Medicare Advantage

Cedar Rapids Medicare Open Enrollment 2027: Your Options by the Numbers

Medicare open enrollment 2027: a Cedar Rapids guide to the October 15 – December 7 window

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — If you have Medicare here, the fall enrollment window is your yearly chance to look at what's available and make a change if you want to. In Linn County, the menu of options is wide, and knowing the counts — not the sales pitches — is a good starting point.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, for coverage that begins January 1, 2027. This guide sticks to the numbers: how many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in the Cedar Rapids area, how many carriers are behind them, and what other Medicare choices you have.

How many Medicare options are in the Cedar Rapids area?

Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. Cedar Rapids is in Linn County, where 33 Medicare Advantage plans were on the 2026 landscape, offered by 9 carriers. The 2027 lineup is described in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

Linn County is also home to about 39,802 residents age 65 and older, so the demand for clear, unbiased information is real. The count above comes from the CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape files, which CMS updates each fall before enrollment opens.

What about stand-alone Part D drug plans?

If you stay with Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and want prescription drug coverage, you would normally add a stand-alone Part D plan. According to the 2026 landscape data used for this guide, 0 stand-alone Part D plans were listed for the area — so when you use Medicare's Plan Finder for 2027, pay close attention to how drug coverage is offered here.

In most cases, that means drug coverage in this area is bundled inside Medicare Advantage plans (called MA-PD plans). Always confirm current options directly on medicare.gov/plan-compare, because the tool shows what's available at your exact ZIP code.

Star Ratings: what they are, and what our area shows

CMS rates Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts on a 1-to-5 scale. Star Ratings look at things like customer service, member experience, and how well plans manage chronic conditions.

For 2026 in this area, 0 contracts were rated 4 stars or higher in the CMS data used for this guide. Ratings can shift year to year, and one contract can cover multiple plans, so treat stars as one input among many — not a shortcut for picking coverage.

Program-level changes to know for 2027

These rules apply nationwide, not to any single plan:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that amount, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. Individual plans can set a lower deductible, but none can go higher.
• No more "donut hole." As of 2025, the coverage gap phase is gone. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. This optional program lets you spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA. Higher-income beneficiaries pay an income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D. For 2026, IRMAA generally starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Key dates to circle

• October 15 – December 7, 2026: Annual Enrollment Period. Join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• January 1, 2027: New coverage begins.
• January 1 – March 31, 2027: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. If you're already in an MA plan, you get one chance to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan).

How to compare your options without the noise

1. Start at medicare.gov/plan-compare. Enter your ZIP code and your prescriptions. The tool shows what's available in Linn County and estimates yearly costs. 2. Check that your doctors and pharmacies are in-network on any Medicare Advantage plan you consider. 3. Look up your drugs on each plan's formulary. Coverage tiers and rules vary. 4. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (available 24/7) with questions about your specific situation. 5. Contact Iowa SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) for free, one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who don't sell insurance.