Medicare Part D

Medina Part D enrollees: how to decode your 2027 Annual Notice of Change before Dec. 7

MEDINA, Ohio — The envelope that landed in Medina mailboxes this fall is easy to set aside, but it is the single most important piece of paper a Part D enrollee gets all year. The Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, spells out how your drug plan will look different on January 1, 2027 — and you have until December 7, 2026 to do something about it.

Medina is in Medina County, where Part D coverage is sold both as stand-alone drug plans and bundled inside Medicare Advantage plans. The rules below apply to both.

What is the Annual Notice of Change for Part D in 2027?

The ANOC is a plan document that lists every change your Part D coverage will undergo on January 1, 2027, compared with 2026. Plans must send it by late September each year, either on paper or electronically if you opted in.

Inside, you will find the new premium, the new deductible, the new tier structure, and — crucially — any changes to the formulary (the plan's drug list) and to the "utilization management" rules attached to specific drugs. It usually arrives with a separate Evidence of Coverage, which is the long-form contract.

What drug list changes should Medina readers look for?

Look for four specific shifts: a tier move, a new prior authorization requirement, a new quantity limit, or a new step therapy rule. Any one of these can change what you pay or whether you can fill the prescription at all on January 1.

• Tier move. Plans group covered drugs into tiers (often five or six). A drug that was on a lower tier in 2026 may sit on a higher tier in 2027, which generally means a higher cost share.
• Prior authorization (PA). Your plan may now require your prescriber to submit paperwork justifying the drug before it will be covered.
• Quantity limits (QL). The plan may cap how much of a drug it will cover in a given period — for example, a set number of tablets per 30 days.
• Step therapy (ST). The plan may require you to try a preferred alternative first before it covers the drug you are on.

A drug can also be removed from the formulary entirely, or a generic may replace a brand on the preferred tier.

How do I actually read the ANOC without missing anything?

Pull last year's ANOC or your current plan materials and read side by side. The ANOC is organized as a before-and-after: 2026 on the left, 2027 on the right.

Make a short list of every prescription you take, including dose and monthly quantity. For each one, check: Is it still on the formulary? Same tier? Any new PA, QL or ST notation? Then check the pharmacy section — preferred and standard pharmacy networks sometimes shift, and that affects your cost at the counter.

If anything on your list changed, call the plan's member services number (printed on the ANOC) and confirm. Ask what the 2027 cost share will be for your specific drug at your specific pharmacy.

What are my options during the Annual Enrollment Period?

Between October 15 and December 7, 2026, you can switch to a different Part D plan, switch Medicare Advantage plans, or move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Changes you make take effect January 1, 2027.

If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan and want to switch to a different Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare, there is also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, 2027. That window is narrower in what it allows.

To compare drug plans by your specific medication list and preferred pharmacy, use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

What happens if my drug is dropped mid-year in 2027?

New enrollees and people whose drugs are affected by formulary changes are generally entitled to a transition fill — typically a one-time 30-day supply at a retail pharmacy during the first 90 days of the plan year — to give you and your prescriber time to switch drugs or request an exception.

You or your doctor can also file a formulary exception asking the plan to cover a non-formulary drug, or a tiering exception asking it to charge a lower tier's cost share. If the plan says no, you have appeal rights spelled out in your Evidence of Coverage.

What program-wide Part D numbers apply in 2026?

For 2026, Part D has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs, a maximum deductible of $615, and no coverage gap (the "donut hole" was eliminated in 2025, leaving three payment phases). The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter — you have to opt in.

Higher-income enrollees pay an IRMAA surcharge on top of their Part D premium; for 2026 that starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer. CMS had not published the 2027 Part D parameters at the time most ANOCs were mailed, so your ANOC reflects your plan's 2027 numbers, not the program-wide caps.