For 2027, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projects the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium will fall from $14.37 to $12.00, the number of plans will hold roughly steady at about 5,532 nationwide, and the Part D out-of-pocket cap will rise from $2,100 to $2,400. The bigger changes are not in the averages. They are in which plans still cover your county, which doctors are still in network, and what the drug coverage inside your plan now costs. Open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, and anything you pick in that window starts January 1, 2027.
The 2027 numbers CMS has published
CMS released its 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D projections on September 28, 2026, and published the plan landscape in time for the October 15 start of open enrollment.
| Figure | 2026 | 2027 | Change |
|---|
| Average Medicare Advantage monthly premium (all plans) | $14.37 | $12.00 | Down $2.37 |
| Average Part D premium inside an Advantage plan | $11.32 | $7.00 | Down $4.32, about 38% |
| Average stand-alone Part D premium | $35.09 | $36.00 | Up less than $1 |
| Medicare Advantage plans offered nationwide | 5,553 | About 5,532 | Down about 21 |
| Part D annual deductible (defined standard) | $615 | $700 | Up $85 |
| Part D out-of-pocket cap | $2,100 | $2,400 | Up $300 |
| Part D base beneficiary premium | $38.99 | $41.33 | Up $2.34 |
| Projected Medicare Advantage enrollment | Not stated | 34 million, about 47.4% of Medicare | Not applicable |
Sources: CMS, "Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Programs Expected to Remain Stable in 2027" (September 28, 2026); CY2027 Rate Announcement (April 6, 2026); CMS Part D bid and base beneficiary premium memo (July 28, 2026).
CMS also says more than 99% of people with Medicare will have access to at least one Medicare Advantage plan for 2027, and 97% will have access to 10 or more. Those are national access figures. They say nothing about whether the specific plan you are in today still exists where you live.
Premiums: the average is down, individual bills are not
The $12.00 average premium is a weighted average across every Medicare Advantage plan, including plans with drug coverage and special needs plans. It is pulled down by the large number of plans that charge $0 in premium on top of Part B. It is not a prediction about your plan.
Two things sit underneath the average and can move your actual cost in the opposite direction.
The Part D side is where the increases are. CMS ended its Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration on December 31, 2026, rather than running it through 2027. Under that demonstration, participating plans agreed to cap how much they raised a member's premium year over year, which was a $50 ceiling in 2026. There is no such cap for 2027. Stand-alone drug plan premiums for 2027 were set without that support.
The Part D base beneficiary premium rises from $38.99 to $41.33 for 2027. That is not anyone's actual plan premium. It matters only if you owe a Part D late enrollment penalty, which is 1% of it for each full month you went without creditable drug coverage.
Stand-alone drug plans thinned out. KFF counted 316 stand-alone Part D plans for 2027, down from 360 in 2026, with the average beneficiary having 9 to choose from instead of 11. KFF also found no $0 premium stand-alone drug plans for 2027 for people who are not in Extra Help, which affects roughly 4 million people who paid no premium in 2026. Some branded national plans are raising premiums by more than $50 a month in every state. We cover one of those in detail in AARP Medicare drug plan premiums for 2027.
On the Medicare Advantage side, KFF counts 28 Medicare Advantage drug plan options for the average beneficiary in 2027, down from 32 in 2026. Fewer options and a lower average premium are both true at once.
Benefits: stable on paper, with new rules on how they are delivered
CMS says the extra benefits people shop for, including hearing, dental and vision, are expected to remain stable for 2027. Several rules about how plans run those benefits did change, through the CY2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule that CMS published on April 2, 2026.
What was added for 2027:
- Plans offering Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill must post their eligibility criteria publicly and verify that a member actually qualifies. Self-attestation alone is no longer enough.
- Plans that deliver benefits through a debit card must link the card to real-time verification at the point of sale, limit the card to the plan year, give members instructions and support for using it, and offer another way to get reimbursed when the card does not work.
What was removed for 2027:
- The requirement that plans mail a mid-year notice of unused supplemental benefits between June 30 and July 31 was rescinded before it ever took effect. If you have a flex card or an allowance, nothing will arrive in July to remind you about the balance. Track it yourself.
