Medicare Advantage

Reading, PA Medicare choices for 2027

Medicare in Reading, PA: how many plan options Berks County had for 2026 as you compare 2027 coverage during AEP.

READING, Pa. — If you're sorting through Medicare choices this fall, take a breath. You have more options than you might think — and knowing how many is the first step to comparing them with confidence.

Reading is in Berks County, where 105 Medicare Advantage plans were available for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Landscape files. Those plans came from 13 different carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). The 2027 lineup is detailed in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

What "105 plans" actually means

That count of 105 is the number of Medicare Advantage plans available to someone living in Berks County. Availability is set at the county level, not the city level — so the same list applies whether you live in downtown Reading, Wyomissing, or Kutztown.

Not every plan will fit every person. Networks, drug lists, and service areas vary, so the practical number of plans that match your doctors and medications is usually much smaller than 105.

Also worth noting: Berks County currently shows 0 stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans in the Landscape data for this snapshot. Stand-alone drug plans (PDPs) are typically paired with Original Medicare, while MA-PD plans build drug coverage into a Medicare Advantage plan. If you want a stand-alone PDP, check medicare.gov's Plan Finder to see current options in ZIP code-level detail.

Who these choices are for

About 78,100 people age 65 or older live in Berks County, and every one of them has a decision to make each year — even if that decision is simply to keep what they already have.

You generally have three broad paths:

• Original Medicare (Parts A and B), sometimes paired with a stand-alone Part D drug plan and/or a Medigap policy.
• Medicare Advantage (Part C), which bundles Parts A and B, and usually Part D, through a private carrier.
• Medicare Advantage without drug coverage, which is less common and typically chosen by people who get drug coverage elsewhere (for example, through the VA).

What's new for 2027

A few program-wide changes are worth knowing before you compare plans:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: Your prescription drug costs under Part D are capped at $2,100 for the year in 2026. Once you hit that limit, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D deductible: The maximum allowed deductible is $615 in 2026. Plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• No more "donut hole": As of 2025, the coverage gap was eliminated. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: This optional program lets you spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter. It's free to sign up, but you have to opt in.
• IRMAA: Higher-income beneficiaries pay extra for Part B and Part D. In 2026, IRMAA surcharges start above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

About Star Ratings

You'll see Medicare plans marked with Star Ratings from 1 to 5. Stars are CMS's way of scoring plan quality on things like customer service, member complaints, and care coordination.

In the current Berks County snapshot, 0 contracts are rated 4 stars or higher in the local data set we reviewed. That doesn't mean plans here are poor quality — Star Ratings shift each year, some contracts serve multiple states, and ratings are only one piece of the picture. Cost, network, and drug coverage usually matter more to your day-to-day experience.

Dates to circle

• October 15 – December 7: Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). Anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Changes take effect January 1.
• January 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare (with a Part D plan) once during this window.

How to compare without getting overwhelmed

With 105 Medicare Advantage plans in the county, comparing them one by one isn't realistic. A better approach:

1. Start at medicare.gov's Plan Finder and enter your ZIP code and your prescription drugs. 2. Filter by the doctors and hospitals you want to keep. 3. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (24/7) with specific questions. 4. Contact APPRISE, Pennsylvania's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), for free one-on-one counseling. Counselors don't sell plans and don't earn commissions.