Medicare 2026

Seattle Medicare 2027: the Part D numbers CMS has set, and what's still coming

SEATTLE — The Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 Medicare coverage runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, and this year the picture is unusually split: Medicare's drug benefit has new, confirmed numbers for 2027, but the Part B premium and the IRMAA income brackets have not been published yet. If you live in or near Seattle, that mix shapes what you can decide now and what you should wait to read.

What CMS has confirmed for 2027

Three Part D figures are locked in for next year:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026.
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. This one is a formula input Medicare uses behind the scenes — it is not what any specific plan charges you.

The out-of-pocket cap is the key number for anyone taking expensive drugs. Once your covered Part D spending reaches $2,400 in 2027, you pay $0 for the rest of the calendar year on covered prescriptions. The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now has three phases instead of four.

You can also still opt in to the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads your drug out-of-pocket costs across the calendar year in monthly installments rather than hitting you with a big bill at the pharmacy.

What CMS has NOT announced yet

Two numbers Seattle readers often ask about are still pending:

• The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible. CMS normally publishes these in the fall, usually in November.
• The 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges — the extra amounts higher-income beneficiaries pay on top of the standard Part B and Part D premiums. These are released at the same time as the Part B figures.

Please don't let anyone's "projection" push you into a decision. Until CMS posts the official numbers, they are not official. For reference, in 2026 IRMAA surcharges start above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

The ANOC letter: the single most useful piece of mail you'll get

If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan, your insurer mailed (or will mail) an Annual Notice of Change in late September. It tells you exactly what is changing for 2027 in your plan — premium, deductible, drug tier placement, provider network, extra benefits, and copays.

A few minutes with the ANOC answers most of the "should I switch?" question. Compare it against what you actually used this year — your regular doctors at places like UW Medicine, Swedish, Virginia Mason Franciscan or Kaiser Permanente Washington, and your current prescriptions.

If your plan is not being offered in King County next year, your insurer must tell you in writing, and you'll get a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else.

How Seattle's plan lineup is moving locally

Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. Seattle is in King County, where CMS currently lists 68 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers for 2026, all of them including drug coverage. By type, that's 24 HMOs, 15 HMO-POS plans, and 29 PPOs; 31 of the 68 are Special Needs Plans (for people with Medicaid, certain chronic conditions, or who live in a nursing facility).

For 2027, CMS data shows the King County lineup is shifting: 27 plans are not returning, 18 are new, and 10 are renamed. The ANOC for your current plan will tell you where yours falls.

King County has zero stand-alone Part D plans listed in the local Medicare Advantage landscape file — if you want drug coverage through a Medicare Advantage plan, every one of the 68 MA plans here already includes it. (Stand-alone Part D plans for people on Original Medicare are listed separately on Medicare's Plan Finder.)

The carriers offering Medicare Advantage in King County for 2026 are Aetna (CVS Health), AgeRight Advantage, Centene (WellCare), Community Health Plan of WA Medicare Advantage, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of Washington, Regence BlueShield, and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan.

One note on star ratings: no contracts serving King County are rated 4 stars or higher in the current data. Ratings are one input, not a verdict — they measure the contract overall, not how your specific doctor or drug will be covered.

What to do between now and Dec. 7

A simple sequence works well:

1. Read your ANOC. Note the 2027 premium, deductible, and any drug tier changes. 2. List your prescriptions and your regular providers. 3. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code and drug list, and compare what's actually offered in King County for 2027. 4. If you want human help, Washington's SHIBA program (the state's SHIP) offers free, unbiased Medicare counseling — call 1-800-562-6900. 5. Make any change by Dec. 7, 2026. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

If you keep Medicare Advantage and change your mind in January, there's one more window: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, Jan. 1 – March 31, 2027, lets you switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare once.