Your Parent’s Annual Notice of Change: A 7-Step Medicare Plan Review

Every fall, your parent’s Medicare plan sends a letter called the Annual Notice of Change, and it usually ends up in a pile. This year, open it. Medicare’s Open Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and whatever plan your parent has on December 7 is their coverage starting January 1, 2027. This page is the step-by-step review. For the full rules on what can and can’t change, read our Medicare Open Enrollment guide.

What’s different for 2027

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (from $2,100), and no Part D plan can have a deductible over $700 (up from $615). Source: Medicare.gov
• A federal program that held down premiums for standalone Part D plans in 2025 and 2026 ends after this year, so standalone drug plan premiums may go up. Your parent’s Annual Notice of Change shows their actual 2027 premium. Source: CMS
• Plans can also change their deductibles, drug lists, pharmacies and doctor networks every year, whether or not your parent does anything.

What should I actually check for my parent?

Work through these in order — they’re the ones most likely to change year to year and most likely to actually matter to your parent’s health and budget.

1. Read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). Every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan is required to mail this by September 30. It spells out exactly what’s changing for 2027: premium, deductible, copays, drug formulary, and provider network. If the letter got tossed, your parent’s plan’s member services line can resend it, or you can find plan details at Medicare.gov’s plan finder.

2. Confirm your parent’s doctors are still in-network. Provider networks shift more often than people expect, especially with Medicare Advantage plans. Losing an in-network primary care doctor or specialist mid-treatment is one of the most disruptive things that can happen from an unreviewed renewal.

3. Check the drug formulary against what your parent actually takes. A plan can move a medication to a higher cost tier, add new prior-authorization requirements, or drop it from the formulary entirely — any of which can turn a $10 prescription into a $150 one without your parent realizing why until the pharmacy counter.

4. Look at the out-of-pocket drug cap. For 2027, Part D’s out-of-pocket cap for covered drugs is $2,400. If your parent takes expensive brand-name drugs, the cap and the plan’s deductible matter more than the monthly premium.

5. Compare the total picture, not just the premium. A lower monthly premium with a higher deductible, narrower network, or worse drug tier placement can cost more overall for someone with regular doctor visits and prescriptions. This is where free, unbiased help (below) is worth using rather than guessing.

Where to get free, unbiased help comparing plans

You don’t have to do this plan-by-plan comparison yourselves, and you shouldn’t rely on a call from an insurance agent who’s only paid to sell certain plans. Illinois runs a free counseling program for exactly this:

Illinois SHIP (Senior Health Insurance Program) — free, one-on-one counseling for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers, staffed by trained volunteers who don’t sell insurance and aren’t affiliated with any plan. They can sit down with your parent’s actual medications and doctors and tell you honestly whether switching makes sense.

• Illinois SHIP Senior HelpLine: 1-800-252-8966 (711 TRS)
• Illinois SHIP website: ilaging.illinois.gov/ship.html. SHIP also posts charts of the 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D plans sold in Illinois there.
• Counseling is available by phone or in person, and many local senior centers in the Northwest Suburbs host SHIP counselors on a rotating schedule — ask your nearest senior center or Area Agency on Aging (AgeOptions serves suburban Cook County) about upcoming appointment times.

Because SHIP counselors aren’t selling anything, they’re a genuinely different conversation than what you’d get from a plan’s own call center or a commission-based broker.

The 7-step checklist

1. 1Locate and read the Annual Notice of Change letter (or call the plan to request a copy)
2. 2List every doctor and specialist your parent currently sees and confirm each is still in-network for 2027
3. 3List every prescription and its current copay, then check the 2027 formulary for changes
4. 4Note the plan’s 2027 premium, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum
5. 5Call Illinois SHIP (1-800-252-8966) if anything looks different or confusing, or if you want a second opinion before your parent re-enrolls by default
6. 6Make any change online, by phone with 1-800-MEDICARE, or with SHIP’s help before December 7
7. 7Confirm the change went through — ask for written confirmation, not just a verbal one

Once you’ve worked through the list, if heating costs are also a worry this winter, it’s worth checking whether your parent qualifies for LIHEAP — the federal heating assistance program opens for seniors October 1.

Rules for benefits and legal documents vary by situation and change over time. This is general information — consider talking with an elder law attorney or your local Area Agency on Aging for guidance specific to your family.

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