Medicare Advantage

Medicare AEP in Kansas City: Oct 15 to Dec 7 deadline

Jackson County has 65 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 11 plans are not coming back, 12 are new, and 36 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 16 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Kansas City, not which plan to pick.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Medicare gives you a lot of choices, and this fall Kansas City shoppers have plenty to sort through. But before you weigh the options, it helps to understand how the program's costs are built — because a missed deadline or a misread cost rule can follow you for the rest of your life.

Why the "cost pieces" matter more than the sticker price

Medicare isn't one bill. It's a stack of smaller costs — a Part B premium, maybe a Part D premium, deductibles, coinsurance, and now a yearly cap on drug spending. When people say a plan "looks cheap," they're usually looking at just one piece. The real question is how the pieces add up across a full year, and whether you can predict them.

That's why timing matters. If you miss the window to enroll in Part B or Part D when you're first eligible, you can owe a late-enrollment penalty every month for as long as you have Medicare. That penalty rides with you for life.

The Part B side: a monthly premium plus a deductible

Original Medicare's Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care. Almost everyone pays a standard monthly premium for it, set by the federal government each year. On top of that, Part B has its own yearly deductible before Medicare starts paying its share, and then you typically owe 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for most services.

There's no yearly out-of-pocket limit built into Original Medicare. That's the big gap many people fill with either a Medigap (supplement) policy or by joining a Medicare Advantage plan, which bundles Part A, Part B and usually Part D into one plan with its own cost rules and an annual out-of-pocket maximum on medical care.

The Part D side: what changes for 2027

Prescription drug coverage has been reshaped over the last two years, and 2027 carries that structure forward with updated figures:

• The maximum Part D deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. Plans can charge less, but not more.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• There's an annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs — $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your spending on covered prescriptions hits that number, you pay nothing more for the rest of the year on those covered drugs.
• You can opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads your yearly drug costs into level monthly payments instead of large hits at the pharmacy counter.

For stand-alone drug coverage, Missouri has 9 stand-alone Part D plans for 2027, sold statewide — so Kansas City residents with Original Medicare can pair it with any PDP on that statewide list. Eight carriers offer MA-PD in the area for 2027, and Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC) is not offering plans in the county next year. If you want Original Medicare plus a separate drug plan, confirm your options with medicare.gov's Plan Finder before you decide.

IRMAA: the surcharge higher earners often miss

If your modified adjusted gross income from two years ago was above certain thresholds, Medicare adds an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) to both your Part B and Part D premiums. For 2026, IRMAA kicks in above $109,000 for a single filer (higher for joint filers), with several tiers above that.

IRMAA is recalculated every year based on your latest tax return, so a one-time income spike — selling a house, a Roth conversion, a large withdrawal — can raise your Medicare costs for a year even if your normal income is lower. If your income has since dropped due to a life event like retirement, you can ask Social Security to reconsider.

The deadlines that lock costs in

Two windows drive most cost decisions:

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. This is when anyone with Medicare can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the following year. Changes take effect Jan. 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and pick up a Part D plan).

Your first-time enrollment window around your 65th birthday — the Initial Enrollment Period — is separate, and missing it is where lifelong late penalties usually start.

How to work through the numbers without getting overwhelmed

With 64 Advantage plans in Jackson County, comparing every option one by one isn't realistic. A calmer approach:

1. Start with your current doctors and your current prescriptions. Any plan you consider should cover both. 2. Look at the yearly maximum out-of-pocket, not just the premium. 3. Check whether your drugs are on the plan's formulary and which tier they sit on. 4. If you're a higher earner, factor in IRMAA when you compare total monthly cost. 5. Use medicare.gov's Plan Finder, which pulls in your specific drug list and pharmacy.

Star Ratings, published by CMS, can help you gauge overall quality — they measure things like customer service and care coordination. Under CMS's 2026 Star Ratings, 10 of the Medicare Advantage contracts offering plans in Jackson County are rated 4 stars or higher, so ratings can help Kansas City shoppers narrow the field. Use them as one input, not the deciding factor.