If your plan sent you a notice about changes for 2027, don’t rush into a different plan, and don’t ignore it either. Work through these seven things first. You have from October 15 to December 7, 2026 to make a change for January 1.
1. Read your Annual Notice of Change
Your plan must send this by the end of September. It lists what will be different in 2027: the premium, the deductible, copays and coinsurance, drug coverage and extra benefits. Everything else on this list starts from that document.
2. Find out whether your plan is ending
Sometimes a plan isn’t changing. It’s being discontinued. If your Medicare plan won’t be offered in 2027, you have extra time: a Special Enrollment Period that runs from December 8 through the last day of February.
Don’t rely on that extra time for your January coverage, though. If you haven’t chosen a new plan by the end of December, you’ll start the year in Original Medicare and will need to arrange drug coverage separately.
3. Check your doctors and hospitals
Networks change every year. If keeping a particular primary care doctor, specialist or hospital system matters to you, confirm that each one will be in the plan’s network for 2027. What was true in 2026 isn’t proof.
4. Review every prescription
Look up each medication on the plan’s 2027 drug list. Check whether it’s still covered, which tier it’s on, and what it costs at the pharmacy you use. For someone taking several medications, a tier change on one or two can add up to hundreds of dollars over the year.
5. Look past the monthly premium
A low premium says little about what you’ll spend. Add the deductible, the copays for specialists and hospital stays, your expected drug costs, and the plan’s maximum out-of-pocket limit. That last number is what a bad year would cost you.
6. Recheck the extra benefits
Dental, vision, hearing and fitness benefits are the items most likely to be trimmed. If one of them is the reason you chose the plan, make sure it’s still there and still worth what it was.
7. Ask whether the plan still fits your life
Your plan isn’t the only thing that changes. A new diagnosis, a new medication, a different doctor, a move, or more time spent traveling can all make last year’s plan the wrong one for next year.
If you’re thinking about leaving Medicare Advantage
Connecticut residents have an option most Americans don’t. Medicare Supplement policies here are guaranteed issue all year, so you can return to Original Medicare and buy a supplement without answering health questions.
Get a second opinion
The Jones Group reviews Medicare coverage for beneficiaries across Connecticut. If your Medicare plan is changing, or you’d like to know whether your current coverage still makes sense, call (860) 529-3788 to schedule a 2027 plan review.
