Medicare Advantage

Your Raleigh Medicare review for 2027: a step-by-step checklist to finish by Dec. 7

People in Raleigh can choose from 63 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 77 this year. 19 of this year’s plans are gone, 5 are new to Wake County, and 35 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 15 of them under a new name.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The window to review your Medicare coverage for 2027 is open now. From Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, anyone on Medicare can compare plans, switch, or stay put — and the choice you make (or don't make) sets what you pay and who you can see starting Jan. 1, 2027.

If you live in Raleigh, you have a lot to look at. Wake County has 77 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers available for 2026, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape, and the 2027 lineup will land during this review window. Here is a plain checklist to work through before the Dec. 7 deadline.

Step 1: Find and read your Annual Notice of Change

If you're already in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, your insurer mailed (or emailed) an Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, in late September. It is usually a short booklet that compares this year's plan to next year's plan — premium, deductible, copays, drug tier changes, and any changes to extra benefits.

Flip to the comparison pages first. If anything important is different for 2027 — a higher copay for a specialist you see often, a new deductible, a drug moving to a higher tier — mark it. That is your to-do list for the rest of this checklist.

If you can't find the ANOC, call your plan's member services number (on the back of your card) and ask them to resend it, or look in your plan's online account.

Step 2: Check your doctors and hospitals for 2027

Networks can change from one year to the next. A clinic in-network in 2026 may be out-of-network in 2027, and the opposite can happen too.

For each doctor, specialist and hospital you use in the Triangle — think UNC Health, WakeMed, Duke Health, your primary care practice — do two things:

• Look up the provider in your plan's 2027 online directory (not the 2026 one).
• Call the provider's billing office and ask if they will accept your plan in 2027. Directories can lag.

If you take a plan from a different carrier, do the same check against that carrier's 2027 directory before you switch.

Step 3: Price out your prescriptions on next year's formulary

Drug lists (formularies) are updated every year. A medication you take may move to a different tier, require prior authorization, or come off the list entirely.

The easiest way to check is the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code, add each prescription with the exact dose and quantity, and name the pharmacy you use. The tool will show your estimated yearly drug cost under each plan available in Wake County for 2027.

A few 2027 numbers worth knowing as you compare:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026). Once your drug spending hits that cap, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Plans can charge less.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available if you'd rather spread drug costs across the calendar year instead of paying big bills in a single month.

CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium, deductible, or IRMAA income brackets. Those typically come out in the fall, usually in November — check medicare.gov for the official numbers before you finalize.

Step 4: Know what Wake County offers

You don't have to pick from a short menu. For 2026, Wake County residents can choose among 77 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers:

• Aetna (CVS Health)
• Alignment Health Plan
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC)
• Centene (WellCare)
• Experience Health
• Humana
• Liberty Medicare Advantage
• Longevity Health Plan
• PruittHealth Premier
• UnitedHealthcare

By plan type, that breaks down to 28 HMOs, 21 HMO-POS plans and 28 PPOs. Thirty of the 77 are Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, C-SNPs for certain chronic conditions, and I-SNPs for people in nursing homes). All 77 include drug coverage. The table below lists every plan by carrier. The 2027 lineup will post to medicare.gov during the enrollment window.

Step 5: Decide — then act (or don't) by Dec. 7

After you've read the ANOC and checked your doctors and drugs, you have three choices:

• Stay. If your current plan still works, do nothing. It renews Jan. 1, 2027 with the changes in the ANOC.
• Switch Medicare Advantage or Part D plans. Enroll in the new plan by Dec. 7, 2026 and your old plan ends automatically on Dec. 31.
• Move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. You can do this during AEP too. If you're going from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare and want a Medigap policy, be aware that medical underwriting may apply in North Carolina — call to confirm you can get the Medigap plan you want before you drop your Advantage plan.

One more date to keep in your back pocket: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment runs Jan. 1 – March 31, 2027. If you're in an Advantage plan and realize in February that it isn't working, you get one chance to switch to another Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare.

Where to get help

• medicare.gov — Plan Finder, plan details, formulary and network lookups.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24/7, for personalized answers.
• Your current plan's member services line (on your member ID card) for ANOC and benefits questions.