Medicare 2026

What LA Seniors Can Change Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Fall 2026 is Medicare's busiest stretch, and for people on Medicare in Los Angeles, it comes with a firm set of dates. The Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any change made inside that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

If you do nothing, nothing dramatic happens: your current plan simply renews for 2027 if the carrier is offering it again, with whatever updates are listed in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mailed in September. The window is your chance to review those changes and decide if the plan still fits.

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

The Annual Enrollment Period is the one time each year when almost any Medicare coverage choice is on the table. During the window, you can:

• Join a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) if you have Original Medicare.
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Drop a Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• Join, switch or drop a stand-alone Medicare Part D drug plan.

Only the last change you make before December 7 counts. If you sign up for a plan on October 20 and change your mind on December 1, the December choice is the one that starts on January 1, 2027.

When new coverage starts

Every change made during this window has the same effective date: January 1, 2027. You do not have to time your enrollment for a specific day inside the window to get coverage sooner. If you want to compare plans carefully, there is no penalty for waiting until mid- or late-November.

If you miss December 7 and you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, there is a second, narrower window — the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 – March 31, 2027 — when you can switch Medicare Advantage plans once or drop back to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan). It does not let you move from Original Medicare into Medicare Advantage.

What's confirmed for 2027 — and what isn't yet

CMS has published some 2027 figures that affect drug coverage:

• 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. This is a formula input used across the program — it is not what any particular plan charges.

Still to come: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges. CMS typically announces those in the fall, usually November. If you are reading this before that announcement, check Medicare.gov for the official numbers rather than any projection.

Note that the coverage gap (the old "donut hole") has been eliminated since 2025. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage and catastrophic. Once you hit the out-of-pocket cap, your covered Part D drugs cost you $0 for the rest of the year. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is also available if you'd like to spread your drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

The Los Angeles picture

Los Angeles is in Los Angeles County, where CMS Landscape data shows 121 Medicare Advantage plans from 21 carriers for the 2026 plan year. Of those, 89 are HMOs, 24 are HMO-POS and 8 are PPOs, and 47 are Special Needs Plans (for people with certain conditions, who live in institutions, or who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal). Every Medicare Advantage plan in the county includes drug coverage.

Carriers offering Medicare Advantage with drug coverage locally include Aetna (CVS Health), AHF, Align Senior Care, Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Centene (WellCare), Central Health Medicare Plan, Champion Heath Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Elite Health Plan, Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, L.A. Care Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of California, SCAN Health Plan, UCLA Health, UnitedHealthcare and VillageHealth. The table below lists every plan offered in the county.

For 2027, the local lineup is also shifting: 23 plans are not returning, 26 are new, and 23 have been renamed. Your ANOC will tell you if your specific plan is one of them. If your plan is being discontinued, you will qualify for a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new one.

How to review a plan without guesswork

A few steps make the comparison much easier:

1. Read your ANOC. Any plan you're currently in sent one in September. It spells out what changes January 1 — premium, drug list (formulary), copays, network, extra benefits. 2. List your doctors and your drugs. Networks and formularies change every year. A plan that covered your prescriptions in 2026 may not in 2027. 3. Use the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov. You can enter your ZIP code and your medication list and see every plan available in Los Angeles County, with the 2027 costs built in. 4. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) for free, 24/7 help from Medicare itself.

Star Ratings, which CMS publishes each fall, are one more input you can look at on Plan Finder. They measure plan quality and member experience; they are not a ranking of what will work best for you personally.