that are especially easy to compare:

2026 → 2027

Part D deductible: $615 → $700

Part D out-of-pocket threshold: $2,100 → $2,400

If prescription costs are an important part of your coverage, look beyond those numbers, too. Check whether your medications are still covered, whether their tiers have changed and whether your preferred pharmacy is still a good option under the plan.

Don’t Compare Plans on Premium Alone

A lower premium doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll spend less over the course of the year.

A medication you take regularly could move to a different tier. A doctor could leave the network. A dental allowance could change, or you could end up paying more for a service you use frequently.

Your own needs may have changed as well. If you started a new medication, began seeing a specialist or simply used your healthcare differently this year, that should be part of the conversation when you review your coverage.

The goal isn’t to find the plan with the lowest number on the page. It’s to understand what you’re paying for and whether the coverage still makes sense for you.

When Can You Make Changes?

Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026. During that time, you can review your 2027 options and, depending on your current coverage, switch Medicare Advantage plans, change drug plans, move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, or keep the coverage you already have. Changes made during Open Enrollment generally take effect January 1. 

If your current plan still works for you, is available for 2027 and continues to meet your needs, you generally don’t need to do anything. But it’s worth making that decision after you’ve looked at what’s changing rather than assuming next year will look like this year. 

Need Help Reviewing Your 2027 Medicare Coverage?

There can be a lot to compare, especially when the differences between plans aren’t limited to the monthly premium.

Medicare Resource Center can help you review what’s changing with your current coverage and compare your 2027 options based on the doctors, prescriptions, costs and benefits that actually matter to you.

Talk with a licensed Medicare Pro before Open Enrollment ends December 7.