Medicare 2026

Planning your 2027 Medicare in Nashville: the Part D numbers to know before Dec. 7

NASHVILLE — It is fall 2026, and the Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 Medicare coverage runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026. If you live in Nashville, this is the stretch when you decide whether to keep your current plan, switch, or sit tight. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has already confirmed the 2027 Part D drug numbers, but a few important pieces — like the 2027 Part B premium — are still to come later this fall.

What CMS has already confirmed for 2027

Three Part D numbers are locked in for next year, and they apply nationwide — in Nashville and everywhere else:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches that amount, you pay $0 for the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Individual plans can set a lower deductible, but none can set a higher one.
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. This is a formula input CMS uses, not the premium any specific plan charges you.

The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") is gone as of 2025, so Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic. If drug costs feel bumpy month to month, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread what you owe across the calendar year in level monthly bills, at no added cost.

What CMS has not announced yet

A few 2027 figures that matter to your budget are not out yet. CMS typically publishes them later in the fall, usually in November:

• The 2027 Part B standard premium
• The 2027 Part B deductible
• The 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges (the higher Part B and Part D amounts paid by people with higher incomes — for reference, in 2026 IRMAA begins above $109,000 for a single filer)

We are not going to guess at these numbers, and we would steer you away from anyone who does. When CMS announces them, they go up on medicare.gov and are reflected in your Social Security statement.

The letter in your mailbox: your Annual Notice of Change

If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan, your insurer must send you an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) by the end of September. It spells out what is changing about your plan for January 1, 2027 — the premium, the deductible, the drug formulary, the provider network, the extra benefits, and the copays.

Set aside 20 minutes with the ANOC and a highlighter. Specifically look at:

• Whether your doctors and the Nashville-area hospitals you use are still in network
• Whether your regular prescriptions are still on the formulary and in the same tier
• Any change to the plan's monthly premium or primary-care and specialist copays
• Whether any extra benefits you actually use (dental, vision, hearing, OTC, transportation) are changing

The ANOC is the only document that will tell you what your specific plan is doing. We cannot tell you here, and no reporter should — those details are plan-by-plan.

How plan availability is moving in Davidson County

Nashville is in Davidson County, where CMS's 2026 Landscape file shows 74 Medicare Advantage plans offered by 13 carriers, and all 74 include drug coverage. There are no stand-alone Part D plans listed in the county's MA-PD landscape, so Nashville residents who want drug coverage typically get it bundled with a Medicare Advantage plan or through Original Medicare paired with a separate Part D plan sold statewide.

For 2027, CMS data for the county shows 14 plans not returning, 9 new plans, and 9 renamed plans. If your plan is one of the 14 not returning, your insurer must tell you — and you will need to pick a new plan during AEP or you will go back to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027 (without drug coverage unless you also enroll in a Part D plan).

The table below lists every Medicare Advantage plan offered in Davidson County, grouped by carrier — from Abilis Health and Aetna through UnitedHealthcare and Zing Health — so you can see the full field before you compare. We are not ranking any of them, and we are not attaching costs or benefits to any plan name; that is what Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov is for.

How to use AEP if you live in or near Nashville

A simple way to work the window between October 15 and December 7, 2026:

1. Read your ANOC. Flag anything that affects a doctor, drug, or benefit you rely on. 2. List your drugs and doses. You will need this to compare Part D coverage honestly. 3. List your doctors and preferred hospitals. Network is where surprises happen. 4. Compare at medicare.gov using Plan Finder, which pulls in the Davidson County plans and your drug list and shows the full-year estimated cost. 5. Call for free, unbiased help if you want a second set of eyes (see below). 6. Decide by Dec. 7, 2026. Any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

Remember: if you do nothing and your plan is renewing, it renews automatically with the ANOC's changes. And if you are in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you still get one more chance to switch MA plans or go back to Original Medicare during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 – March 31, 2027.