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    Medicare Annual Notice of Change: What to Check

    Medicare Advantage and Part D plans must mail your 2027 Annual Notice of Change by September 30, 2026. Here are the five items worth reading closely.

    4 min read · 6 steps · Checked August 2026

    1. Step 1. Set the envelope aside in one place

      When the notice arrives in September, put it somewhere you will find it, such as the drawer where you keep your Medicare card. Plans must mail it by September 30, 2026. If nothing arrives by early October, call the plan number on your member card and ask for it.

    2. Step 2. Write down your prescriptions first

      Before you read the notice, list every medicine you take, with the dose. You cannot check a drug list against your memory. Keep this list. You will use it again if you compare plans.

    3. Step 3. Find your drugs on the 2027 formulary

      Look up each medicine in the plan’s drug list for 2027. Check whether it is still covered and what tier it sits on. A drug that moves to a higher tier still counts as covered, but you pay more for it.

      Warning

      A drug dropped from the formulary is the change that surprises people most often at the pharmacy counter in January. Check every prescription, not only the expensive ones.

    4. Step 4. Check the premium, deductible, and copays

      Compare this year’s numbers with next year’s, which the notice prints side by side. Add up what you actually used this year at the new prices. A lower premium with higher copays can cost more overall.

    5. Step 5. Confirm your doctors and pharmacy are still in network

      On a Medicare Advantage plan, check that your primary doctor, any specialist you see, and your preferred hospital are still listed for 2027. Also check your pharmacy. Then call the doctor’s office to confirm, because printed directories go out of date.

    6. Step 6. Compare plans during Open Enrollment if something no longer fits

      Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, and changes begin January 1, 2027. Use medicare.gov/plan-compare with your drug list in hand, or call 1-800-MEDICARE. For free counseling with no sales pitch, ask for your state’s SHIP program.

      Quick Tip

      Quick Tip: Anyone who phones you offering to "review your Medicare" and asks for your Medicare number is not from Medicare. Medicare does not cold-call. Hang up and use the number on your own card.

    If you have a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D drug plan, an envelope arrives every fall. Inside is the Annual Notice of Change, often shortened to ANOC. Plans must mail it by September 30, 2026, covering the plan year that starts January 1, 2027.

    The ANOC is a plain list of what your plan is changing. It is easy to set aside because it looks like paperwork. It is worth twenty minutes, because the changes take effect whether you read it or not.

    Reading it early matters for one reason: Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. That window is when you can switch plans. If you find a change you cannot live with, you have somewhere to go with that information. After December 7, most people are held to the plan they have.

    Five things carry the most weight. First, the monthly premium. Second, the deductible and copays, including what you pay to see a specialist. Third, the drug list, called the formulary, which is where your prescriptions either stay covered or do not. Fourth, the pharmacy network, since a plan can drop a pharmacy you walk to. Fifth, the doctor and hospital network on a Medicare Advantage plan.

    You do not have to decide anything alone. Every state has a State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP, that gives free one-on-one Medicare counseling with no sales involved. Medicare's own comparison tool at medicare.gov/plan-compare will show you what else is offered in your ZIP code, and 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is staffed around the clock.

    (Sources: Medicare.gov open enrollment page; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — cms.gov)

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