Medicare 2026

Naperville Medicare in 2027: the Part D numbers CMS has set and what's still pending

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Fall 2026. If you have Medicare and live in the western suburbs, the enrollment window for 2027 coverage opens October 15 and closes December 7, 2026. Some of the 2027 numbers are already on the books at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Others — including the Part B premium most people pay every month — are not out yet. Here is what a Naperville reader can actually plan around right now, and what to wait on before making a decision.

What CMS has already confirmed for 2027

Two Part D figures are locked in for next year, and they matter for anyone who takes prescription drugs:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027. That is up from $2,100 in 2026. Once your covered drug spending hits that ceiling, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the calendar year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027. That is up from $615 in 2026. This is the most a plan can charge as a drug deductible; many plans set theirs lower.
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. This is a formula number CMS uses in the background — it is not what any single plan charges you.

The coverage gap — what people used to call the "donut hole" — is still gone, as it has been since 2025. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic (where you hit $0 after the cap).

Also still available: the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread your yearly drug costs across monthly bills instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter. You have to opt in through your Part D or Medicare Advantage plan.

What CMS has not announced yet

Do not let anyone quote you a "projected" 2027 number for these. They are not out:

• The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible. CMS usually publishes these in November.
• The 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges — the extra amounts higher-income filers pay on top of Part B and Part D. These come out with the Part B figures. For reference, in 2026 the surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

If you are trying to budget for January, it is fine to pencil in 2026's figures for now and update them once CMS releases the 2027 numbers.

The ANOC letter is the document that actually tells you what changes

Every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan has to send an Annual Notice of Change by the end of September. It is a boring-looking booklet, and it is the single most important piece of mail you got this fall.

Inside it, your plan lays out — for your plan specifically — what the premium, deductible, drug tiers, provider network and extra benefits look like for 2027 compared to 2026. If something you rely on is changing (a medication moving to a higher tier, a doctor leaving the network, a dental benefit shrinking), it is in there.

A useful 20-minute exercise before December 7:

1. Pull out the ANOC and find the "Summary of Changes" pages near the front. 2. List your current prescriptions and check whether each is still covered and at what tier. 3. Check whether your primary care doctor and any specialists you see are still in-network for 2027. 4. If anything gives you pause, run your drug list on the Plan Finder at medicare.gov to compare against other options in DuPage County.

How plan availability looks around Naperville

Plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level. Naperville is in DuPage County, where 72 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2026, offered by 12 carriers with drug coverage included. Because so many MA-PD plans in the county fold drug coverage in, there are currently no stand-alone Part D plans listed for the DuPage County service area on the CMS landscape file — most residents who want drug coverage get it bundled with a Medicare Advantage plan. A share of Naperville's roughly 161,000 residents age 65 and older will therefore be comparing MA-PDs rather than shopping stand-alone Part D.

Two practical notes:

• The 2027 lineup will look different from the 2026 lineup. Plans enter, leave and change service areas every year. What is offered in DuPage County next year is not necessarily what is offered this year.
• Star Ratings are one input on the Plan Finder, not a ranking of "best." They are worth a look, but they measure things like customer service and preventive care — not whether a plan fits your doctors and drugs.

If you do nothing

Nothing dramatic. If your current plan is offered again in 2027, you will simply be renewed into it, with the 2027 changes described in your ANOC. If your plan is not being offered in 2027, your ANOC or a separate non-renewal letter will say so, and you will get a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else.

If you have Medicare Advantage and change your mind after January 1, you also have the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31, 2027 — a one-time chance to switch MA plans or go back to Original Medicare.