Medicare 2026

San Diego's Medicare Annual Enrollment Period for 2027: your window, your choices, your help

SAN DIEGO — Fall 2026. The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage opens Oct. 15, 2026 and closes Dec. 7, 2026. Any change a San Diego resident makes during that window takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews for next year — with whatever updates your insurer spelled out in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) that lands in your mailbox each fall.

That is the short version. The longer version — what you can actually change, what is new for 2027, and where to get free local help — is below.

The dates to put on the fridge

Mark two:

• Oct. 15, 2026 — the Annual Enrollment Period opens.
• Dec. 7, 2026 — the window closes.

A change you make on any day in between takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. If you make more than one change, Medicare uses the last one you submit before Dec. 7.

There is also a separate Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2027. That one is narrower: if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan once, or drop it and return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan). It is not a time to join Medicare Advantage from Original Medicare.

What you can actually change during AEP

The Annual Enrollment Period is the broadest window of the year. In it, you can:

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

What AEP does not do is guarantee you can buy a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy. Medigap has its own rules in California, and outside your initial six-month Medigap open enrollment window, an insurer can use medical underwriting. If you are thinking about leaving Medicare Advantage and picking up a Medigap plan, call HICAP before Dec. 7 to understand how that works in California.

What's new for 2027

A few things are confirmed for 2027 at the program level:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches that cap, you pay $0 for covered drugs for the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026. (Plans can set a lower deductible, but not a higher one.)
• The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33. That is a formula figure CMS uses — it is not what any particular plan charges.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan continues as an option; it lets you spread your drug costs over monthly payments across the year instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

Two important 2027 numbers are not out yet: the standard Part B premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets (the higher premiums that apply above certain incomes). CMS typically announces these in the fall — watch medicare.gov in November.

The local picture in San Diego County

San Diego is in San Diego County. Medicare plan availability is set at the county level, and for 2026 there are 93 Medicare Advantage plans from 17 carriers offered countywide, including 33 Special Needs Plans designed for people with specific conditions, dual Medicare-Medi-Cal eligibility or chronic needs. The table on this page lists every plan and carrier.

For 2027, the lineup is shifting. In San Diego County:

• 26 plans will not return.
• 18 new plans are being introduced.
• 20 plans are being renamed (same plan, new name — read your ANOC carefully if yours is on that list).

If your current plan is one of the 26 not returning, your insurer must tell you in writing and you will have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan. You still have all of AEP to choose, too.

A quick note on carriers: among the 17 offering Medicare Advantage in the county are Aetna, Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Centene (WellCare), Central Health Medicare Plan, Champion Health Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Community Health Group, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of California, SCAN Health Plan, Sharp Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare. The full roster is in the table below.

One more detail worth knowing: there are 0 stand-alone Part D plans listed in the county's Medicare Advantage landscape data for 2026, because every Medicare Advantage plan offered here includes drug coverage. Stand-alone Part D plans are sold separately for people who stay with Original Medicare; you can compare those on Plan Finder.

How to actually use the window

A simple way to approach the next few weeks:

1. Read your ANOC. Insurers mail it by late September. It shows what is changing on your current plan for 2027 — premium, drug tier, network, extra benefits. 2. Check your drugs and doctors. Make sure the medications you take are still covered and the doctors you see are still in network for 2027. 3. Compare on Plan Finder at medicare.gov. You can enter your drugs and ZIP code and see every plan available in San Diego County side by side. 4. Get free help if you want it. You do not have to do this alone, and you do not have to call a sales line.

Free, unbiased local help

In California, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program is called HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program). Counselors are trained volunteers and staff who do not sell insurance. They can sit with you, review your options and explain the trade-offs.

• San Diego HICAP — serving San Diego County residents. Call 1-800-434-0222 or search "San Diego HICAP" to find the office nearest you.
• Medicare — 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Plan Finder and official information — medicare.gov.

Appointments fill up fast in October and November, so if you want to sit down with a counselor, call early in the window.