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Your 2027 Medicare Drug Plan: What's Changing and What to Do

If you have Original Medicare with a standalone Part D prescription drug plan (often called a PDP), 2027 brings more change than usual. This is common for people who pair a Medicare Supplement with a separate drug plan.

Medicare's Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7. Changes you make take effect January 1, 2027. Here is what is different this year and what to do about it.

This article is about standalone drug plans. If your drug coverage is part of a Medicare Advantage plan, your plan's changes will be different.

1. The $0 premium drug plan is going away

In 2027, no standalone drug plan will have a $0 monthly premium, unless you receive Extra Help. For the past two years, a temporary federal program held standalone drug plan premiums down. That program ends December 31, 2026.

Nationally, more than 1 in 4 people in standalone drug plans paid $0 a month in 2026. If that was you, you will have a monthly premium starting in January, possibly for the first time.

Step 1: Find your Annual Notice of Change

Your plan mailed an Annual Notice of Change in September. It lists your 2027 premium, deductible, and drug list changes. If you cannot find it, call the member number on your plan ID card and ask for another copy.

Read any other letter from your plan too. Fewer drug plans are being offered in 2027. If your plan is ending or being combined with another, the letter tells you whether you will be moved automatically or need to choose a new plan.

Step 2: Watch for a bill and pay it

If you have never paid a premium, you probably have no payment method on file. Expect a bill or coupon book in December or January. Open every piece of mail from your plan.

You can usually pay by:

  • Automatic draft from a bank account
  • Deduction from your Social Security check
  • Check, card, or the plan's website each month

Social Security deduction can take up to three months to start. If you choose it and a bill still arrives, contact your plan before assuming it is paid.

What happens if you don't pay

Your plan cannot drop you the first time you miss a payment. It must send a written notice and give you a grace period of at least two months. If the balance is still unpaid when the grace period ends, the plan can end your coverage.

Losing coverage this way is hard to undo:

  • You may be without drug coverage for the rest of the year. Being dropped for nonpayment does not give you a special chance to enroll somewhere else. In most cases you wait until the next Open Enrollment, with coverage starting January 1, 2028.
  • You may owe a late enrollment penalty. Going 63 days or more without creditable drug coverage adds a penalty to your premium for as long as you have Part D.
  • You may still owe the unpaid premiums.

If a serious event such as a hospital stay kept you from paying, you can ask the plan to reinstate you for "good cause." You must ask within 60 days of losing coverage and pay everything owed. These requests are approved only in rare cases.

Can you fix it in January?

Usually not. This surprises people every year. After December 7, most people in a standalone drug plan are locked in for 2027. The January through March enrollment period you may have heard about is only for people in Medicare Advantage plans.

There are exceptions. You may be able to change plans after December 7 if you:

  • Receive Extra Help or have Medicaid
  • Move out of your plan's service area
  • Lose other creditable drug coverage
  • Have a plan that is leaving your area
  • Have a 5-star rated drug plan available where you live

Call 1-800-MEDICARE to ask whether you qualify. The safest plan is to review your coverage now and make any change by December 7.

2. Why your agent may not be able to help, and where to look instead

Most insurance companies that offer standalone drug plans no longer work with independent agents on those plans. In most cases, agents can no longer compare, quote, or enroll you in a standalone drug plan the way we once did.

We know this is frustrating. Many of you have counted on us for a drug plan review every fall. We are still here for your Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage questions, and we are glad to point you to the right place. The drug plan comparison itself is now something you will do directly with Medicare.

What is changing in what you pay at the pharmacy

  2026 2027
Highest deductible a plan can charge $615 $700
Yearly cap on your out-of-pocket costs for covered drugs $2,100 $2,400

Those are Medicare's limits. Each plan sets its own details inside them, and those details can change every year:

  • Deductible. Some plans waive the deductible on lower tiers. Others apply it to more tiers than they did last year.
  • Tiers. A drug can move to a higher tier, which usually means a higher cost.
  • Drug list. A plan can add or remove drugs from its covered list.
  • Pharmacies. Your pharmacy may be "preferred" with one plan and cost more with another.

The plan with the lowest premium is often not the plan with the lowest total cost. The only way to know is to run your own drug list.

How to see your 2027 costs on Medicare.gov

  1. Type www.Medicare.gov into your browser's address bar. Do not search for it and click a result.
  2. Select "Find health & drug plans."
  3. Log in to your Medicare account or create one. Your drug list is saved, and the tool can show the plan you have now.
  4. Enter your ZIP code and choose drug plan (Part D).
  5. Add each prescription with its exact dose and how often you fill it.
  6. Choose the pharmacies you use.
  7. Make sure you are viewing 2027 plans. Sort by "lowest drug + premium cost."
  8. Open the plan details. Look at the yearly total, the deductible, and what you would pay month by month.

Have your red, white, and blue Medicare card and your prescription bottles in front of you before you start.

Use only Medicare.gov

Medicare.gov is the only official government website for comparing and enrolling in Medicare plans. Many other sites look official and use the word "Medicare" in their names. They are owned by private companies, often marketing or lead-generation firms.

When you enter your name and phone number on one of those sites, you may be giving permission for sales calls, sometimes from more than one company.

To protect yourself:

  • Check the address. The real site ends in .gov.
  • Do not enter your phone number or Medicare number on any site that is not Medicare.gov or your own plan's website.
  • Read the fine print before you click "submit" or "get my quote." That is where consent to be called is usually found.
  • Know that Medicare will not call you out of the blue to sell you a plan or ask for your Medicare number.
  • Hang up on calls you did not ask for. Report suspicious calls to 1-800-MEDICARE.
  • Add your number to the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222.

3. How to make a change if you need one

If your comparison shows another plan fits you better, enroll between October 15 and December 7.

Online at Medicare.gov

This is the most direct way. From your comparison results, select "Enroll" beside the plan you chose. You will need:

  • Your Medicare number
  • Your Part A and Part B start dates, both printed on your Medicare card
  • How you want to pay the premium

Print or write down your confirmation number when you finish.

By phone at 1-800-MEDICARE

If you are not comfortable on a computer, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048. The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Medicare representative can run the comparison with your drug list and enroll you over the phone. Have your Medicare card and your prescription list ready. Wait times grow in late November and early December, so call early.

Three things to know before you switch

  • Do not cancel your old drug plan yourself. Enrolling in the new plan ends the old one automatically on December 31. Canceling first could leave you without coverage.
  • Your new plan starts January 1, 2027. Look for a welcome letter and ID card in the mail. Set up your premium payment right away.
  • You can change your mind until December 7. The last choice you make by that date is the one that counts.

Free help is available

If drug costs are a strain, you may qualify for Extra Help, a federal program that lowers premiums, deductibles, and copays. Apply at ssa.gov/extrahelp or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program offers free, unbiased Medicare counseling. In Texas, call HICAP at 1-800-252-9240. In Oklahoma, call 1-800-763-2828.

Your October checklist

  • Find your Annual Notice of Change and note your 2027 premium
  • Make a current list of your prescriptions and doses
  • Compare 2027 plans at www.Medicare.gov, or call 1-800-MEDICARE
  • Enroll in a new plan by December 7 if you need one
  • Set up your premium payment before January
  • Open every piece of mail from your drug plan

Questions about your Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage coverage? Call Janico Benefits at 940-213-1916.

This article is for general education only. It does not describe or recommend any specific plan. Plan premiums, deductibles, drug lists, and pharmacy networks vary by plan and by area. Janico Benefits, LLC is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 8 organizations which offer 78 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, or 1-800-MEDICARE  to get information on all of your options.

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