Medicare 2026

Phoenix Medicare checklist for fall 2026: using the Oct. 15–Dec. 7 window well

PHOENIX — The yearly window to change Medicare coverage for 2027 opens October 15, 2026 and closes December 7, 2026. Anything you pick during those eight weeks starts January 1, 2027. If you like your current plan and it is offered again next year, you do not have to do anything — it simply renews, with whatever changes are spelled out in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mailed in September.

This is Phoenix's piece of our 2027 Annual Enrollment coverage. Below is what you can actually change in the window, when the new coverage kicks in, and where to get free, unbiased help here in Maricopa County.

What you can actually change between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7

The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is the one time of year almost anyone with Medicare can make these moves:

• Join a Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage) if you have Parts A and B.
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Drop a Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• Join a stand‑alone Part D drug plan, switch to a different one, or drop drug coverage.

Whatever you choose takes effect January 1, 2027. If you make more than one change in the window, the last one on file by December 7 is the one that sticks.

One thing AEP does not do: it does not guarantee you can buy a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy. Medigap has its own rules, and outside your one‑time open enrollment window, carriers in Arizona can use medical underwriting. If leaving Medicare Advantage and going back to Original Medicare is part of your plan, call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) before you cancel anything, so you understand how a Medigap application would be handled.

Read the ANOC that came in September

Every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan is required to send an Annual Notice of Change before AEP. It tells you — in writing — what will be different about your plan in 2027: premium, deductible, drug tier placement, copays, provider network changes and extra benefits.

In Maricopa County, CMS data show 13 plans will not be offered in 2027, 17 new plans are joining the lineup, and 13 existing plans have been renamed. "Renamed" matters: your plan may feel the same but show up on paperwork with a different name. The ANOC is where that change is spelled out. If your plan is one of the 13 not returning, your carrier's letter will say so, and you have the full AEP (plus a special enrollment period into early 2027) to pick something else.

The 2027 numbers CMS has confirmed — and the ones it hasn't

For the Part D drug benefit, CMS has published these 2027 figures:

• Part D out‑of‑pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. That is a formula input CMS uses, not what any specific plan charges.

The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") is gone — Part D has had three phases since 2025. If drug costs still land hard month‑to‑month, ask about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread covered drug costs across the year instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

Not yet announced: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges. CMS normally publishes those in the fall, usually in November. We will update our coverage when they land. In the meantime, do not budget off anyone's estimate.

The lineup in Maricopa County, in context

Phoenix is in Maricopa County, where CMS's 2026 Landscape file lists 88 Medicare Advantage plans from 16 carriers, including Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Banner Medicare Advantage, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), eternalHealth, Gold Kidney Health Plan, Humana, Mercy Care Advantage, Molina Healthcare of Arizona, SCAN Health Plan, UnitedHealthcare and Verda Health Plan of Arizona. The table below lists every plan.

Of the 88 plans, 36 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) built for people with Medicaid, specific chronic conditions, or who live in an institution. If you qualify for one, enrollment rules can be more flexible than AEP alone — your SHIP counselor can confirm.

A note on numbers: a longer list is not automatically better. The right question is whether a plan covers your doctors, your drugs and your pharmacy at a cost you can live with. Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your prescriptions and ZIP code and sort real plans side by side.

Free, local help in Phoenix

You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to call an agent.

• Arizona SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program): free, unbiased counseling through the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Division of Aging and Adult Services. Call 1‑800‑432‑4040.
• Area Agency on Aging, Region One (serving Maricopa County): 602‑264‑2255, with a 24‑hour senior help line.
• Medicare directly: 1‑800‑MEDICARE (1‑800‑633‑4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Online: medicare.gov to compare plans; ssa.gov for enrollment and IRMAA questions.

SHIP counselors are trained volunteers and staff. They do not sell plans and they do not earn commissions. Appointments fill up fast in November, so book early.

A simple way to work through the window

1. Pull out your ANOC and highlight anything that changed for 2027. 2. Make a short list: the doctors you want to keep, the drugs you take, and your preferred pharmacy. 3. Run that list through Plan Finder on medicare.gov, or bring it to a SHIP appointment. 4. If you decide to switch, enroll by December 7, 2026. Keep the confirmation number. 5. If you decide to stay put, you are done — your plan renews January 1, 2027.