Medicare Advantage

How Omaha Members Can Switch Medicare Advantage Plans

For 2027, Omaha is looking at 39 Medicare Advantage plans: 11 new, 17 gone since 2026, and 12 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 5 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Douglas County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Omaha, Nebraska — If you signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan last fall and it isn't feeling like the right fit, you have a second chance. From January 1 through March 31, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period gives current Advantage members one clean opportunity to change course before the plan year is locked in.

Here's what this window actually lets you do, what it doesn't, and how to think it through without rushing.

What the January–March window is

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (often shortened to MA OEP) runs every year from January 1 to March 31. It's separate from the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7), and the rules are narrower.

The MA OEP is only for people who are already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1. If you're in Original Medicare on that date, this window isn't for you — you'd be looking at other enrollment periods instead.

Any change you make during this window takes effect the first day of the following month.

What you can change — and what you can't

During the MA OEP, you have three basic options:

• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage).
• Drop your Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare (Parts A and B).
• If you return to Original Medicare, add a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

You can only make one change during this window. Once it processes, you're set until the next enrollment period.

What you cannot do in the MA OEP:

• You can't use it to switch from one stand-alone Part D drug plan to another if you're in Original Medicare.
• You can't use it to join a Medicare Advantage plan for the first time if you were in Original Medicare on January 1.
• It does not, on its own, guarantee you the right to buy a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy without medical underwriting. Medigap rules are set separately by federal law and by Nebraska, so it's worth checking those before dropping an Advantage plan.

Why people use this window

The most common reason is a mismatch that only becomes obvious once the new plan year starts. A regular doctor turns out to be out of network. A prescription lands in a higher tier than expected. A specialist referral process feels more complicated than it did on paper. A pharmacy you've used for years isn't preferred anymore.

The MA OEP exists so that a genuine mismatch doesn't have to follow you for a full calendar year.

Omaha and Douglas County context

Plan availability in Medicare is set at the county level. Omaha sits in Douglas County, so the menu of Medicare Advantage and Part D plans you can choose from is the Douglas County menu — the same lineup available to a neighbor across town, but not necessarily the same as what's offered in Sarpy or Washington County.

If you're comparing plans, use your ZIP code on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare so the results reflect your actual county.

2027 numbers worth knowing before you switch

A few program-level figures may affect how you weigh a change:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that ceiling, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027 (plans can set a lower one).
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread your annual drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. You can opt in at any point in the year through your drug plan.
• IRMAA surcharges (higher Part B and Part D premiums for higher incomes) start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

How to think it through without rushing

A few practical steps before you change anything:

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change from this fall. It lists what shifts in your current plan for 2027. 2. Check your doctors and pharmacies against any plan you're considering — networks change every year. 3. Check your drugs on the new plan's formulary, including tier and any prior-authorization notes. 4. Understand the Medigap question before dropping Advantage. In some situations you may need to answer health questions to get a Medigap policy. 5. Get free, unbiased help. In Nebraska, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers one-on-one counseling at no cost.