Medicare Advantage

Part D in Cambridge: 2027 Cap & Payment Plan

Medicare in Cambridge: how the 2027 Part D cost pieces — cap, deductible, and payment plan — fit together for the year ahead.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — If you have Medicare in Cambridge, 2027 brings another year of the clearer Part D cost picture. The federal rules that shape Part D — the deductible, the out-of-pocket cap, and the option to spread payments across the year — set the outer limits on your drug spending, no matter which plan you choose.

Cambridge sits in Middlesex County, where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) listed 49 Medicare Advantage plans and 9 carriers offering Advantage plans with drug coverage for 2026. The 2027 lineup is described in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Understanding the program-level cost pieces first makes the plan-by-plan comparison much easier.

The $2,400 out-of-pocket cap is the big one

Part D has a hard ceiling on what you pay out of pocket for covered prescription drugs. The cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that number, you pay nothing more for covered prescriptions for the rest of the calendar year.

This cap applies whether your drug coverage comes through a stand-alone Part D plan or is built into a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage. It resets each January.

The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now works in three phases: the deductible phase, the initial coverage phase, and the catastrophic phase where you pay nothing more for covered drugs.

The deductible: up to $700 in 2027

Every Part D plan is allowed to charge a deductible before cost-sharing kicks in. The maximum a plan can charge is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. Plans may set it lower, and some set it at zero — but $700 is the federal ceiling for 2027.

The deductible is the first cost piece you'll usually hit each year. After you meet it, you move into the initial coverage phase, where you and the plan share costs until you reach the out-of-pocket cap ($2,400 in 2027).

Premiums are a separate line

The premium is what you pay each month to be enrolled — it's separate from the deductible and separate from the out-of-pocket cap. Premiums do not count toward the cap.

If your income is above $109,000 as a single filer (based on your 2024 tax return for 2026 purposes), you may pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA, on top of your Part B and Part D premiums. Most people don't pay IRMAA, but it's worth knowing the threshold if you're near it.

The Prescription Payment Plan: same total, different timing

New for everyone in 2025 and continuing in 2027, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs into monthly bills from your plan instead of paying the full amount at the pharmacy.

It doesn't change how much you owe overall — the out-of-pocket cap ($2,400 in 2027) and your plan's cost-sharing rules still apply. It just changes the timing. This can help if you have a big prescription cost early in the year and would rather pay it off in installments. You have to opt in through your plan.

What the local numbers mean for your comparison

Cambridge is in Middlesex County, where CMS listed 49 Medicare Advantage plans and 9 carriers offering MA-PD (Advantage with drug coverage) for 2026. The 2027 lineup is in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. With that many choices, the program-level rules above are your yardstick: every plan has to work within the federal maximum deductible ($700 in 2027), the out-of-pocket cap ($2,400 in 2027), and the three-phase Part D structure.

When you compare options on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder, you'll see each plan's specific premium, deductible, and cost-sharing. Line them up against the federal maximums so you know where each plan sits.

Dates to keep in mind

The Annual Enrollment Period runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026. During this window you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2027.

If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs Jan. 1 through March 31, 2027. During that window you can switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and pick up a stand-alone Part D plan).