Medicare Open Enrollment, Step by Step, Before December 7
Plans change their premiums, drug lists and pharmacies every year. Here is how to check whether yours still fits for 2027, using Medicare's own tools.
Medicare's Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs until December 7. Changes you make take effect January 1. If you do nothing, you generally stay in the same plan, even if its costs or covered drugs have changed.
Step 1: find your plan's Annual Notice of Change, which plans send each fall. It lists what changes next year: premium, deductible, copays, the list of covered drugs and which pharmacies are in network. A drug that is covered this year can be dropped or moved to a more expensive tier.
Step 2: gather your prescriptions, with the exact drug, dose and how often you take it, and the pharmacies you use. Step 3: use the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov to compare plans using those drugs. It shows the estimated yearly cost for each plan, which is the number that matters, not the premium alone.
Step 4: decide what kind of change, if any. During Open Enrollment you can switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan or back, switch Medicare Advantage plans, and join, switch or drop a Part D drug plan. Step 5: enroll in a new plan through Medicare.gov, by calling 1-800-MEDICARE, or with the plan directly; joining a new plan usually ends the old one automatically.
Free, unbiased help is available from your state's State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP. Be wary of calls offering to help you switch: Medicare and SHIP counselors do not cold-call to sell plans. Medicare's 2027 Part B premium is announced separately each fall; check Medicare.gov for the current figure.
Sources