Medicare Advantage

North Charleston 2027 Medicare: Plan Options in Charleston County

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — If you're turning 65 soon or already using Medicare, the choices you make this fall shape your 2027 coverage. North Charleston is in Charleston County, where 69 Medicare Advantage plans were available for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Landscape files. The 2027 lineup is listed in each plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

North Charleston seniors have plenty to sort through for 2027

That's a lot to compare — and with roughly 75,028 residents age 65 and up in the county, plenty of neighbors are working through the same decisions this fall.

What's on the table locally

Here's a plain look at the numbers for Charleston County, based on the CMS 2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape (the 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder):

• Medicare Advantage plans available: 69
• Stand-alone Part D (PDP) plans available: South Carolina has 11 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide (check Plan Finder for the current PDP list serving your ZIP code)
• Carriers offering Medicare Advantage with drug coverage (MA-PD): 11
• Contracts in this area rated 4 stars or higher: 0

A quick note on star ratings: CMS scores Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts (not each individual plan) from 1 to 5 stars based on things like customer service, member experience, and how well plans manage chronic conditions. Ratings are one input among many — not a shortcut to a decision.

The numbers every Medicare shopper should know for 2027

These are program-wide rules, set by CMS, that apply no matter which plan you look at:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 ($2,400 in 2027) for the year. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that number, you pay $0 for covered prescriptions the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027).
• The "donut hole" is gone. Since 2025, Part D has three phases (deductible, initial coverage, catastrophic) instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA (income-related premium surcharges): in 2026, these begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer (higher thresholds for joint filers).

Key dates for North Charleston

Two enrollment windows matter most:

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. This is when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the next year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare (and pick up a stand-alone Part D plan).

If you miss AEP without a Special Enrollment Period, you may be stuck with your current coverage until next fall.

How to sort through 69 options without losing your mind

With this many Medicare Advantage plans in Charleston County, a little structure helps:

1. Start with your doctors and hospitals. Confirm which networks they're in before comparing anything else. 2. List your prescriptions. Include dosage and how often you take each one. Drug formularies vary widely. 3. Think about how you use care. Do you travel? See a lot of specialists? Need dental, vision, or hearing coverage? 4. Use Plan Finder. The official comparison tool at Medicare.gov/plan-compare lets you enter your ZIP code and drug list and see side-by-side results. 5. Don't shop by ads alone. Mailers and TV spots only show a slice of what's available.