Medicare Advantage

Medicare Open Enrollment 2026: Your Rochester Dec. 7 Guide

Medicare open enrollment for 2027: a Rochester guide to the October 15 – December 7, 2026 window.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — If you have Medicare, the fall window to review your coverage is open now. From October 15 through December 7, you can switch plans, drop one, or move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

This fall in Rochester, the story worth paying attention to is not just how many plans exist — it's how the cost pieces of Medicare fit together for 2027. A few program-level numbers have moved, and understanding them can help you judge whether your current setup still makes sense.

How Rochester's options are counted this fall

Rochester sits in Olmsted County, and Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. For 2026, the county file showed 9 Medicare Advantage plans offered by 3 carriers, and 0 stand-alone Part D drug plans appearing in the county listing. The 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. About 27,397 Olmsted County residents are age 65 or older, so a fair number of neighbors are working through the same review this fall.

Counts alone don't tell you which direction to go — that depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, and how you want to handle costs. Which brings us to the numbers that matter most for next year.

The 2027 cost pieces, in plain language

Medicare has several moving parts. Here is how they fit together at the program level for 2027.

Part A (hospital). Most people pay no premium for Part A because they or a spouse paid Medicare taxes long enough while working. Part A does have its own deductible when you're admitted to a hospital, and that amount is set by CMS each year.

Part B (doctor and outpatient). Everyone on Part B pays a monthly premium, and there's an annual Part B deductible before coinsurance kicks in. The standard premium and deductible are set nationally, not by ZIP code.

Part D (prescription drugs). This is where the biggest 2027 change lives. Two figures to remember:

• The annual deductible a Part D plan can charge is capped at $700 in 2027 (it is $615 in 2026).
• Your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs is capped at $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026). Once you hit that, you pay $0 for covered drugs for the rest of the year.

The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025, so Part D now has three phases instead of four: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic (the $2,400 cap in 2027).

Medicare Advantage (Part C). These plans bundle Parts A, B, and usually D into one plan run by a private insurer. They have their own premiums (sometimes in addition to your Part B premium), their own deductibles, and their own annual out-of-pocket maximum for medical care. That medical out-of-pocket max is separate from the $2,400 drug cap in 2027.

Medigap (Medicare Supplement). If you stay with Original Medicare, a Medigap policy can help pay the deductibles and coinsurance Parts A and B leave behind. Medigap has its own monthly premium and does not include drug coverage.

The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

New in 2025 and continuing in 2027: if your drug costs land in a big chunk early in the year, you can ask to spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. It's called the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, it's optional, and it doesn't change what you owe overall — it just smooths the timing. You sign up through your Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan.

IRMAA: the higher-income surcharge

If your income is above certain thresholds, you pay an extra amount on top of your Part B and Part D premiums. This is called IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount). For 2026, IRMAA begins for single filers with income above $109,000 (and roughly double that for joint filers). Social Security uses your tax return from two years ago to decide.

If your income has dropped since then — because you retired, for example — you can ask Social Security to reconsider using Form SSA-44.

Putting the numbers to work during open enrollment

When you review your coverage between now and December 7, it helps to look at four cost pieces together, not just one:

1. Your monthly premium (Part B, plus any Medicare Advantage, Part D, or Medigap premium). 2. Your deductibles (Part A, Part B, Part D, and any plan-level deductible). 3. Your expected out-of-pocket for the year — and where the caps land ($2,400 for Part D drugs in 2027, plus your plan's medical out-of-pocket max if you have Medicare Advantage). 4. Whether IRMAA applies to you.

A plan that looks cheap on premium can be expensive on deductibles, and the reverse is also true. The Plan Finder tool at medicare.gov lets you enter your drugs and preferred pharmacies to see estimated yearly totals.

Where Rochester residents can get free help

You don't have to sort this out alone, and you don't have to talk to a salesperson to get answers.

• medicare.gov — the official Plan Finder and coverage rules.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — 24/7 help from Medicare directly.
• Senior LinkAge Line: 1-800-333-2433 — Minnesota's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Free, unbiased, one-on-one counseling.
• Social Security: 1-800-772-1213 — for IRMAA questions and enrollment in Parts A and B.