Medicare Supplement

Rochester Medicare 2026: 9 Advantage Plans in Olmsted County

Rochester Medicare 2026: 9 Advantage Plans in Olmsted County — plain-language Medicare information for Rochester, Minnesota.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — If you're turning 65 soon, helping a parent sort through mail, or just trying to make sense of your choices for 2026, here's a plain-language snapshot of the Medicare landscape in your area. Rochester is in Olmsted County, where the number of available plans — and a few new federal rules — will shape what you see this fall.

How Many Medicare Advantage Plans Are Available Here

Rochester is in Olmsted County, where 9 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2026, according to CMS Medicare Plan Finder and Landscape data. Those plans come from 3 different carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD).

A quick reminder on how this works: Medicare plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level. So a neighbor across the county line may see a different list than you do, even if you shop at the same grocery store.

For context, Olmsted County is home to about 27,397 people age 65 and older — a sizable Medicare population served by those 9 plan options.

What About Stand-Alone Part D Drug Plans?

If you keep Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and want drug coverage, you'd normally add a stand-alone Part D plan. Minnesota has 11 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide, and anyone in Olmsted County with Original Medicare can join one of them. Stand-alone Part D plans are sold on a regional basis, so Minnesota residents will see the same statewide Part D options when they search on Medicare.gov — just know the local MA-PD landscape is where most Rochester-area shopping happens.

If you're not sure whether Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare + Part D fits your situation, that's exactly the kind of question a licensed agent or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) counselor can walk you through.

Star Ratings in the Area

CMS publishes Star Ratings (1 to 5) each year to measure plan quality, customer service, and member experience. Under CMS's 2026 Star Ratings, 2 of the 6 Medicare Advantage contracts offering plans in Olmsted County are rated 4 stars or higher.

Star Ratings are one input — not the whole picture. They can change year to year, and a rating applies to a contract, which may cover plans in many counties. Use ratings as background, not as a scoreboard.

What's New for Medicare in 2026

A few program-wide changes take effect in 2026 that will apply no matter which plan you're in:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap of $2,100. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that amount, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D deductible maximum of $615. Plans can charge less, but not more.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone. As of 2025, Part D has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. This optional program lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments instead of paying large amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA income thresholds. Higher-income beneficiaries pay extra for Parts B and D. For 2026, the surcharge begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Key Dates to Circle

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7. This is when most people compare plans and make changes for the coming year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to a different MA plan or go back to Original Medicare.

Missing these windows can lock you into a plan for a full year, so it's worth putting them on the calendar.