Medicare Advantage

Before AEP ends Dec. 7, know your Polk County count

People in West Des Moines can choose from 44 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 38 this year. Eleven of this year’s plans are gone, 17 are new to Polk County, and 14 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 6 of them under a new name.

If you live in West Des Moines and Medicare is on your to-do list this fall, the first thing to know is that you have a lot of choices — and a clear way to narrow them down. West Des Moines sits in Polk County, where 38 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2027, offered by 10 different carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Plan Finder and Landscape files. That is a wide field, and the goal of this guide is to help you approach it calmly and in the right order.

Start with the calendar, not the plans

Before you look at any specific plan, mark two windows on your calendar. The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026. This is when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the coming year. Changes you make take effect January 1, 2027.

If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan and change your mind after January 1, you get a second chance during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 through March 31. During that window, you can switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.

Knowing the deadline helps you avoid the "I'll figure it out later" trap.

Know what you're actually choosing between

Medicare in West Des Moines generally comes down to two paths:

1. Original Medicare (Parts A and B), often paired with a stand-alone Part D drug plan and, for many people, a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy. 2. A Medicare Advantage plan (Part C), which bundles hospital, medical, and — in most cases — drug coverage into one plan from a private insurer.

In Polk County, the 2027 landscape includes 38 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers. Stand-alone Part D plans are sold at the state level in Iowa, so if you stay with Original Medicare, you'll shop that separate list on medicare.gov.

Neither path is automatically "better" — it depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, how you travel, and how you feel about networks versus broader access.

Sort the 38 options in a sensible order

Rather than clicking through every plan, filter in this order:

• Your doctors and hospitals. If you have providers you want to keep, check which plans include them in-network.
• Your prescriptions. Enter your exact drugs and dosages into the Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Drug coverage varies plan to plan, and this is where costs shift the most.
• Your pharmacies. Some plans have preferred pharmacies that change what you pay.
• How the plan handles care you might need. Referrals, prior authorization rules, and out-of-network coverage differ.

Only after those filters should you compare monthly premiums and cost-sharing side by side.

What's new for Part D in 2027

Even if you like your current drug coverage, the rules around Part D have changed in ways worth knowing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 for 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. Once your true out-of-pocket drug spending hits that number, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D deductible cannot be higher than $700 in 2027 (it was $615 in 2026).
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter. It's optional and free to sign up.

If your income is above $109,000 as a single filer (2026), you may owe an IRMAA surcharge on Part B and Part D. That's based on your tax return from two years ago.

Star Ratings: use them as one input

CMS assigns Star Ratings (1 to 5) to Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts. They measure things like customer service, member complaints, and how well plans help members manage chronic conditions. Ratings are updated every fall.

They are useful context — but they're one input, not a verdict. A highly rated plan that doesn't cover your doctor or your medication isn't the right plan for you.

Where to get unbiased help

You do not have to sort through 38 plans alone. Two free, no-sales-pressure resources:

• medicare.gov Plan Finder — the official tool for comparing plans using your own drug list and pharmacies.
• 1-800-MEDICARE — available 24/7.
• Iowa SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) — free one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who do not sell insurance.