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Medicare Open Enrollment

Part D Premiums and Cost Sharing in 2027

The average monthly premium for Medicare Part D coverage in stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) will increase to $51 in 2027, up 50% from $34 in 2026, if current enrollees don’t switch into lower-premium plans during the open enrollment period. That is more than five times higher than the drug coverage premium in Medicare Advantage plans that offer Part D coverage, which is projected to average $9 per month in 2027. Most Part D enrollees also will face a deductible of several hundred dollars for drug coverage in 2027.

Also: Many Medicare Part D Stand-Alone Drug Plan Enrollees Will See Modest Premium Increases for 2027

Medicare Open Enrollment and Coverage Options: Key Questions and Answers

Each year, Medicare beneficiaries have an opportunity to make changes to how they receive their Medicare coverage during the nearly 8-week annual open enrollment period, which runs from October 15 through December 7. This brief answers key questions about the Medicare open enrollment period and Medicare coverage options.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

How Much Do People With Medicare Pay For Coverage?

This brief provides an overview of the costs faced by Medicare beneficiaries in traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Part D, including premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance, focusing on costs in 2026.

What’s in a Name? From Today’s Medicare to Medicare for All

KFF’s Larry Levitt explains how proposals to create Medicare-for-All promise more generous benefits than the existing Medicare program, with no premiums or cost-sharing, but could end up looking more like Medicare if it became the subject of a serious national debate about the tradeoffs involved to implement it.

Medigap

Medigap Guaranteed Issue Requirements: An Overview of Federal and State Rules

This issue brief analyzes federal and state rules related to guaranteed issue requirements for Medigap policies and how they impact beneficiaries’ access to Medigap, including the implications for Medicare beneficiaries with pre-existing medical conditions and those under age 65 with long-term disabilities.

MEDICARE PART D

Medicare Advantage

The Average Beneficiary has 28 Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan Options for 2027

On average, Medicare beneficiaries will have the option of 28 Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans in 2027, a decline from the 32 options available in 2026 (excluding employer plans and special needs plans not available for general enrollment).
The number varies across states. In 26 states and Puerto Rico, the average beneficiary has at least 20 MA-PD options in 2027, while in nine states and DC, the average beneficiary has fewer than 10 MA-PD options. Open enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7.

Medicare Advantage in 2026: Enrollment Update and Key Trends

Medicare Advantage Enrollees Have Access to Half of the Physicians Available to Traditional Medicare Beneficiaries

Medicare Advantage Insurers Made Nearly 53 Million Prior Authorization Determinations in 2024

Medicare Will Spend More Than $13 Billion on the Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Program in 2026

Prescription Drugs

CMS’s Decision to End Temporary Subsidies to Medicare’s Stand-Alone Drug Plans Could Mean Larger Premium Increases for Some Beneficiaries Next Year

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to end the temporary Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration after 2026. The goal of the demonstration, established in 2024, was to stabilize stand-alone prescription drug plan (PDP) premiums and enrollment amid the rollout of changes to the Part D benefit under the Inflation Reduction Act, including a new cap on annual out -of-pocket drug costs.

Key Facts About Medicare Drug Price Negotiation

Recent Trends in GLP-1 Use and Spending in Medicare

What to Know About Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and Federal Efforts at Regulation

Nearly Four Million Medicare Beneficiaries Met the Eligibility Criteria in 2023 for the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge

Data Visualization

The Facts About Medicare Spending

This interactive provides the facts on Medicare spending. Medicare, which serves 67 million people and accounts for 12 percent of the federal budget and 21 percent of national health spending, is often the focus of discussions about health expenditures, health care affordability and the sustainability of federal health programs. Explore data on enrollment growth, Medicare spending trends overall and per person, growth in Medicare spending relative to private insurance, spending on benefits and Medicare Advantage, Part A trust fund solvency challenges, and growth in out-of-pocket spending by beneficiaries.

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  • Welfare Reform and Elderly Legal Immigrants – Report

    Report

    Welfare Reform and Elderly Legal Immigrants Prepared by: Robert B. Friedland and Veena Pankaj National Academy on Aging, Washington DC July 1997 Prepared for: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, is an independentnational health philanthropy and is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Established in 1948 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and his wife Bess, the Foundation focusesits work on four main…

  • Welfare Reform and Elderly Legal Immigrants

    Report

    This report presents the findings of researchers at the National Academy on Aging on welfare reform and elderly legal imigrants. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Actof 1996 included an array of structural reforms affecting access to cash assistance programs such as AFDC and SSI as well as Medicaid. This study profiles elderly legal immigrants in the United States and explores the implications of welfare reform for this population. Report Report

  • Medicare Beneficiaries and HMOs: Highlights of Los Angeles and New York City Medicare HMO Markets

    Fact Sheet

    A growing number of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolling in Medicare HMOs as an alternative to the traditional Medicare program. However, Medicare HMO enrollment has not grown uniformly in market areas across the country. Case studies conducted by researchers at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. for The Kaiser Family Foundation describe the evolution of Medicare managed care in the two largest markets in the United States: Los Angeles County and New York City. The reports also discuss…

  • Medicare Beneficiaries & HMO’s:  A Case Study of the Los Angeles Market

    Other Post

    Medicare Beneficiaries & HMO's: A Case Study of the Los Angeles Market Note: This publication is no longer in circulation. However, a few copies may still exist in the Foundation's internal library that could be xeroxed. Please email order@kff.org if you would like to pursue this option.

  • The Medicare Program: Servicios De Salud Administrados Por Medicare

    Fact Sheet

    Panorama General: Medicare proporciona servicios de salud a casi 39 millones de norteamericanos, incluyendo aproximadamente a 34 millones de ancianos y a 5 millones de discapacitados. La gran mayoria de estas personas cubren sus gastos medicos directamente mediante el programa tradicional de "pago por servicio," mientras que el 15 porciento restante (mas de 5 millone de beneficiarios) estan cubiertos bajo algun plan de servicio medico contratado con Medicare, principalmente las organizaciones de administracion de la…

  • Retiree Health Trends and Implications of Possible Medicare Reforms

    Fact Sheet

    The availability of employer-sponsored retiree health benefits from large companies has declined since 1991, according to a new study conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation by Hewitt Associates LLC. The study also shows that the number of big businesses charging premiums, tightening eligibility requirements, encouraging use of managed care, and placing dollar caps on coverage increased. In addition, the report concluded that potential changes in the Medicare program, such as a higher eligibility age, could…

  • Retiree Health Trends and Implications of Possible Medicare Reforms

    Other Post

    Background Health care benefits had been offered to active employees for a long period of time before health coverage became a retiree benefit offered by employers. The key event that made employer-sponsored retiree health care a possible benefit for retirees was the enactment of Medicare in 1965. It was then felt possible to provide a widely desired benefit at a relatively low cost, since the Medicare program would pay the majority of the costs. Millions…