Time to Review Your Medicare Plan: AEP 2027 Overview & What’s Changing

Every fall, Medicare gives you a chance to check your coverage for the year ahead. That window is often called Medicare open enrollment, though its official name is the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). For 2026, it runs October 15 through December 7, for coverage that starts January 1, 2027.

Below, we’ll explain what AEP is, what’s genuinely changing for 2027, and five things worth checking during your review — even if you’re happy with your current plan.

What Is the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP)?

AEP — Medicare open enrollment — is the one yearly window when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D prescription drug plan for the coming year. This year, that window runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, for coverage effective January 1, 2027.

There’s a second, more limited window worth knowing about too: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA-OEP), January 1 through March 31, 2027. It’s only for people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, and it allows one plan change if you decide your AEP choice isn’t working out. We cover it in more detail in our enrollment timeline guide.

This guide is written for Palm’s Medicare patients broadly — whether you have a Medicare Advantage plan, Original Medicare, or you’re not sure which applies to you. Most of what’s below applies either way; we’ll flag the few places where your options differ depending on your coverage.

Why Review Your Plan — Even If You’re Happy With It

Each fall, every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan sends its members an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letter. It lists exactly what’s changing about your specific plan for the coming year — costs, covered drugs, network, and extra benefits.

Plans update every year whether or not you do anything. Reading your ANOC and reviewing your plan takes about fifteen minutes, and it can prevent a surprise in January. Think of it as a quick yearly check-in, not a chore — the goal isn’t to find a reason to switch; it’s just to know where you stand before the window closes.

What’s Changing for 2027

A few real, confirmed changes are worth knowing about this year:

• The Part D annual out-of-pocket cap is rising to $2,400 for 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. This is the hard ceiling on what you pay out of pocket for covered prescription drugs in a year — once you hit it, covered drugs cost you nothing for the rest of the year. This cap is relatively new: it started at $2,000 in 2025 under the Inflation Reduction Act, and it’s adjusted most years since. CMS finalized the 2027 figure in its Rate Announcement this spring. (Source: CMS)
• The Part D standard deductible is rising to $700, up from $615. This is the amount you pay before your drug coverage starts sharing costs with you — your specific plan’s deductible may be lower, so check your ANOC rather than assuming the standard figure applies to you.
• The $35-a-month cap on covered insulin is continuing, unchanged.
• A second round of Medicare drug price negotiations takes effect January 1, 2027. Fifteen more drugs will have government-negotiated prices, including the GLP-1 medications Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus, alongside treatments for diabetes, COPD, and certain cancers. What you actually pay still depends on your specific plan, your deductible, and where you are in the year — but for the millions of people taking these medications, this is a meaningful shift, and one worth discussing with your care team if it applies to you.
• CMS also finalized new Medicare Advantage and Part D rules for 2027 with additional consumer protections. The specifics vary by plan, so your ANOC letter will spell out anything that applies to yours.
• Some Medicare Advantage plans are leaving certain markets for 2027. If that happens to your plan, you’re not stuck — a plan discontinuation qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to choose a new one outside the usual windows, with more time than a typical AEP decision.

5 Things to Check During Your Annual Review

• Are your doctors and specialists still in-network? This matters most for your Palm care team and any outside specialists you see regularly. Networks can shift year to year even when a plan otherwise looks the same.
• Are your current medications still covered, and at what cost tier? A drug can stay “covered” and still get more expensive if it moves to a higher tier — or less expensive if it moves to a lower one. That’s exactly why checking is worth it: you might end up paying less, not more.
• What’s your total expected cost for the year? Look past the monthly premium to your deductible, copays, and coinsurance together — a lower premium with higher cost-sharing can end up costing more overall.
• Are the extra benefits you actually use still included? Dental, vision, hearing, and transportation benefits can change year to year, and they’re easy to overlook until you need them.
• Has the plan’s star rating or overall stability changed? A plan’s rating and network can shift from one year to the next, and it’s worth a quick check even if nothing about your own health has changed.

Why Your Relationship With Your Care Team Still Matters

Before switching plans for a lower premium, it’s worth checking whether the switch means switching doctors too. A plan that saves you money but takes you away from a care team that already knows your history, your medications, and what’s normal for you is a real tradeoff — not always the right one. We wrote more about why that relationship matters in our piece on continuity of care.

How Palm Medical Centers Can Help This AEP

Palm is your primary care provider, not an insurance agency, so we won’t tell you which plan to pick or compare specific plans for you. What we can do is talk with you about how a plan change might affect your ongoing care, and make sure your visit history and care plan carry over smoothly no matter what you decide.

Helping a parent review their plan this year? Schedule a visit together, or give our care team a call — we’re glad to talk it through with both of you.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage?

AEP runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any changes you make take effect January 1, 2027.

Do I need to do anything if I’m happy with my current plan?

Your plan can change from year to year, and it very likely will, even if you don’t do anything yourself. That’s exactly why your ANOC letter matters: it spells out what’s different for your plan in the coming year. Rather than assuming nothing has changed, check in with your broker or a Palm outreach representative to review what’s new and confirm your coverage still fits.

What happens if I miss the December 7 deadline?

Your current plan continues into the new year automatically — you won’t lose coverage. Outside of AEP, your options are more limited: mainly the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan 1–Mar 31) if you’re already in a Medicare Advantage plan, or a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) if you qualify, such as if your plan is discontinued.

Where can I get free, unbiased help comparing Medicare plans?

Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, and Florida’s SHINE program (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) all offer free, unbiased plan-comparison help. Palm’s care team can talk with you about your care, but for comparing specific plans, these resources are built for exactly that.

What is the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, and how is it different from AEP?

AEP (Oct 15–Dec 7) is open to anyone with Medicare and allows you to make any plan change. MA-OEP (Jan 1–Mar 31) is open only to people already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan and allows just one plan change. Our enrollment timeline guide covers both in detail.

Schedule Your AEP Check-In

This article is for general information and isn’t insurance advice. For help comparing or enrolling in a specific plan, contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or Florida’s SHINE program.