Medicare Advantage

Madison Medicare review for 2027: how to read your ANOC before Dec. 7

People in Madison can choose from 48 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 55 this year. Eleven of this year’s plans are gone, 4 are new to Dane County, and 31 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 9 of them under a new name.

MADISON, Wis. — The envelope that arrived in your mailbox in late September is the single most useful piece of paper you will get this fall. It is called the Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, and it tells you exactly how your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan will be different on January 1, 2027. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, which gives Madison residents a defined window to compare that notice against what next year's plans actually offer.

What is the Annual Notice of Change and why does it matter in Madison for 2027?

The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) is the document your current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan sends every fall that lists what is changing for the next plan year. For Madison residents, it is the starting point for any 2027 decision because it shows side-by-side what your plan costs and covers in 2026 and what it will cost and cover in 2027.

Open it with a highlighter. The pages worth marking are the premium, the deductible, the primary-care and specialist cost-sharing, the hospital cost-sharing, the drug tiers, and the pharmacy network. If any of those changed in a way that affects you, that is your cue to compare.

What should a Madison resident check before December 7, 2026?

Four things, in this order: your doctors, your hospitals, your prescriptions, and your pharmacy. Changes in any one of them are the most common reason a plan that worked in 2026 stops working in 2027.

• Doctors. Confirm each provider you see is in the 2027 network. Call the clinic directly and ask about the specific plan for next year — UW Health, SSM Health Dean Medical Group, UnityPoint Health – Meriter and Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin all have different contract relationships with different carriers.
• Hospitals. If you have a preferred hospital in the Madison area, verify it is in-network for 2027 under the plan you are considering.
• Prescriptions. Pull up your current medication list and check each drug against the 2027 formulary. Tier changes, prior authorization and step therapy rules can all shift year to year.
• Pharmacy. Preferred vs. standard pharmacy status can change. If you fill at a specific location, confirm it is still preferred for 2027.

The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your drugs and pharmacy and see how each plan available in Dane County handles them.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Dane County for 2026?

Madison is in Dane County, where CMS lists 55 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers for the 2026 plan year. By type, that includes 15 HMOs, 19 HMO-POS plans, 17 PPOs, 1 PFFS, 1 MSA and 2 Cost plans; 15 are Special Needs Plans and 41 include drug coverage. (2027 county counts will post to Medicare Plan Finder in October 2026.)

The carriers offering plans in Dane County are Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Dean Advantage, Dean Health Plan, Inc., Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin, Network Health Medicare Advantage Plans, Quartz Medicare Advantage (HMO), Security Health Plan of Wisconsin, Inc., and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan by carrier.

What 2027 Medicare figures has CMS already confirmed?

CMS has confirmed a few numbers that apply nationwide in 2027 and are worth knowing while you compare drug coverage. The Part D out-of-pocket cap will be $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. The Part D maximum deductible will be $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026. The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33, which is a formula input used in late-enrollment penalty calculations rather than a price any specific plan charges.

The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") remains eliminated — Part D has three phases now. If drug costs are a strain month to month, you can ask your plan about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads your out-of-pocket drug costs across the calendar year.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced. CMS typically publishes those figures later in the fall, usually in November.

What happens if I do nothing by December 7, 2026?

Nothing happens to you specifically — your current plan will renew for 2027 if the carrier is still offering it, with every change listed in your ANOC. That is why reading the ANOC matters even if you are happy with your plan. The changes take effect automatically on January 1, 2027.

If your plan is being discontinued or is leaving the county, you will get a separate non-renewal letter from the carrier and a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else. If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and change your mind, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31, 2027 lets you switch to a different Advantage plan once or go back to Original Medicare.

Where should Madison residents go for personalized answers?

Three places. Medicare.gov's Plan Finder is the official tool for comparing plans available in Dane County and running your drug list through each one. 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is staffed 24/7 and can answer plan-specific questions. Your plan's member services line — the number is on the back of your card and on the ANOC — can confirm whether a specific doctor, hospital or drug will be covered under your 2027 renewal.