Medicare 2026

Your 2027 Annual Notice of Change: What to Check Before Dec. 7

Every fall, if you have a Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D drug plan, your insurer mails (or emails) you an Annual Notice of Change, usually called the ANOC. Plans are required to send it by September 30. It is a side-by-side look at what your plan looks like now versus what it will look like on January 1, 2027. It is not junk mail. It is the single best tool you have for deciding, during Annual Enrollment from October 15 to December 7, 2026, whether to keep your current coverage or switch to something else.

Here is a plain-English walk-through of what to look for and why it matters.

What the ANOC actually is

The ANOC is a short document (often paired with a longer Evidence of Coverage) that compares this year's plan details to next year's. For a Medicare Advantage plan, that usually includes the monthly premium, the deductible, copays and coinsurance for doctor visits and hospital stays, the maximum out-of-pocket limit, and any extra benefits. For a Part D plan, it covers the premium, deductible, the drug formulary (the list of covered medications), the pharmacy network, and how drugs are placed into pricing tiers.

Even if "nothing much" seems to change, small shifts — a drug moving to a higher tier, a preferred pharmacy becoming standard, a specialist copay going up — can add up over a year.

Six things to check line by line

1. Premium and deductible. Compare the 2026 figures to the 2027 figures printed in your ANOC. Remember that for Part D in 2027, no plan's deductible can exceed $700, but plans can set it lower.

2. The drug formulary. Make a list of every prescription you take, including the dose. Then confirm each one is still on the 2027 formulary and check what tier it sits on. A drug that moves from a lower tier to a higher one can mean a meaningfully larger copay.

3. Pharmacy network. Plans distinguish between "preferred" and "standard" in-network pharmacies, and your cost can differ between the two. If your usual pharmacy changes status — or leaves the network — your out-of-pocket cost can change even if the drug price did not.

4. Provider network (Medicare Advantage only). Confirm your primary care doctor, specialists, preferred hospital, and any ongoing providers (dialysis, physical therapy, mental health) are still in network for 2027. Networks can and do change year to year.

5. Extra benefits (Medicare Advantage only). Dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter allowances, fitness, and transportation benefits often change. Read what is included, what the dollar limits are, and whether you must use specific providers.

6. The Part D out-of-pocket cap. In 2027 the cap is $2,400, up from $2,100 in 2026. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered Part D drugs hits that amount, you pay nothing more for covered drugs for the rest of the calendar year. This applies to both stand-alone Part D plans and Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage.

What is still unknown for 2027

A few important federal numbers were not yet published when this article was written:

• The 2027 standard Part B premium and the Part B deductible. CMS announces these in the fall, usually in November.
• The 2027 IRMAA (income-related monthly adjustment amount) brackets and surcharges for higher-income enrollees, which are released at the same time.

Do not rely on guesses or projections for these figures. Check Medicare.gov once CMS posts them.

One figure that has been announced: Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment for benefits payable beginning January 2027 is 3.6 percent, which the Social Security Administration announced on October 14, 2026. Your Social Security benefit and your Medicare premiums are deducted from the same check for many people, so both sides of that math matter.

Original Medicare + Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage

If your ANOC prompts bigger questions, it is worth understanding the two main paths neutrally.

Original Medicare (Parts A and B), often paired with a Medigap supplement and a stand-alone Part D plan, generally lets you see any provider in the U.S. who accepts Medicare, with more predictable cost sharing after the supplement — but typically higher total monthly premiums and no built-in extras like dental or vision.

Medicare Advantage bundles Parts A, B, and usually D into one plan, often with a lower monthly premium and extra benefits, but with provider networks, referral rules in some plans, and prior authorization for certain services. Costs and rules can change each year — which is exactly why the ANOC exists.

Neither path is "better" in the abstract. The right choice depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, your budget, your travel patterns, and how you feel about networks versus flexibility.

A simple timeline

• By September 30, 2026: Your ANOC arrives. Read it.
• October 15 – December 7, 2026: Annual Enrollment. You can switch plans, join a new one, or return to Original Medicare.
• January 1, 2027: Any changes you made — and any changes your current plan made — take effect.

Where can you get help with Medicare questions?

For official plan comparisons, the Medicare Plan Finder, and the latest 2027 figures as CMS releases them, visit Medicare.gov. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Reading the ANOC takes maybe twenty minutes. Doing it before December 7 is one of the most useful things you can do for your coverage all year.