- Several marketing restrictions were dropped. Plans and agents no longer have to wait between an educational event and a marketing event, scope of appointment forms can be collected at educational events, and the ban on superlatives such as "best" in marketing materials is gone. State Health Insurance Assistance Programs were also removed from the list of resources an agent's disclaimer must name. You can still reach yours for free, unbiased help: the number is in your "Medicare & You" handbook and at medicare.gov.
Prior authorization has a separate 2027 date. Under CMS's interoperability and prior authorization rule, Medicare Advantage plans have had to decide expedited requests within 72 hours and standard requests within 7 calendar days since January 1, 2026. By January 1, 2027, they must also have four programming interfaces live, including one for prior authorization, so that providers and members can see request status electronically. If a request is denied, our guide to a denied Medicare Advantage prior authorization walks through the appeal.
Networks and service areas: the change most likely to affect you
A plan can stay on the market, keep its premium flat, and still stop covering your county or drop your hospital. Those are the 2027 changes with the sharpest edges, and they are the ones our deep pages cover.
One network rule did not change. CMS proposed making it easier to switch plans mid-year when your provider leaves the network, by dropping the requirement that CMS or the plan first find the network change "significant." CMS did not finalize that proposal. For 2027, a special enrollment period for a provider termination still depends on that significance finding. If your hospital or specialist leaving the network matters to you, the practical consequence is that December 7 is your reliable window, not a date later in the year.
What CMS has not published for 2027
Three figures that shape your total Medicare cost are not out yet, as of October 26, 2026. CMS usually publishes them in mid-November.
| Figure | Status | Current (2026) |
|---|
| Part B standard monthly premium | Not published for 2027 | $202.90 |
| Part B annual deductible | Not published for 2027 | $283 |
| Part A deductible per benefit period | Not published for 2027 | $1,736 |
| Part B income-related monthly adjustment (IRMAA) brackets | Not published for 2027 | First tier starts above $109,000 single, $218,000 joint |
Treat any firm 2027 Part B premium quoted today as a projection, not a fact. The confident numbers circulating come from the Medicare Trustees Report, which is a forecast, not the premium. We track the published figure in the 2027 Part B premium.
The Medicare Savings Program and Extra Help resource limits for 2027 are also still pending. The 2027 Extra Help copays are published: $5.80 for a generic and $14.40 for a brand drug for full-subsidy enrollees between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level, and $1.65 and $5.00 for full-benefit dual enrollees at or below 100%. We track the resource limits in Extra Help resource limits for 2027.
The December 7 deadline and what comes after it
| Window | Dates | Who it is for | When coverage starts |
|---|
| Open enrollment (annual enrollment period) | October 15 to December 7, 2026 | Anyone with Medicare | January 1, 2027 |
| Medicare Advantage open enrollment | January 1 to March 31, 2027 | Only people already in a Medicare Advantage plan | First of the month after the plan gets your request |
| Non-renewal special enrollment period | December 8, 2026 to the last day of February 2027 | People whose plan's contract is not renewed for 2027 | The month after you enroll, so a February signup starts March 1 |
| 5-star special enrollment period | December 8, 2026 to November 30, 2027 | Anyone who has a 5-star plan available in their area, once per year | First of the month after the plan gets your request |
Two things about December 7 are worth being precise about.
Doing nothing is a decision. If your plan still exists in your county for 2027, you stay in it automatically, at its 2027 premium, with its 2027 network, cost sharing and drug list. The Annual Notice of Change your plan mailed in September is the document that spells out what is different. It is the one piece of mail in the pile that is actually worth reading.
December 7 is not the only deadline, but it is the widest one. The January 1 to March 31 window only works if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, and it allows one change. Moving from Original Medicare into a Medicare Advantage plan is an October 15 to December 7 move. And leaving Medicare Advantage for Original Medicare plus a Medigap policy can run into medical underwriting outside your one-time Medigap open enrollment, depending on your state. That tradeoff is in Medicare Advantage versus Medigap.
Five checks before December 7
- Read the Annual Notice of Change. Look at four lines: the monthly premium, the in-network out-of-pocket maximum, the primary care and specialist copays, and the drug tier your prescriptions sit in.
