Medicare 2026

Medicare in 2027 for Baltimore: the Part D numbers CMS has locked, and what's still ahead

BALTIMORE — Fall 2026 is the stretch when Medicare's moving parts for next year start clicking into place. CMS has already published the 2027 Part D figures that shape every drug plan in the country. A few other key numbers — most notably the 2027 Part B premium and the IRMAA income brackets — have not been released yet and are expected later this fall. For Baltimore residents, that means the Annual Enrollment Period that runs October 15 through December 7, 2026 opens with some answers in hand and a few still to come.

Here is what is confirmed, what is not, and how to think about your options this season.

What CMS has already confirmed for 2027

Three Part D numbers are locked in for next year:

• 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 cap, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs for 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 no Part D plan can charge more than this.
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. This is a formula input CMS uses in the background — it is not the premium any individual plan charges.

A quick reminder on how Part D works today: the old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated as of 2025, so Part D now has three phases (deductible, initial coverage, catastrophic). The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in level monthly bills, remains an option in 2027 for anyone enrolled in Part D.

What CMS has not announced yet

Two big numbers are still pending:

• The 2027 Part B standard premium and Part B deductible. CMS publishes these in the fall, usually in November.
• The 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges. These are the higher Part B and Part D amounts that apply to beneficiaries above certain income levels, and they are released together with the Part B figures. For reference, in 2026 IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Until CMS posts those, no one knows the exact 2027 figures. We will not guess, and you should be cautious about any source that quotes a specific 2027 Part B premium right now.

The ANOC letter: your most important piece of mail this fall

If you are already in a Medicare Advantage or stand-alone Part D plan, your insurer is required to send an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) by late September. It lays out, side by side, what is changing in your specific plan for January 1, 2027:

• premium, deductible and copays,
• the drug formulary and tiers,
• the provider and pharmacy network,
• any extra benefits that are being added, trimmed or dropped.

If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews for 2027 with the changes described in that letter — assuming it is still offered. There is no automatic re-shopping. Reading the ANOC against your prescriptions, your doctors and your budget is the single most useful hour you can spend before December 7.

How plan availability is shifting in Baltimore

Plan availability is set at the county level, and Baltimore is in Baltimore city, where CMS currently lists 31 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers for the 2026 plan year. Of those, 25 are HMOs, 3 are HMO-POS, and 3 are PPOs; 17 are Special Needs Plans, and all 31 include prescription drug coverage. CMS also lists 0 stand-alone Part D plans in Baltimore city for 2026 — a reminder that if you want Part D here, it generally comes bundled inside a Medicare Advantage plan.

For 2027 in Baltimore city, the CMS Landscape shows 9 plans not returning, 2 new plans, and 1 renamed plan. If your plan is among the 9 not returning, you will get a non-renewal notice and a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else. The ANOC and the non-renewal notice are the authoritative sources for your specific plan — the table below lists every Medicare Advantage plan offered in Baltimore city for 2026, by carrier (Alterwood Advantage, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Advantage DualPrime, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Medicare Advantage, Communicare Advantage, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, KeyCare Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, and UnitedHealthcare), so you can see the full lineup at a glance.

How to decide this fall

A simple sequence that works for most Baltimore residents:

1. Open the ANOC when it arrives and mark anything that changed for 2027. 2. List your prescriptions, doses and preferred pharmacies. Confirm each drug is still on your plan's 2027 formulary and still at a tier you can live with. 3. Check your doctors and hospitals. Networks can change year to year, especially for HMO and HMO-POS products. 4. Factor in the 2027 Part D cap of $2,400. If you take high-cost drugs, that cap is a meaningful ceiling on your annual out-of-pocket Part D spending. 5. Wait for the Part B and IRMAA figures if your income is near an IRMAA threshold. CMS will post them in the fall, and you still have until December 7, 2026 to make a change. 6. Compare on Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov, which pulls directly from CMS data.

Taking those steps in order — rather than reacting to a mailer or a TV ad — is how you avoid surprises on January 1.