Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. It is your once-a-year chance to review your Medicare coverage and switch plans for next year. If your current plan still works for you, you don’t have to do anything. But plans change every year, so it pays to take a few minutes to check.
Key dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Early October | Your plan mails its “Annual Notice of Change” letter |
| October 15, 2026 | Open Enrollment begins |
| December 7, 2026 | Last day to make changes |
| January 1, 2027 | Your new coverage starts |
| January 1 – March 31, 2027 | If you’re in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one more chance to switch plans or go back to Original Medicare |
How it affects you
During Open Enrollment you can:
- Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan, or back again
- Change from one Medicare Advantage plan to another
- Join, drop, or change a Part D prescription drug plan
What’s changing for 2027
- Drug costs are capped at $2,400 a year for covered prescriptions, up from $2,100 in 2026. Once you hit the cap, you pay nothing more for covered drugs that year.
- The Part D deductible can be as high as $700, up from $615.
- Lower prices on 15 common drugs, including Ozempic, Trelegy Ellipta and Breo Ellipta, thanks to Medicare price negotiations.
- Drug plan premiums may go up, because a federal program that held them down in 2026 is ending.
- Insulin stays capped at $35 a month.
- Telehealth visits from home are extended through the end of 2027.
- Part B premium: not yet announced. Experts project about $209.50 a month, up from $202.90. The official number is expected in late October or early November.
What you need to know
- Your plan can change even if you don’t. Premiums, copays, covered drugs, and in-network doctors and pharmacies can all change on January 1.
- Read your Annual Notice of Change. This letter from your plan lists exactly what’s different next year. Keep it handy.
- Doing nothing is a choice. If you don’t make changes, you’ll usually stay in your current plan for 2027.
- Watch out for scams. Medicare will never call, text, or come to your door to sell you a plan or ask for your Medicare number. Hang up and don’t share personal information.
- Be careful with pushy sales pitches. TV ads and phone calls promising “extra benefits” may not tell the whole story. Get unbiased help before you switch.
What you should do
- Open and read your Annual Notice of Change letter.
- Make a list of your doctors, pharmacies, and every medicine you take (with doses).
- Check that your doctors and drugs are still covered next year.
- Compare plans at Medicare.gov/plan-compare or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day.
- Make any changes by December 7.
Free, unbiased help is available
California’s HICAP program offers free one-on-one Medicare counseling. Call 1-800-434-0222 to make an appointment.
You can also stop by the front desk at Cathedral City Senior Center and we’ll help connect you.
Sources: Kiplinger, “Changes coming to Medicare in 2027” (Sept. 3, 2026); AARP, “Medicare Part B premium 2027” (Oct. 5, 2026).