Medicare Part D

Denver: Avoid Medicare Part B & D Penalties 2027

If you live in Denver and you're approaching 65 — or you're already there and still working — the choices you make about Medicare in the next few months can follow you for the rest of your life. That's because Medicare's late-enrollment penalties for Part B (doctor visits and outpatient care) and Part D (prescription drugs) don't go away after you finally sign up. In most cases, they stick to your monthly premium for as long as you have coverage.

DENVER — A small delay can mean a lifelong bill

The good news: these penalties are avoidable once you understand the rules. Here's a plain-English guide for Denver residents.

How the Part B late-enrollment penalty works

Part B covers doctor visits, outpatient services, and many preventive tests. Most people become eligible for Medicare around their 65th birthday and have a seven-month Initial Enrollment Period — the three months before, the month of, and the three months after they turn 65.

If you don't sign up for Part B during that window, and you don't have other qualifying coverage (more on that below), you may owe a penalty. According to CMS, the Part B penalty adds 10% to your monthly Part B premium for each full 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't. And that higher premium generally lasts as long as you have Part B.

Example: If you waited three full years to enroll, your Part B premium could be 30% higher — every month, for life.

How the Part D late-enrollment penalty works

Part D covers prescription drugs. To avoid a penalty here, you need "creditable" drug coverage — meaning coverage that Medicare considers at least as good as a standard Part D plan. This can come from a Part D plan, a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, an employer or union plan, or certain other sources.

If you go 63 days or more in a row without creditable drug coverage after your Initial Enrollment Period ends, you may owe a Part D penalty when you finally enroll. The penalty is 1% of the "national base beneficiary premium" for each full month you went without coverage, added to your monthly Part D premium — and it also typically lasts as long as you have Part D.

When you can delay without a penalty

Not everyone needs to enroll at 65. You can generally delay Part B and Part D without penalty if you have creditable coverage from:

• An employer group health plan based on your (or your spouse's) current active work
• Certain union retiree plans that qualify as creditable
• TRICARE, VA, or federal employee coverage in specific situations

When that coverage ends, you'll usually get a Special Enrollment Period to sign up for Medicare without a late penalty. For Part B, that window is typically eight months after the job or the employer coverage ends — whichever comes first. For Part D, it's generally 63 days.

Two important tips for Denver workers:

1. Ask your benefits administrator, in writing, whether your employer plan is creditable for Part B and for Part D. They're different questions. 2. Keep the annual "Notice of Creditable Coverage" your drug plan sends every fall. You may need to show it later.

Key dates every Denver reader should circle

• Initial Enrollment Period: the seven months around your 65th birthday.
• General Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31 each year, for people who missed their initial window.
• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7, when anyone with Medicare can change Part D or Medicare Advantage coverage.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31, for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan who want to switch once.

What's changing for 2027

A few program-level facts are worth knowing as you plan for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for 2026. Once you hit that amount in covered drug costs, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615 for 2026 and $700 for 2027.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs into monthly installments instead of paying large amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA (income-related monthly adjustment amounts) surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026, based on your tax return from two years earlier.

A local snapshot for Denver

Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. Denver is in Denver County, where a wide range of stand-alone Part D drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans is offered each year. Because plans, formularies, and pharmacy networks can change every January, the AEP window (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7) is the time most Denver residents review their options.

For personalized help — including whether your current coverage is creditable — Colorado's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), known locally as the Colorado SHIP, offers free, unbiased counseling.