Medicare 2026

San Jose Medicare: your Oct. 15–Dec. 7 window to reshape 2027 coverage

SAN JOSE — Starting Oct. 15, 2026, people with Medicare in San Jose can begin making changes that take effect Jan. 1, 2027. The Annual Enrollment Period runs through Dec. 7, 2026, and it is the one stretch of the year when almost anyone with Medicare can rework their coverage — join a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, switch between them, drop one, or step back to Original Medicare.

The timing matters this year because a few 2027 numbers are already set. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). Other key figures — the 2027 Part B premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets — are expected from CMS later this fall.

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

The Annual Enrollment Period, often called AEP or the fall open enrollment, is the window Medicare sets aside each year for coverage changes. During it, you can:

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

Whatever you choose on or before Dec. 7, 2026, starts Jan. 1, 2027. If you make more than one change during the window, the last one on file wins.

One more date worth knowing: if you are in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you get a second chance from Jan. 1 through March 31, 2027 — the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period — to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (with a Part D plan). You cannot use that window to join Medicare Advantage for the first time.

What's happening locally

San Jose is in Santa Clara County, where CMS lists 46 Medicare Advantage plans for 2026 from 12 carriers. Of those, 38 are HMOs, 5 are HMO-POS, and 3 are PPOs; 20 are Special Needs Plans for people who qualify (for example, dual eligibles or those with certain chronic conditions). Every Medicare Advantage plan in the county includes drug coverage.

For 2027, the lineup is shifting: some plans are not returning, a handful are new, and others have been renamed. If your plan is one that's leaving, your carrier is required to send you a notice; you then have time during AEP (and a special enrollment window afterward) to pick something new.

The table below lists every Medicare Advantage plan offered in Santa Clara County for 2026, from carriers including Aetna, Alignment Health Plan, Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente, SCAN Health Plan, Santa Clara Family Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare. Use it as a starting point, not a ranking — plan details for 2027 are published on Medicare's Plan Finder.

The 2027 numbers already confirmed

CMS has released some program-wide figures for next year that apply no matter which plan you have:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket drug spending hits that ceiling, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs the rest of the calendar year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (it is $615 in 2026). Plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. This is a formula input CMS uses — it is not what any specific plan charges.
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") remains gone; Part D has three phases now.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter, continues in 2027. You can opt in through your Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets for higher earners, had not been announced as of September 2026. CMS typically publishes them in the fall. For reference, in 2026 the IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Read your Annual Notice of Change first

By late September, your current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan is required to send you an Annual Notice of Change — the ANOC. It spells out what is different about your plan for 2027: the premium, the deductible, the drug formulary, the provider network, the extra benefits. If nothing in it bothers you, you do not have to do anything; your plan rolls over on Jan. 1.

Three things to check carefully:

• Your prescriptions. Confirm each one is still on the formulary and at the same tier.
• Your doctors and hospitals. Networks change every year; call your providers if you are not sure.
• The total of what you pay. The monthly premium is only part of it — look at copays and the out-of-pocket maximum together.

Where to get unbiased help in San Jose

You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to call a broker to get help.

• HICAP, the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, is California's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). It gives free, one-on-one, unbiased Medicare counseling. The Santa Clara County HICAP, run by Sourcewise, serves San Jose; appointments fill up quickly in October and November, so call early.
• Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov is the official tool for comparing plans by your ZIP code and your drug list.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is open 24/7 and can walk you through enrollment questions.