Medicare Advantage

Your Austin ANOC checklist: what to review before the Dec. 7 deadline for 2027

People in Austin can choose from 56 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 60 this year. 15 of this year’s plans are gone, 11 are new to Travis County, and 21 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 8 of them under a new name.

AUSTIN — The envelope that landed in your mailbox in late September is not junk. It is your Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, and it tells you exactly how your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan will look different on January 1, 2027. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, so you have time to read it carefully — and if something no longer fits, time to switch.

Here is a plain checklist for people in Austin and the rest of Travis County to work through before that December 7 date.

Step 1: Actually open the ANOC

The ANOC is a short booklet (sometimes paired with the Evidence of Coverage, which is the long one). It compares your 2026 plan side-by-side with the 2027 version. Look for:

• The monthly premium for 2027.
• The medical deductible, if any, and the primary-care and specialist copays.
• The maximum out-of-pocket amount for the year.
• Changes to extras like dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter allowance or transportation.
• For Part D: the drug deductible, the tier your medications sit on, and any changes to the pharmacy network.

If a number moved and you want to understand why, the Evidence of Coverage spells it out in detail.

Step 2: Re-check your doctors and hospitals

A plan's provider network can change between plan years. Before December 7:

• Call your primary-care doctor's office and ask whether they will be in-network with your plan in 2027.
• Do the same for any specialist you see regularly.
• If you have a hospital preference in Austin — Ascension Seton, St. David's, Dell Seton or another — confirm it is still a network hospital under next year's plan.
• Check the plan's online provider directory, but verify by phone. Directories update on a lag.

Step 3: Run every prescription through the 2027 formulary

Formularies (the list of drugs a plan covers) are rebuilt every year. A medication that was on Tier 2 in 2026 may land on Tier 3 in 2027, or require prior authorization, or move off the list entirely.

For 2027, two Part D figures are already confirmed by CMS: the out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge is $700 (up from $615 in 2026). Those are ceilings — individual plans set their own numbers within them.

The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you type in your drugs and your pharmacy and compare what each 2027 plan would cost you. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads drug costs across the year, continues to be available if your out-of-pocket drug bills are uneven.

Step 4: Know what you can choose from

Austin is in Travis County, where 60 Medicare Advantage plans from 8 carriers are offered for 2026. The 2027 roster publishes in October. The current carriers in the county are:

• Aetna (CVS Health)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC)
• Centene (WellCare)
• Devoted Health
• Elevance Health (Anthem)
• Humana
• Texas Independence Health Plan
• UnitedHealthcare

The table below lists every plan by carrier. You can also stay in Original Medicare and pair it with a stand-alone Part D plan, with or without a Medigap policy.

Step 5: Mark the deadline, not the panic button

December 7, 2026 is the last day to make a change that takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan renews with the ANOC changes baked in. That is a legitimate choice — but only if you have actually read the ANOC and the changes still work for you.

A few 2027 numbers are not out yet. CMS typically publishes the standard Part B premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets for higher earners, in the fall — usually in November. Watch medicare.gov for those.

If you have Medicare Advantage and change your mind in January, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31, 2027) lets you switch Advantage plans once or move back to Original Medicare.