What to Check Before the 2027 Medicare Annual Enrollment Period

One of my Medicare clients assumed that if he simply kept the plan he already had, nothing would go wrong — so he never looked at it during AEP. After the new year began, he found out that the hospital he had been going to was no longer in his network, and that the cost of the medication he was taking had changed. By then, the window that mattered for changing his plan had already closed.

To avoid ending up in that position, anyone on Medicare in 2027 should treat AEP not as a period when your plan automatically renews, but as an opportunity to review your coverage from scratch.

When is the 2027 Medicare AEP?

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP, also called Open Enrollment) runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026. During this window you can change your Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan or your Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, or switch from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare. Whatever you change takes effect on January 1, 2027.

So what should you be checking?

① Read your ANOC — this one is not optional

Every fall, your current plan sends you an ANOC (Annual Notice of Change). It sets out what is changing for the coming year: premiums, deductibles, copays, covered benefits and network.

Don’t stop at the premium. What matters is how the cost of the health care you actually use is going to change.

② Check that your prescriptions are still covered

If you take prescription drugs, check whether they are still covered under the 2027 formulary — a drug’s tier or your share of the cost may have changed.

In 2027 in particular, negotiated prices under the Medicare drug price negotiation program created by the IRA are scheduled to apply to 15 Part D drugs. But that does not mean every drug automatically gets cheaper, so check your own medications against your own plan.

③ Check your doctors and hospital network

If you are on Medicare Advantage, you should not be choosing a plan on premium alone.

Confirm that your primary care physician, your specialists and your hospital are still in that plan’s network for 2027. If you are receiving specialized treatment or you see a doctor regularly, network status can make a very large difference to what you actually pay.

④ Compare with the Medicare Plan Finder

You can start comparing 2027 plans using the Plan Finder at Medicare.gov even before AEP opens. It is worth comparing your current plan against others on premium, drug costs, providers and estimated total cost.

CMS advises that 2027 plan comparisons can begin on October 1, 2026.

⑤ Check the extra benefits too — dental, vision, hearing

Depending on the plan, Medicare Advantage can include extra benefits such as dental, vision, hearing and transportation.

But a plan is not automatically a good one just because it has extras. Check whether they are benefits you would actually use, and what the annual limits and conditions attached to them are.

Remember December 7, 2026

AEP runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026. If you submit a change by December 7, your new coverage generally begins on January 1, 2027.

That said, if your current plan is being discontinued in your service area, or you have a qualifying life event, a separate enrollment period or a special enrollment period may apply instead.

The best preparation is simply checking early

In September and October, read your ANOC, put together a list of the medications you take, and check your doctors and hospital network.

Medicare does not keep the same premium and the same benefits year after year. Several things are changing again in 2027 — the Part D structure and drug price negotiation among them — so it is important to confirm that your current plan is still the best fit for you.

AEP is not simply a period for renewing your insurance. It is an important opportunity to re-examine your plan against your health, your medications, how you actually use providers, and what you actually pay.