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Medicare open enrollment 2027 is under way. It began October 15 and runs through December 7, 2026, and coverage you pick takes effect January 1, 2027, according to Newsweek and CMS. This is general information, not personal advice. The Part D deductible and out-of-pocket cap below are Newsweek’s figures, since we haven’t seen CMS’s own notice for them. The premium numbers come from CMS documents.
Medicare open enrollment 2027: the Part D cost changes
The Part D numbers for Medicare open enrollment 2027 are higher. The out-of-pocket threshold rises from $2,100 in 2026 to $2,400, and the standard deductible rises from $615 to $700, per Newsweek. Those are the standard parameters, so your own plan may differ. Check your plan documents.
Premiums: a program ends
The Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration ends with 2026, according to CMS’s July 28 announcement. That means Part D goes back to normal market conditions in 2027. The national base beneficiary premium lands at $41.33, up from $38.99, which is the most the law allows: 6%. Don’t read that as your bill. It’s the figure CMS uses to calculate each plan’s basic premium, and plans vary. For stand-alone drug plans, CMS’s September 28 release projects the average at $36 next year, up from $35.09. Less than a dollar.
Negotiated prices for 15 more drugs
Negotiated prices take effect in 2027 for 15 additional drugs. Newsweek names Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy, along with Trelegy Ellipta, Xtandi, Pomalyst, Ibrance, Ofev, Linzess, Calquence, Austedo, Breo Ellipta, Tradjenta, Xifaxan, Vraylar, Janumet, and Otezla. CMS projects the new prices will lower beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket drug costs by about $685 million in 2027, the report says. That’s a program-wide estimate, not what any one person will save.
Medicare Advantage: what CMS and the news say
CMS is relaxed about Medicare Advantage. It expects stability in 2027, with the average monthly premium across all MA plans dropping from $14.37 to $12.00, a 16.5% fall, and about 34 million people enrolled. Dental, vision, and hearing extras are “expected to remain stable.” Roughly eight in ten enrollees could keep their plan at the same or a lower premium. Newsweek paints a different picture, though: some insurers are leaving certain areas, and some plans are trimming extras or raising cost-sharing. It gives no figures. National averages can hide local changes, so your plan’s annual notice of changes matters more than either headline.
What to check in Medicare open enrollment 2027 before December 7
Open the annual notice of changes your plan mailed first. Premiums, deductibles, and the drug list are what to read. Next, look up each prescription in the plan’s formulary and note the tier, for your current plan and any you’re considering. Check the pharmacy network, since a plan change can move your preferred pharmacy. Medicare Advantage members whose insurer is leaving their area have to pick a new plan.
Medicare’s plan finder and your state health insurance assistance program are the official places to compare. Unsolicited calls offering help are a red flag; our guide on what to do if you were scammed covers what to do if one goes wrong. For a longer walkthrough, see our Medicare open enrollment 2027 guide.
Social Security and Part B
Newsweek notes that Social Security recipients get a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment in 2027, adding about $75 a month to the average retired worker’s benefit. The report doesn’t cover Part B premiums. For more on that, see our explainer on the 2027 COLA and Medicare Part B.
Editor’s take
The headline is the higher Part D cap, but the more practical risk is a plan quietly changing under you. A $300 higher ceiling matters only if you take expensive drugs. A dropped plan or a lost pharmacy matters to everyone. In Medicare open enrollment 2027, spend your time on the notice of changes and your drug list, and do it before December 7, because the window doesn’t reopen for most people.