- Confirm your plan still covers your county. A service area reduction and a plan closure look different in the mail and have different deadlines. If a letter says your plan is ending, you have until the last day of February, not December 7.
- Run your actual drug list through Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare. A plan's premium tells you very little once the $700 deductible and your specific drug tiers are in the math.
- Call your doctors and hospital. Plan directories are often out of date. Ask which 2027 plans they are contracted with, not which ones they take today.
- Check whether you qualify for help paying. Extra Help lowers Part D costs to the copays listed above, and a Medicare Savings Program can pay your Part B premium. Both are decided on income and resources, not on which plan you pick.
For a checklist of what makes a plan a good fit beyond price, see the Medicare Advantage plan features worth comparing. If you have already decided to move, how to switch Medicare Advantage plans covers the mechanics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Medicare Advantage premiums going up in 2027?
On average, no. CMS projects the average monthly Medicare Advantage premium will fall from $14.37 in 2026 to $12.00 in 2027. That is an average across more than 5,500 plans. Individual plans can raise premiums, raise copays, raise the out-of-pocket maximum, or narrow the network while the national average falls. Your Annual Notice of Change has your plan's actual 2027 numbers.
What happens if I do nothing by December 7?
If your plan is still offered in your county for 2027, you are automatically enrolled in it again at its 2027 terms. If your plan is leaving your county or closing, you are not automatically moved to another private plan. You fall back to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027, with no drug coverage unless you pick a Part D plan, and you have a special enrollment period that runs from December 8 through the last day of February.
Is the 2027 Part B premium announced?
Not as of October 26, 2026. CMS typically publishes the next year's Part A and Part B premiums, deductibles and IRMAA brackets in mid-November. The 2026 standard Part B premium of $202.90 a month applies through December 31, 2026. Any 2027 Part B figure circulating now is a projection.
Does the $2,400 Part D out-of-pocket cap apply inside a Medicare Advantage plan?
Yes. The cap applies to covered Part D drugs whether your drug coverage comes from a stand-alone plan or from a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered Part D drugs reaches $2,400 in 2027, you pay $0 for those drugs for the rest of the year. Premiums do not count toward the cap, and the cap is separate from your plan's medical out-of-pocket maximum.
Can I switch Medicare Advantage plans after December 7?
Sometimes. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, the Medicare Advantage open enrollment period from January 1 to March 31, 2027 lets you make one switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare. If your plan was not renewed, you have until the last day of February. A 5-star plan special enrollment period is available once a year if a 5-star plan is sold in your area. Otherwise you generally wait until the next October.
Will my dental, vision and hearing benefits change in 2027?
CMS expects those supplemental benefits to remain stable across the market for 2027, but stability across the market does not mean stability in your plan. Check the Annual Notice of Change for the allowance amounts and what they cover. One rule did change: plans no longer have to send a mid-year notice listing benefits you have not used, so nothing will arrive in July 2027 to remind you about an unused dental or flex card balance.
How do I find out if my plan is leaving my county?
Plans that are not renewing or reducing their service area must mail a notice, generally by the end of September or early October. Look for a letter that uses the words "non-renewal" or says your plan "will no longer be offered" where you live. You can also enter your ZIP code at medicare.gov/plan-compare and check whether your plan appears in the 2027 list. Our county-by-county breakdown is in Medicare Advantage plans pulling out of counties for 2027.
Sources
- CMS, "Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Programs Expected to Remain Stable in 2027," September 28, 2026
- CMS, 2027 Rate Announcement, April 6, 2026
- CMS, Contract Year 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule, April 2, 2026
- CMS, Part D national average monthly bid amount and base beneficiary premium, July 28, 2026
- CMS, Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes final rule (CMS-0057-F)
- KFF, Medicare Part D stand-alone drug plan premiums for 2027, October 2, 2026
- medicare.gov, joining a health or drug plan; medicare.gov/plan-compare
This article is general information, not advice about a specific plan. Eligibility and costs are determined by CMS and by each plan, and BenefitsUSA is not affiliated with any government agency or insurance company.
