Medicare Advantage

Before you renew in Chicago: the ANOC checklist to run before Dec. 7

For 2027, Chicago is looking at 67 Medicare Advantage plans: 6 new, 17 gone since 2026, and 30 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 9 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Cook County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

CHICAGO — The envelope that lands in Chicago mailboxes each fall is easy to set aside, but it is the single most useful piece of paper in Medicare season. The Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, tells you exactly how your current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan will be different on January 1, 2027. Annual Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make in that window takes effect on New Year's Day.

If you do nothing, your plan simply renews next year with the changes the ANOC describes. That is fine for some people. For others, a quiet change to a drug tier or a hospital network is a reason to switch. Here is how to work through it.

Start with the ANOC when it arrives

Plans must mail the ANOC by September 30. It is usually bound with the Evidence of Coverage (EOC), which is the long, detailed rulebook. The ANOC is the short version — the "what's different next year" summary.

Open it with this year's plan materials next to you and look at:

• The monthly premium for 2027 versus 2026.
• The medical deductible, if any.
• The maximum out-of-pocket limit for the year.
• Copays for primary care, specialists, urgent care and the emergency room.
• Drug tiers, the drug deductible, and the pharmacy copays or coinsurance.
• Extra benefits (dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter, transportation) — these are the ones most likely to change quietly.

If a number has moved in a direction that matters to you, that is your cue to shop, not a reason to panic.

Check your doctors and your hospital

Networks shift every year. Before you decide to stay or switch, confirm that:

• Your primary care doctor is in the 2027 network of the plan you are considering.
• Your specialists are in-network for 2027.
• The hospital system you prefer — Northwestern Medicine, Rush, UChicago Medicine, Advocate, UI Health, Loyola, Sinai or another — is still contracted.

Call the plan's member services line and ask about 2027 specifically. A provider listed today may or may not be in the 2027 directory. Get the answer in writing or note the date, time and representative's name.

Run every prescription through next year's formulary

Each plan publishes a formulary — the list of drugs it covers and the tier each drug sits on. Tiers and prior-authorization rules can change on January 1 even if the plan name stays the same.

For each medication you take, check:

• Is it on the 2027 formulary?
• What tier is it on, and what is the copay or coinsurance?
• Are there new restrictions (prior authorization, step therapy, quantity limits)?
• Which pharmacies are "preferred" for 2027? Preferred pharmacy pricing can differ from standard pricing.

Two Part D figures are already confirmed for next year: the out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge rises to $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in monthly bills, continues to be available.

Know what the Cook County market looks like

Chicago sits inside Cook County, where plan availability is set. For 2026, Cook County residents can choose among 78 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers: Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Clear Spring Health, Devoted Health, Essence Healthcare, Humana, Longevity Health, Molina Healthcare of Illinois, Provider Partners Health Plans, UnitedHealthcare and Zing Health. The mix includes HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and PFFS plans, plus 20 Special Needs Plans for people with specific chronic conditions, who are dually eligible for Medicaid, or who live in a nursing facility. The 2027 lineup posts on Medicare.gov in October — the table below lists every plan available for the current year.

A larger menu is useful only if you narrow it. Most people do that by starting with their doctors, their hospital and their drug list, then filtering the Plan Finder on medicare.gov from there.

What CMS has not yet announced

A few 2027 numbers are not out yet. CMS publishes the standard Part B premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets that add a surcharge for higher earners, later in the fall — usually in November. Do not act on projections. When the numbers are official, they will appear on medicare.gov and in the annual Medicare & You handbook.

Your December 7 checklist

Give yourself an afternoon. Pull together:

• Your ANOC and EOC for the current plan.
• Your Medicare card and plan ID card.
• A current list of prescriptions, doses and pharmacies.
• A list of your doctors and preferred hospital.
• A rough sense of last year's out-of-pocket spending.

Then go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code and drug list, and compare your current plan side-by-side with two or three others. If you prefer the phone, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; TTY users dial 1-877-486-2048.

If you decide your plan still fits, you do not need to do anything — it will renew.