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Medicare · 2027 Enrollment GuideMedicare Open Enrollment 2027: Dates, Changes & Your Checklist
From October 15 to December 7, 2026, you get to decide what your Medicare coverage looks like for all of 2027. Here's what's changing on January 1, the notice that should already be in your mailbox, and a five-step review you can do at the kitchen table.
Medicare open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and whatever you choose takes effect January 1, 2027 and generally sticks for the year. Every fall, Medicare hands you this short window to change your mind, and every fall most people let it close without opening the envelope. The good news: the work is small, and doing it early in the window is far easier than doing it in a rush the first week of December.
- AEP runs Oct 15 – Dec 7, 2026. Changes take effect January 1, 2027.
- Your plan had to mail your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) by September 30. That single document tells you almost everything you need.
- The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (from $2,100), and the standard Part D deductible rises to $700 (from $615).
- 15 more drugs get Medicare-negotiated prices starting January 1, 2027 — the second round of the drug price negotiation program.
- Doing nothing is a decision. If you skip AEP, you're auto-renewed into next year's version of your plan — with whatever changed.
Open Enrollment Runs October 15 to December 7: What to Do First
You don't have to decide anything on the first day. These five things are worth doing early in the window, and none of them commits you to switching.
- Read your Annual Notice of Change. Your plan had to mail it by September 30. It lists what changes on January 1: the premium, the drug list, copays and the network. If your plan is leaving your area instead, you get a separate non-renewal notice and extra rights; here is what to do if your Medicare Advantage plan is ending.
- Run your own prescriptions through Plan Finder. Medicare's Plan Finder has listed the 2027 plans since October 1, and the 2027 Star Ratings since October 8. Enter your drugs, doses and pharmacy, and it estimates your out-of-pocket costs in each plan for the medicines you actually take.
- If your plan still fits, you don't need to do anything. Medicare's own 2027 review guide says that once you have reviewed your options and are happy with your coverage, it continues automatically. Your plan's 2027 changes start on January 1.
- If you switch, you enroll in the new plan. Use the Enroll button in Plan Finder, call the plan, or ask a licensed agent. Medicare.gov says your old drug coverage ends when your new drug coverage begins, so you don't need to cancel the old plan yourself. Leaving Medicare Advantage for Original Medicare and a Medigap policy needs extra care; read how to switch Medicare plans before you drop anything.
- Leave yourself room before December 7. The plan has to receive your enrollment by December 7 for your 2027 coverage to start January 1, so if you use a paper form, mail it well before the deadline.
Sources: Medicare.gov, Your Yearly Medicare Review (CMS Product No. 11220, September 2026) and switching or dropping drug coverage. The Plan Finder and Star Ratings dates are sourced in the sections below.
The Three Dates That Matter
You don't need to track the whole Medicare calendar. For this fall, three dates carry the weight.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| By September 30, 2026 | Your plan mails its 2027 Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) |
| October 15, 2026 | The Annual Enrollment Period opens |
| December 7, 2026 | The Annual Enrollment Period closes. This is the deadline. |
| January 1, 2027 | Your 2027 coverage and costs take effect |
| January 1 to March 31, 2027 | Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: one switch, only for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan |
If you're on a Medicare Advantage plan or a standalone Part D drug plan, the ANOC is the most useful piece of mail you'll get all year. It's a side-by-side of this year versus next: premium, deductible, copays, the drug formulary, and the provider network. It arrives in a plain envelope that looks like junk. It isn't. If it's still in the pile, find it and read it before you compare plans — that's the whole first step.
One thing the ANOC doesn't cover: if you're on Original Medicare with a Medigap policy, you won't receive one, because Medigap benefits are standardized and don't change year to year. Your premium can still change, though, and if you also have a standalone Part D plan, that plan will send its own notice.
What's Actually Changing For 2027
Two kinds of change land on January 1: the ones Medicare sets for everybody, and the ones your specific plan decides on its own. The national numbers are the headline, but the plan-level changes are usually what hits your wallet.
