Key Takeaways
- Avoid Medicare Open Enrollment mistakes: Review your current plan, compare 2027 options, and check your doctors and prescriptions.
- Meet the deadline: Make changes from October 15 through December 7, 2026, for coverage starting January 1, 2027.
- Read your Annual Notice of Change: Check next year’s costs, benefits, and drug coverage before you keep or switch plans.
- Compare total drug costs: The standard 2027 Part D benefit has a $700 deductible and a $2,400 out-of-pocket threshold for covered drugs.
Medicare Open Enrollment mistakes can make next year’s coverage an expensive surprise. The five to avoid are missing the deadline, skipping your plan review, overlooking new options, ignoring drug costs, and waiting too long to ask for help.
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026, for coverage changes that take effect January 1, 2027.
Many people skip the comparison. A KFF analysis found that 69% of Medicare beneficiaries did not compare their coverage with other available options during the 2021 enrollment period. Your doctors, prescriptions, and plan costs can change from one year to the next.
At Absolute Best Insurance, we help clients in Florida and Lancaster, Pennsylvania compare their 2027 options against the care they use and the costs they expect. Our agents can help you spot changes before you choose a plan.
1. Missing the Enrollment Deadline
Your plan must receive your enrollment request by December 7 for a change to take effect January 1, 2027. Put the deadline on your calendar and leave time to compare plans before you submit a request.
Missing AEP does not automatically cancel the Medicare coverage you already have. It can leave you in a plan that costs more or no longer covers your care as well as you expected. If your plan will end after 2026, read its nonrenewal notice and choose coverage for 2027. Medicare explains what to do when a plan leaves the program.
If you use specialists near Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach, start that review early enough to confirm each provider’s 2027 network status.
2. Not Reviewing Your Current Coverage
Your plan sends an Annual Notice of Change each fall. Read it for changes to premiums, benefits, and other coverage details that begin in January. If you have not received it, contact your plan. Medicare describes what the notice contains.
One of the most common Medicare Open Enrollment mistakes is assuming that the plan you liked this year will work the same way next year. Check your doctors, hospitals, prescriptions, pharmacy, deductible, and expected yearly costs.
A resident near Kings Point Plaza in Tamarac may use different doctors and facilities than someone near Jog Road in Greenacres. Across Florida, compare the providers you use with the plans available at your home ZIP code.
3. Overlooking New Plan Options or Benefits
Compare your current plan with the 2027 options where you live. Look beyond the monthly premium. A lower premium can come with higher costs when you visit a specialist, fill a prescription, or receive hospital care.
If you live near Tradition in Port St. Lucie, check the doctors and facilities you use there. In Vero Beach, check your specialists and hospital access before changing plans. Lancaster residents in Pennsylvania should make the same checks for their local doctors and Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital.
You can also move from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare during this enrollment period. If you want a Medigap policy with Original Medicare, check your right to buy one before you change coverage. The six-month Medigap enrollment window does not repeat every fall.
4. Not Checking Prescription Drug Coverage
Check every medication’s 2027 coverage, tier, copay, and pharmacy price. Include the dosage and how often you refill it. A plan that covers your medication this year can change its drug list or your costs next year.
For 2027, the standard Part D benefit has a $700 deductible and a $2,400 annual out-of-pocket threshold for covered drugs. Your plan can have a lower deductible, so compare its actual terms rather than assuming those figures are what you will pay. CMS lists the 2027 benefit figures.
If you live in Micco or Sebastian, include the pharmacies you use along U.S. 1 when comparing plans. A preferred pharmacy can change what you pay for the same prescription.
5. Waiting Too Long to Ask for Help
You do not have to compare every detail alone. Bring your Annual Notice of Change, Medicare card, medication list, preferred pharmacy, and the names of your doctors to a plan review.
Absolute Best Insurance can help you compare the plans we offer against the care you use and the costs you expect. Our agents have served clients for over 20 years, and our plan review comes at no additional charge.
Avoid these Medicare Open Enrollment mistakes before AEP begins. Contact Absolute Best Insurance to review your 2027 options while you have time to make a clear choice.
“Helping You Protect Your Health and Wealth”
Let’s make sure you’re covered the way you should be in 2027. We’ll help you find a plan that fits your life, now and in the future. Click here or call our team for a free, no-obligation quote.
- Tamarac: (954) 642-2101
- Deerfield Beach: (754) 778-8700
- Greenacres & Vero Beach: (561) 420-0280
- Port St. Lucie: (772) 828-2840
- Sebastian: (772) 321-0813
- Winter Park: (407) 970-8623
- Lancaster, PA: (717) 736-3388