Medicare Advantage

Medicare AEP in Bellevue: the Dec 7 Deadline Explained

Medicare AEP in Bellevue: the Dec 7 Deadline Explained — plain-language Medicare information for Bellevue, Nebraska.

BELLEVUE, Neb. — If you live in Bellevue and you're trying to figure out your Medicare options for 2027, you're not alone. The choices can feel like a lot, and the phone calls and mailers pick up every fall. The good news: there are free, unbiased places to get help, and there are a handful of program-level cost numbers you can anchor to before you compare anything.

This piece focuses on the cost pieces Medicare itself sets — premiums, deductibles, and the new out-of-pocket cap — so you have a steady frame of reference no matter which option you look at.

Start with the parts, then the costs

Medicare has four parts, and each has its own cost structure set by the federal government — not by a salesperson.

• Part A (hospital) is premium-free for most people who paid Medicare taxes long enough. It still has a deductible each benefit period.
• Part B (doctor visits, outpatient) has a standard monthly premium and an annual deductible, both set by CMS each year.
• Part C (Medicare Advantage) bundles A and B, usually with drug coverage, through a private carrier. Premiums and cost-sharing vary by plan.
• Part D (prescription drugs) is offered through private plans, but Medicare sets the ceilings.

If you only remember one thing this fall, remember that the ceilings on Part D costs are set by law — the plan can't go above them.

Part D cost numbers to know for 2027

For 2027, three program-level figures matter for anyone with drug coverage:

• $700 — the maximum deductible a Part D plan is allowed to charge in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Plans can charge less, but not more.
• $2,400 — the annual out-of-pocket cap in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits this number, you pay nothing more for covered drugs for the rest of the year.
• Three payment phases — deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic. The old coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated in 2025.

There's also the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, an optional program that lets you spread your drug costs out in monthly payments over the year instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. It doesn't lower the total — it just smooths it.

Higher earners: know about IRMAA

If your income is above a certain level, you pay a surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums called IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount). For 2026, IRMAA starts to apply for single filers with income above $109,000 (and higher thresholds for joint filers). It's based on your tax return from two years earlier, so a big one-time income event can affect you later.

If your income has dropped since then — retirement, loss of a spouse, work reduction — you can ask Social Security to reconsider using Form SSA-44.

What Bellevue looks like on paper

Bellevue is in Sarpy County, where 45 Medicare Advantage plans from 9 carriers were on the 2026 landscape. The 2027 lineup is in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Nebraska has 11 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide — if you want drug coverage through a stand-alone plan, that's a question worth asking a counselor about, because the specifics change and personal situations vary. About 25,339 Sarpy County residents are 65 or older, so there's a lot of local demand for straight answers.

None of those numbers tell you which option fits you. They just tell you the size of the shopping aisle.

Where to get unbiased help

These sources don't sell plans and don't earn commissions:

• Nebraska SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) — free one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers. They can sit down with your drug list and walk you through Plan Finder.
• Medicare.gov Plan Finder — the official tool. It lets you enter your prescriptions and pharmacies to compare total estimated yearly cost.
• 1-800-MEDICARE — 24/7, in multiple languages.
• Social Security — for questions about premiums, IRMAA, and Extra Help with drug costs.

Dates to circle

• October 15 – December 7: Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
• January 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to another MA plan or go back to Original Medicare.

Missing these windows usually means waiting a year, so put them on the calendar.