Medicare Advantage

Counting 2027 Medicare Options in Skokie

For 2027, Skokie 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.

If you live in Skokie and get Medicare mail every day, you are not imagining it. For 2027, Cook County residents have a wide field of Medicare plan choices to compare — and knowing how many options are on the table is the first step to making a calm, informed decision.

Skokie is in Cook County, where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists 58 Medicare Advantage plans available for 2027, offered by 11 carriers. That is a lot of paperwork, but it also means you have room to find a plan that fits how you actually use care.

How many Medicare options are in the Skokie area?

For 2027, Cook County has:

• 58 Medicare Advantage plans available countywide.
• 11 carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD).
• 0 stand-alone Part D plans listed at the county level in this data snapshot — if you stay on Original Medicare and want drug coverage, use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see every Part D option available at your ZIP code.

Plan availability is set at the county level, so two neighbors in Skokie generally see the same lineup. That said, provider networks, pharmacies, and specific plan details vary, so what looks the same on paper can feel very different in practice.

Why the number of plans matters

A big menu is not automatically a good thing or a bad thing. It just means you have to compare more carefully. With 58 Medicare Advantage plans in Cook County, you can:

• Filter by the doctors and hospitals you already use.
• Look at how each plan handles the prescriptions you actually take.
• Consider extras like dental, vision, or hearing coverage if those matter to you.

The goal is not to look at every plan. The goal is to narrow the list to the two or three that fit your life, then read those carefully.

What "star ratings" mean (and don't mean)

CMS rates Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts on a 1-to-5 star scale, based on things like customer service, member complaints, and preventive care. In this county-level snapshot, 0 contracts serving the area are rated 4 stars or higher for 2027.

Ratings can change year to year, and they measure a contract overall — not your personal experience. Use stars as one data point among several, not as a tiebreaker on their own.

Key 2027 numbers to keep in mind

These figures are set by Medicare and apply nationwide, not just in Skokie:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 for 2027. Once your covered drug spending hits that amount, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 for 2027.
• Coverage gap ("donut hole"): eliminated as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread your drug costs into monthly payments across the year instead of paying a large amount at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA surcharges: higher-income beneficiaries pay more for Part B and Part D. For 2026, these surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Important dates for Skokie beneficiaries

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7, 2026. This is when most people can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan).

Missing these windows usually means waiting a full year, unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

Where to get unbiased help

With more than 827,000 people age 65+ in Cook County, you are far from alone in sorting this out. Free, official resources include:

• medicare.gov Plan Finder — enter your ZIP code and medications to compare every plan available to you.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — 24/7 help from Medicare directly.
• Illinois SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Program) — trained counselors provide one-on-one help at no cost. You can find your local counselor through the Illinois Department on Aging.