Medicare 2026

December 7 closes Medicare AEP for La Vista residents

LA VISTA, Neb. — The clock is ticking on Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period. From now through December 7, people with Medicare in Sarpy County can review their coverage for 2027 and make changes that take effect January 1. After that date, the window closes for most people — and the choices you make (or skip) now will shape your costs and access to care all next year.

Here's a plain-English guide to what you can actually do during AEP, and the common mistakes worth avoiding.

What the Annual Enrollment Period is for

AEP runs October 15 through December 7 every year. According to Medicare.gov, this is the main window when anyone with Medicare can:

• Switch from Original Medicare (Parts A and B) to a Medicare Advantage plan, or vice versa.
• Change from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Join, drop, or switch a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.

Any change you make during AEP starts January 1, 2027. If you're happy with your current coverage and it's still being offered next year, you don't have to do anything — your plan will renew automatically.

Why 2027 is worth a fresh look

Even if your plan renews, the details often change. Formularies (drug lists), pharmacy networks, provider networks, and cost-sharing can all shift from year to year. Your plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), mailed by late September, spells out what's different for 2027.

A few program-wide changes are also worth knowing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026. Once your drug spending hits that limit, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D deductible cannot exceed $615 in 2026, rising to $700 in 2027.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter. You can opt in for 2027.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums — begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026 (based on your 2024 tax return).

What to check before you decide

Whether you're staying put or shopping around, run through this quick list:

1. Your drugs. Log in at Medicare.gov's Plan Finder and enter your current prescriptions. Confirm each one is still on the plan's 2027 formulary and see which tier it's on. 2. Your doctors and hospitals. If you're in a Medicare Advantage plan, verify your providers are still in-network for 2027. Networks change. 3. Your pharmacy. Preferred vs. standard pharmacies can meaningfully change what you pay. 4. Your total picture. Look at premiums, deductibles, and expected out-of-pocket costs together — not just one number.

Local context: Sarpy County

La Vista sits in Sarpy County, where Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability is set at the county level. That means the menu of options a neighbor in Papillion or Bellevue sees is the same one you see. To view the exact plans available in your ZIP code for 2027, use the Plan Finder tool at Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

Common AEP mistakes to avoid

• Ignoring the ANOC. Assuming next year looks like this year is how people end up paying more or losing access to a preferred drug.
• Shopping by premium alone. A low premium can come with a higher deductible or copays for the drugs you actually take.
• Missing December 7. Outside of a few special situations (like moving or losing other coverage), you cannot make general changes again until the next AEP.
• Forgetting the MA Open Enrollment window. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you get one more chance — January 1 through March 31 — to switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare. This period does not apply to people in Original Medicare.