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about 15 minutes

Review your Part D drug plan — yourself, in about 15 minutes

Every fall, you get one window to make sure your prescription drug plan still fits. Although brokers can no longer sell Part D drug plans, we created this free guide to help you easily shop and compare your options. And if you get stuck, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE any time — free — and they’ll walk through it with you.

Free No sign-up Nothing is submitted here You can’t break anything
The window to make changes
October 15 – December 7
Anything you change now starts January 1, 2027. Miss it and you usually wait a year.
Go to Medicare.gov →
Before you start
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

What you’ll do

1
Read one letterYour plan mailed you a notice this fall showing what’s changing next year.
2
Compare plans, free, at Medicare.govType in your medicines and it shows you every plan, cheapest first.
3
Keep your plan, or switchIf another plan fits better, switch right there. If not, do nothing — you’re done.

That’s the whole thing. Most people finish in 15–20 minutes.

First, have these next to you:

  • ✓Your Medicare card (the red, white and blue one).
  • ✓Your medicine bottles — you’ll need each drug’s name, dose, and how many you take a month.
  • ✓The name of the pharmacy you use.
  • ✓Your plan’s Annual Notice of Change letter, if you can find it (Step 1 explains it).

Get the medicines worksheet — fill it in on your computer, or print it and write it out:

Save to my computer

The three steps

STEP 1 of 3

Read your “Annual Notice of Change”

What is that? Every fall, your drug plan mails you a letter called the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). It arrives by the end of September and tells you exactly what’s changing on January 1. It’s the most useful piece of mail you’ll get — don’t throw it out with the junk.

Read it with your own medicines in mind, and look for four things:

  • Is your monthly premium (your regular payment for the plan) going up?
  • Is the deductible or are your copays changing?
  • Are all of your medicines still covered?
  • Is your pharmacy still one the plan likes best?

If nothing important changed, you may be fine to keep your plan. If something did — or you just want to be sure — go to Step 2 and compare.

Can’t find the letter?

That’s OK — you don’t need it. Plenty of people never find theirs. Everything you need is in Step 2.

Skip to Step 2 →
STEP 2 of 3

Compare every plan at Medicare.gov

Doing this at the computer right now?

Open the checklist version instead. It is a short column you keep open beside Medicare.gov, and you tick each line as you go so you never lose your place.

Open the step-by-step checklist →

This is the important one, and it’s free. The official website shows you every plan sold where you live — not just one company’s — and adds up what each would really cost you. Here’s what you’ll do:

  1. 1Go to Medicare.gov and click “Find Health & Drug Plans.” You can continue as a guest — no account needed.
  2. 2Choose “Medicare drug plan (Part D)” — not Medicare Advantage — and enter your ZIP code.
  3. 3Add every one of your medicines, with the dose and how many you take a month (it’s on the bottle). Adding them all is what makes your total accurate.
  4. 4Add your pharmacy.
  5. 5Look at the total for the year, and compare up to three plans side by side. Click “Plan Details” to be sure each of your drugs is covered.
Look at the yearly total — not the monthly premium. The plan with the lowest monthly payment is often the most expensive once you add up your medicines. Medicare.gov already sorts plans by the true total — trust that number.
Prefer to watch?

Press play and a friendly narrator walks you through the whole Medicare.gov process, one screen at a time — with every instruction spoken aloud and printed right on the screen, so it works with or without the sound. About two and a half minutes.

Or see every screen, one at a time

The same walkthrough as pictures. The orange box on each screen shows exactly where to click. Nothing moves on its own — you press Next when you’re ready.

Screen 1 of 15 Getting started

Start at the official site

Go to Medicare.gov and click “Find Health & Drug Plans.”

Medicare Plan Finder screen: Start at the official site. Go to Medicare.gov and click “Find Health & Drug Plans.”
← Previous
STEP 3 of 3

Keep your plan, or switch — by December 7

Found a better plan? Switch to it right on Medicare.gov, or by calling the number below. Your new plan starts January 1.
Your plan still best? Do nothing at all. It simply continues into next year. You’re finished.

You have until December 7. You can change your mind as many times as you like — only your last choice counts. And there’s nothing to submit on this page: it just helps you get ready.

Feeling stuck? You’re not stuck.

You can’t break anything, and you don’t have to figure it out alone. Two places will help you for free — they’ll even do the comparison with you over the phone.

Call Medicare directly
1-800-MEDICARE

1-800-633-4227 (TTY 1-877-486-2048). Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Have your medicine list and Medicare card nearby.

Free local, one-on-one help
Your SHIP counselor

Every state has trained volunteers who help with Medicare for free — no sales. Find yours at shiphelp.org.

A little background, if you want it

You don’t need any of this to review your plan — it’s just here if you’re curious how the costs work in 2027.

How you pay for drugs in 2027

1. Deductible

Up to $700

You pay full price at first, until you’ve met your plan’s deductible (no plan can charge more than $700 in 2027).

2. You pay 25%

Then a share

After that, you pay 25% of your covered drugs and the plan pays the rest.

3. You’re capped

$0 after $2,400

Once you’ve paid $2,400 out of pocket, your covered drugs are free the rest of the year.

That $2,400 yearly cap is still fairly new — and a big deal — because the old “donut hole” gap is gone. You can also spread your costs into monthly payments for free (ask your plan about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan).

A few words you’ll hear

Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)The fall letter listing what changes in your plan on January 1.
PremiumYour regular monthly payment just to have the plan.
DeductibleWhat you pay yourself first, before the plan starts helping.
FormularyThe plan’s list of covered drugs. If your drug isn’t on it, the plan won’t help pay — so always check.
Preferred pharmacyA pharmacy your plan works with where your drugs cost the least.

The Elfand Group · Not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.

Have a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) too? Most people with a Part D plan do. Switching that one usually means passing medical underwriting — but some states let you change with no health questions. See our plain-English Medigap Q&A →

Wondering about Medicare Advantage? See the honest good/bad/ugly and take a quick fit-check. Explore Medicare Advantage →