What CMS's 2027 Numbers Show
CMS published its 2027 plan landscape on September 28, 2026, and Medicare's Plan Finder carries the 2027 plans from October 1. Nationally, CMS projects the average monthly Medicare Advantage premium to fall from $14.37 in 2026 to $12.00 in 2027, a drop of 16.5%, with about 5,532 plans on offer (5,553 this year). The average stand-alone Part D premium is projected to rise from $35.09 to $36. CMS also says nearly everyone with Medicare (more than 99%) will have at least one Medicare Advantage plan available, and 97% will have ten or more.
An average is not your number, and it can point the wrong way for your state. In Washington, CMS's own fact sheet shows the average Medicare Advantage premium rising, from $17.39 to $22.75, with 120 plans instead of 126. Our Washington 2027 breakdown has every state's figures side by side.
The Part D Drug Cap Goes Up To $2,400
The annual out-of-pocket limit on covered Part D prescriptions — the ceiling that means you pay nothing more for the rest of the calendar year — moves from $2,100 in 2026 to $2,400 in 2027. The standard Part D deductible rises from $615 to $700. Both figures are indexed to grow with drug cost growth each year, which is why the cap keeps drifting upward from the $2,000 it started at.
Two things worth knowing. First, that deductible counts toward the cap, so it isn't an extra $700 on top. Second, the cap is still a genuinely large improvement over the old design, where high-cost drugs had no ceiling at all. If your prescriptions are expensive, the practical question isn't whether you'll hit the cap — it's which plan gets you there for the least money along the way. That depends entirely on each plan's formulary tiers, and it's the single biggest reason to re-shop rather than auto-renew.
15 More Drugs Get Negotiated Prices
January 1, 2027 is also when the second round of Medicare drug price negotiation takes effect. Medicare announced negotiated prices for 15 additional Part D drugs — medications used for cancer, diabetes, asthma, and other chronic conditions. Roughly 5.3 million people with Part D used those 15 drugs in a single year, and Medicare estimates the new prices will save beneficiaries an estimated $685 million in out-of-pocket costs. If one of your maintenance medications is on the list, your share could drop meaningfully — but only if your plan's formulary places it well. Again: check the formulary.
Your Plan's Own Changes
This is the part that surprises people. Plans adjust every year — a premium moves, a copay tier shifts, a drug moves from tier 2 to tier 3, a hospital system leaves the network, or the plan stops being offered in your county altogether. None of that is unusual, and none of it means anything is wrong. It just means last year's best plan for you isn't automatically this year's. A plan's quality score can move too: CMS posted the 2027 Medicare Star Ratings on October 8, and 15 Medicare Advantage contracts earned 5 stars.
The 2027 Part B premium and deductible haven't been announced yet — Medicare typically releases those figures in the fall. For reference, the 2026 standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month with a $283 annual deductible. We cover the current-year numbers in detail in our Medicare 2026 changes guide, and we'll update this page when the 2027 figures land.
Your 5-Step Plan Review
Read Your ANOC First
Your plan had to mail it by September 30. Look for three lines: the monthly premium, the drug deductible, and any copay changes for the services you actually use. Circle anything that moved. Ten minutes, once a year.
Write Down Every Medication
Name, dosage, and how often. This one list drives the entire drug-plan comparison — and it's the step people skip. Include anything you started mid-year.
Confirm Your Doctors and Pharmacy
Networks change every January. Verify your primary care doctor, any specialists, your hospital system, and your preferred pharmacy are still in-network for 2027 — the pharmacy tier alone can swing your drug costs.
Look at Total Cost, Not Premium
A $0-premium plan with the wrong formulary can cost more over a year than a plan with a monthly premium. Add premium + deductible + your expected copays before you judge.
Choose on Purpose — Or Confirm on Purpose
Staying put is a perfectly good outcome. The goal isn't to switch; it's to know why you're staying. If your plan still fits after steps 1–4, close the folder and enjoy the year. If it doesn't, you have until December 7. Here is how to switch Medicare plans without a gap in coverage.
The Mistakes That Cost the Most
After a few enrollment seasons, the same handful of missteps show up again and again. None of them are about picking the "wrong" plan — they're about assumptions.
- Assuming nothing changed. Auto-renewal is convenient and it is not a review. The plan you're renewing into is next year's version, not this year's.
- Shopping on premium alone. Premium is one of four numbers. Deductible, copays, and formulary tier placement usually matter more over twelve months.
