Medicare Part D

Part D in Peabody for 2027: the $2,400 cap, a $700 deductible ceiling and your drug list

PEABODY, Mass. — Fall 2026. If you take prescriptions, this year's Medicare Annual Enrollment Period is worth an hour of your time. For 2027 coverage, Medicare has confirmed two numbers that shape every Part D plan sold here: the out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises to $2,400, and the maximum deductible a plan can charge climbs to $700. What each plan actually charges, and which drugs it covers, will vary — and that is exactly what the Annual Enrollment window, running October 15 through December 7, 2026, is for.

Part D for 2027Peabody, MA

What's changing for 2027

Two Part D numbers are locked in for next year:

• Out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. Once your covered out-of-pocket spending on Part D drugs hits that cap, you pay $0 for the rest of the calendar year on covered prescriptions.
• Maximum deductible: $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026. This is the ceiling — a plan can set its deductible anywhere from $0 up to that limit.

Medicare has also published a 2027 national base beneficiary premium of $41.33. That figure is a formula input used behind the scenes; it is not what any specific plan charges you.

A few other 2027 numbers, including the standard Part B premium and deductible and the IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced. CMS typically releases those in the fall, usually in November. Watch medicare.gov rather than guessing.

Read your Annual Notice of Change

Every Part D plan and every Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage (MA-PD) sends an Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, by late September. This is the single most useful piece of mail you will get this fall.

The ANOC tells you what will be different on January 1, 2027: the premium, the deductible, the pharmacy network, and — the part that trips people up — the formulary, meaning the list of drugs the plan covers and which tier each drug sits on. A drug that was on a lower tier this year can move to a higher tier next year, get new prior authorization requirements, or leave the formulary altogether.

If a medication you take is affected, that is a reason to look at your options. If nothing that matters to you is changing, staying put is a valid choice.

How drug lists (formularies) actually work

Every Part D plan groups covered drugs into tiers, usually five. Lower tiers are typically generics and preferred brands; higher tiers are non-preferred brands and specialty drugs. Plans also use tools like:

• Prior authorization — your prescriber has to submit paperwork before the plan will pay.
• Step therapy — you try a lower-cost drug first.
• Quantity limits — a cap on how much you can fill at once.

When you switch plans and your new plan does not cover a drug you have been taking, Medicare requires a transition fill — typically a one-month supply during your first 90 days — so you have time to work with your prescriber on an exception or an alternative. Do not skip doses while you sort it out.

The practical step: before you enroll, put your exact drug list (with doses) into the Plan Finder at medicare.gov. It will show you which plans in your area cover each medication and roughly what a year of coverage would cost.

The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan

The Prescription Payment Plan is a program-wide option, not a plan feature. If you enroll, instead of paying the pharmacy for your covered Part D drugs at pickup, the plan pays the pharmacy and bills you monthly, spreading your yearly costs across the calendar year.

It does not lower what you owe — the total for the year is the same — but it can make a big bill in January or February easier to manage. It tends to help most if you have a high-cost drug early in the year. You can opt in any time; ask your plan how to sign up.

Stand-alone Part D vs. drug coverage inside a Medicare Advantage plan

There are two ways to get Part D:

• A stand-alone Part D plan (PDP), which you pair with Original Medicare (and often a Medigap policy).
• An MA-PD, which is a Medicare Advantage plan that folds in drug coverage.

You cannot have both at the same time. Enrolling in a stand-alone PDP while you are in most MA-PD plans will disenroll you from the Advantage plan and drop you back to Original Medicare — so know which lane you want before you sign anything.

Peabody is in Essex County, where 57 Medicare Advantage plans are offered for 2027 and 9 carriers offer MA-PD coverage. The CMS data set we reviewed shows 0 stand-alone Part D plans listed for the area, which is unusual — the Plan Finder at medicare.gov is the authoritative source, and we recommend confirming what is available at your address before you decide. Massachusetts SHINE counselors can also verify this for free.

Star Ratings, which CMS updates each fall, are one way to compare quality. In this county's current data, no contracts are rated 4 stars or higher, but ratings are only one input; your drugs, your doctors and your budget matter more.

What to do between now and December 7

1. Open your ANOC and circle anything that changed. 2. Make a current list of your prescriptions, doses and preferred pharmacy. 3. Run that list through the Plan Finder at medicare.gov. 4. Call 1-800-MEDICARE or Massachusetts SHINE (the state's SHIP program) if you want a free, unbiased second look. 5. Enroll — or stay put — by December 7, 2026. Your choice takes effect January 1, 2027.

If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and change your mind, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 – March 31, 2027 and allows one switch.