Medicare Open Enrollment Closes Dec. 7. After That, Part D Plans Are Locked
Medicare open enrollment ends Dec. 7, and most 2027 costs are set: a $2,400 Part D cap, a $700 deductible and a 3.6% COLA. For a 72-year-old with one costly drug, the bill rises $300, her check nets about $76…
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Medicare open enrollment closes Dec. 7, 30 days from today, and most of what 2027 will cost you is already on paper: a $2,400 Part D out-of-pocket cap, a $700 deductible and a 3.6% Social Security raise. The one big number still missing is the 2027 Part B premium, which the Medicare Trustees estimate at $209.50.
Consider a 72-year-old single retiree on Original Medicare with a standalone Part D plan: $2,300 a month from Social Security, $1,000 a month drawn from a $280,000 traditional IRA, and one brand-name drug with a negotiated price of about $1,500 a month. She hit the Part D cap in 2026.
The direct answer: her drug bill rises $300 in 2027 under the new cap, her check nets about $76 more a month after Part B if the estimate holds, and a plan comparison is worth $408 a year in her case. She should run it in Medicare’s Plan Finder and switch before Dec. 7 if the cheaper plan covers her drug, because after the deadline her 2027 drug plan is locked.
What is already set for 2027, and what is not
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services set the 2027 Part D standard benefit in April: a $700 deductible, up $85 from $615, and a $2,400 cap on out-of-pocket drug spending, up $300 (14.3%) from $2,100. After the cap, covered drugs cost you $0 for the rest of the year. The Social Security Administration set the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment at 3.6%, starting with January benefits. Part B was $202.90 in 2026; the Trustees’ $209.50 for 2027 is a projection, and every Part B figure below depends on it.
Her drug bill under the 2027 cap
Her drug costs $18,000 a year. Under the standard benefit, January 2027 costs her the $700 deductible plus 25% of the remaining $800, or $900. February through April add $375 each (25% of $1,500), bringing her to $2,025. May pushes her past $2,400, so she hits the cap in month 5 and pays nothing for the drug after that, the same month she reached the $2,100 cap in 2026.
So the cap costs her $300 more than in 2026. Without a cap, standard cost-sharing on $18,000 would be the $700 deductible plus 25% of $17,300, or $5,025, so the cap saves her $2,625.
If paying $2,400 in the first 5 months strains your cash flow, every Part D plan offers the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which bills those costs in installments of about $200 a month. It changes timing only; the total stays $2,400.
What her Social Security raise keeps
A 3.6% COLA lifts her $2,300 benefit to $2,382.80, a raise of $82.80 a month. Part B comes out of the check, and at the $209.50 estimate it takes $6.60 more than in 2026, so her deposit goes from $2,097.10 to about $2,173.30: $76.20 a month, $914.40 a year. Subtract the $300 higher drug cap and she keeps about $614.40 of the year’s raise.
The plan comparison worth $408
Because she will reach the cap under any plan that covers her drug at the standard benefit, the premium is what separates those plans. Take two example 2027 plans (illustrations, not quotes) that both cover it: $52 a month and $18 a month.
Option 1: switch to the $18 plan. Premiums of $216 a year plus the $2,400 cap total $2,616. That is $408 less than the costlier plan, equal to 3.4% of her yearly IRA draw. It fits you if your drug is on the cheaper plan’s formulary and your pharmacy is in its network.
Option 2: stay in the $52 plan. Premiums of $624 plus the $2,400 cap total $3,024. Staying makes sense only if the cheaper plan drops her drug, moves it to a costlier tier, or excludes her pharmacy.
Option 3: drop Part D to save the premium. She would pay the full $1,500 a month for the drug, and after 63 days without creditable coverage a penalty of 1% of the base premium per uncovered month attaches for as long as she has Part D: $9.90 a month ($118.80 a year) after 24 uncovered months at the 2027 base. On an $18,000-a-year drug this loses on every line.
Option 1 is the call. The one condition that flips it: if her drug or pharmacy is missing from the cheaper plan, Option 2 wins.
Run the numbers on your own plan
- Add up your drugs’ yearly negotiated prices (her case: $1,500 times 12, or $18,000).
- Work the standard benefit month by month until you reach $2,400. First month: deductible + 0.25 × (monthly price minus deductible), or $700 + 0.25 × $800 = $900 for her. Each later month adds 25% of the price.
- If you reach the cap, compare plans on premium × 12 + $2,400. If you do not, the deductible and tier copays decide it, and Plan Finder’s total yearly cost does that work for you.
- Subtract the cheaper total from your current plan’s total. Her gap: $3,024 minus $2,616, or $408.
What happens after Dec. 7
The plan must receive your request by Dec. 7, and coverage starts Jan. 1, 25 days later. The Jan. 1 to Mar. 31 window that follows is only for people already in Medicare Advantage, who can switch MA plans or return to Original Medicare and add Part D. Outside a special enrollment period for a move or similar life event, someone in Original Medicare with a standalone Part D plan is stuck with what she has on Dec. 7.
Her 30-day checklist: read the Annual Notice of Change your plan mailed this fall; confirm your drug is still covered and at what tier; check that your pharmacy stays in network; enter your actual drugs in Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare and sort by total yearly cost; and decide whether you want the $200-a-month installment billing.
Where this is weak
The $76.20 monthly gain rests on a Part B estimate; if the announced premium comes in above $209.50, the gain shrinks dollar for dollar. The $52 and $18 premiums are examples, real premiums vary by plan and state, and the $408 holds only if both plans cover her drug at the standard benefit. Plans may charge less than the $700 deductible or use flat copays, so your own month to reach the cap may differ from month 5.
The advice fits worst if you take no expensive drug. Someone who never reaches the $2,400 cap can lose by chasing a low premium into a plan with the full $700 deductible, and should weight copays and the deductible over premium. A reader in Medicare Advantage does have a second chance through Mar. 31; the no-do-over warning is for Original Medicare with standalone Part D.
The bottom line
She should run her drug through Plan Finder this month and switch if a plan that covers it comes in cheaper, because for her the premium gap is $408 a year with the $2,400 cap fixed. If the cheaper plan drops her drug or her pharmacy, she stays put. After Dec. 7, her drug plan is set for 2027 unless a move or another life event opens a special enrollment period.
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