Medicare Advantage

Medicare Deadlines in Bellevue: 2027 Enrollment

Medicare in Bellevue: key AEP dates for Sarpy County residents choosing 2027 coverage — deadlines, windows, and where to compare.

BELLEVUE, Neb. — If you live in Bellevue and you're on Medicare — or about to be — the calendar matters as much as the plan list. Sarpy County had 45 Medicare Advantage plans available for 2026 through 9 carriers; the 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Either way, you only get certain windows each year to actually make a change. Miss the window, and you may be locked in until the next one opens.

Here's a plain-English guide to which enrollment periods apply, how they overlap, and what happens if a date slips past you.

The Annual Enrollment Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7

This is the window most Bellevue residents already know. Between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7 each year, you can:

• Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan, or the other way around.
• Change from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Join, drop, or switch a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

Any change you make during this window takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. If Dec. 7, 2026 comes and goes and you haven't acted, your current coverage generally rolls over — which is fine if it still fits, and a problem if your plan, your doctors, or your medications have changed. Check your plan's ANOC for what's changing.

One statewide note: Nebraska has 11 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide, so Bellevue residents with Original Medicare can join any of them if they want drug coverage outside a Medicare Advantage plan. The 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. If you take prescriptions, that's worth confirming before you decide.

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31

This second window is often missed. If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you get one more chance between Jan. 1 and March 31 to:

• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, or
• Drop your Medicare Advantage plan and go back to Original Medicare (and add a stand-alone Part D plan if one is available to you).

You can only use this window once, and it's only for people already in Medicare Advantage. If you're in Original Medicare on Jan. 1, this period doesn't apply to you.

This is a useful safety net if you signed up in December, started using your plan in January, and realized the network or drug list wasn't what you expected.

Turning 65 in Bellevue? Your Initial Enrollment Period

Your first Medicare window doesn't follow the calendar — it follows your birthday. Your Initial Enrollment Period is seven months long: the three months before your 65th birthday month, the birthday month itself, and the three months after.

Signing up during the three months before your birthday month usually means coverage starts the first day of your birthday month. Waiting until after can delay your start date.

Missing this window is one of the more expensive mistakes in Medicare. The Part B late enrollment penalty can add 10% to your monthly premium for each 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't — and it typically sticks for as long as you have Part B.

Special Enrollment Periods: when life doesn't wait for October

Certain life events open a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) outside the usual windows. Common triggers include:

• Moving out of your current plan's service area (a move from Sarpy County to another state, for example).
• Losing employer or union coverage.
• Qualifying for Extra Help or Medicaid.
• Your plan leaving the Medicare program.

SEPs have their own deadlines — often 60 days from the event — so if something changes in your life, call 1-800-MEDICARE or your local SHIP counselor sooner rather than later.

How the dates interact

A quick way to think about it:

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: open to almost everyone on Medicare.
• Jan. 1 – March 31: only for people already in Medicare Advantage.
• Around your 65th birthday: your one-time Initial Enrollment Period.
• After a qualifying life event: a Special Enrollment Period, on its own clock.

Sarpy County had 45 Medicare Advantage plans for 2026, and the 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. The point of these windows is to give you time to compare — not to pressure you. Use them.

What's new for 2027 that may affect your timing

A few program-level changes are worth knowing before you decide:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your covered drug spending hits that amount, you pay nothing for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D deductible can be no higher than $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments instead of paying large amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA income-related surcharges for Part B and Part D start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

None of these change the enrollment dates — but they can change whether your current plan is still the right fit, which is exactly what the enrollment windows are for.

Where to get unbiased help in Bellevue

• Medicare.gov — compare every plan available in Sarpy County side by side.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — 24/7, free.
• Nebraska SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) — free, one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who don't sell insurance.