Medicare 2026

Fort Worth Medicare: your choices between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7, 2026 (and when they start)

FORT WORTH, Texas — From Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, people with Medicare in Fort Worth can make changes that take effect Jan. 1, 2027. This is the Annual Enrollment Period, the main yearly window to join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D drug plan, or move back to Original Medicare. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews for 2027 — if it is being offered again — with any updates listed in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mailed in September.

Fort Worth is in Tarrant County, where CMS lists 89 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for 2026. For 2027, 28 plans will not return, 22 are new, and 10 have been renamed in the county. Your ANOC is the document that spells out what, if anything, is changing in your specific plan.

What you can actually change between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7

The Annual Enrollment Period is broader than many people think, but it is also specific. During the window you can:

• Join a Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage) if you have Parts A and B.
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Drop a Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• Join a stand-alone Part D drug plan, switch Part D plans, or drop Part D.

Whatever you choose, the new coverage starts January 1, 2027. If you submit more than one enrollment during the window, the last one on file before Dec. 7 is the one that takes effect.

One note on drug coverage in Tarrant County: in the CMS Landscape data, stand-alone Part D plans are listed separately from Medicare Advantage drug plans. All 89 Medicare Advantage plans in the county include drug coverage. If you want a stand-alone Part D plan to pair with Original Medicare, use the Plan Finder at Medicare.gov to see the plans available at your ZIP code.

When your changes take effect

Every change made during AEP has the same start date: Jan. 1, 2027. You do not need to time your paperwork to the first of the month. A plan you join on Oct. 20 and a plan you join on Dec. 6 both begin on New Year's Day.

If you miss Dec. 7 and you are on a Medicare Advantage plan, there is a second, narrower window — the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2027. In that window, people already on a Medicare Advantage plan can switch to a different one once, or drop it and return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan). It does not let someone on Original Medicare join a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time.

What is confirmed for 2027 — and what is not

CMS has published some 2027 figures and will publish others later this fall. What is known now:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 ($615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. This is a formula input CMS uses — it is not what any particular plan charges.

The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic. The optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available — it lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

Not yet announced: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges. CMS normally releases those figures in the fall, usually November. For 2026, IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

How to decide, without picking for you

A quick, practical path for Fort Worth readers:

1. Read your ANOC. If you already have a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, the Annual Notice of Change (mailed in September) lists what is changing for 2027 — premium, drugs covered, doctor and hospital network, copays. 2. Check your doctors and hospitals. If a plan's network changes in 2027, confirm with the plan — and with the doctor's office — that your providers are still in-network for next year. 3. Check your drugs. Formularies change every year. Enter your prescriptions into Medicare.gov's Plan Finder to see how each plan would cover them in 2027. 4. Think about plan type. Tarrant County's 89 plans include HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and PFFS plans, plus 36 Special Needs Plans (SNPs) designed for people with specific conditions, dual Medicare-Medicaid eligibility, or who live in nursing homes. SNPs have enrollment rules of their own. 5. Compare apples to apples. The table below lists every Medicare Advantage plan offered in Tarrant County for 2026 by carrier and type — Aetna, American Health Advantage of Texas, Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Molina Healthcare of Texas, ProCare Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, Texas Independence Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare.

MyMedicarePlans.org does not recommend one plan over another. The right choice depends on your doctors, your medicines, your budget and how you like to get care.

Where to get free, local help in Fort Worth

You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to call a sales line to get real answers.

• Texas SHIP (called HICAP — the Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program): free, one-on-one Medicare counseling from trained volunteers who do not sell plans. Call 1-800-252-9240 to be connected to the counselor serving Tarrant County.
• Medicare.gov: the Plan Finder tool compares every plan available at your Fort Worth ZIP code, with your drugs priced in.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227): 24/7, including help in Spanish and other languages.
• Social Security: 1-800-772-1213 for questions about Part B premiums and IRMAA.