- Forgetting a new prescription. If you started a medication in June, it may not be covered the same way — or at all — by next year's formulary.
- Counting on switching to Medigap later. This is the big one. Leaving Medicare Advantage during AEP is easy; getting a Medigap policy to accept you afterward may not be. Outside your one-time Medigap open enrollment window or a guaranteed-issue right, insurers in most states can review your health history and decline. Confirm you're approved before you drop anything.
- Waiting until December. The last week is when hold times peak and good decisions get rushed. Starting in October costs nothing.
Once October hits, the ads and cold calls ramp up hard. You are never required to decide on a phone call, and no legitimate agent will pressure you to. You can always hang up, do steps 1–4 above, and call back. If you'd rather talk it through, our licensed Medicare agents will walk your plan options with you at no cost — we're paid by the carriers, not by you. You can book a free plan review by phone or video.
Want the broader picture before you dig into plan documents? Our Medicare education center covers the parts, the costs, and how Advantage and Supplement plans actually differ — and our Medicare plans page explains what we help with. Medicare's own Plan Compare tool and your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) are also free, unbiased places to start.
The Bottom Line
Open enrollment isn't a test and it isn't a sales event — it's an annual checkup for coverage you already have. Read the Annual Notice of Change your plan mailed by September 30, keep a current list of your medications, verify your doctors and pharmacy, and compare on total yearly cost instead of the monthly premium. Then make a decision on purpose, whether that decision is to switch or to stay.
For 2027, the numbers to hold onto are simple: the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400, the standard drug deductible rises to $700, and 15 more drugs move to Medicare-negotiated prices on January 1. Everything else depends on your plan and your prescriptions — which is exactly why the ANOC in your mailbox is worth more than any commercial you'll see this fall. Eight weeks. One folder. Once a year.
Want more plain-English guides like this? Visit the blog, explore our free Medicare education center, or browse recursos en español.
Medicare Open Enrollment 2027, Answered
When is Medicare open enrollment for 2027?
For 2027 coverage, Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026. Changes made during that window take effect on January 1, 2027.
What is the deadline for Medicare open enrollment in 2027?
December 7, 2026. Changes you make by then take effect January 1, 2027. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one more chance to switch between January 1 and March 31, 2027.
Do I have to do anything to keep my Medicare plan for 2027?
Not if your plan is still offered. Medicare’s own 2027 review guide says that if you have reviewed your options and are happy with your current coverage, you don’t need to do anything: your coverage continues automatically, and any changes to its benefits or costs start January 1, 2027. If your plan is not renewing, you get a separate non-renewal notice and should choose a replacement.
Do I need to cancel my old plan to switch during open enrollment?
Usually not. You switch by enrolling in the new plan, through Medicare’s Plan Finder, the plan itself, or a licensed agent. Medicare.gov says your old drug coverage ends when your new drug coverage begins, so you don’t need to cancel your old plan. The new plan has to receive your enrollment by December 7, 2026 for coverage to start January 1, 2027.
Can I change Medicare plans outside of open enrollment?
Sometimes. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31) allows one change. Otherwise you generally need a Special Enrollment Period, triggered by a qualifying event such as moving out of your plan’s service area, losing other coverage, or your plan leaving your area.
Is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period the same as the Annual Enrollment Period?
No. The Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 to December 7) is open to everyone with Medicare. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31) is only for people already enrolled in an Advantage plan, and it permits one change: a different Advantage plan, or a return to Original Medicare with a Part D plan.
I am turning 65. Is open enrollment my window?
No. Enrolling in Medicare for the first time happens during your Initial Enrollment Period — a seven-month window covering the three months before your 65th birthday month, the birthday month, and the three months after. The Annual Enrollment Period is for changing coverage you already have.
Does Medigap have an annual open enrollment period?
No. Your Medigap Open Enrollment Period is a one-time six-month window beginning when you are both 65 and enrolled in Part B. During it you can buy any Medigap policy sold in your state regardless of health history. After it closes, most states allow insurers to use medical underwriting.
Want a Second Set of Eyes
on Your 2027 Options?
Bring your medication list and your Annual Notice of Change. Our licensed agents will compare what you have against the plans we offer in your county — and tell you honestly if staying put is the right call.
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