Your AEP clock: 46 days left to Dec 7
Where the calendar stands
Today is October 22, 2026. The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, according to CMS, which means you have about six and a half weeks left. That is 46 days, enough time to do this carefully if you start soon, and not much time if you wait until the first week of December. Here is the part that matters most: whatever you choose by December 7 takes effect January 1, 2027. Changes after that are limited, which I will explain below. Nothing about this calls for panic. Plenty of people stay put, and staying put is a perfectly good decision when it is a deliberate one. The trouble comes when staying put happens by accident, because the plan you have today may not be the same plan next year. Prices, drug lists, and provider networks can all shift, so the goal of this issue is simple: help you spend a few focused hours now.
A simple schedule for the next 6.5 weeks
Treat the window like a short project with four stops. In the week of October 22, gather your paperwork, which is covered in a later section, and open your plan's Annual Notice of Change, the document describing what your plan is changing for next year. By the end of October, run your medicines and doctors through the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov. In the first half of November, compare your top two or three options and call any doctor's office whose network status you cannot confirm online. Leave the stretch from about November 20 to December 7 as a buffer for follow-up questions, a free counseling appointment, or an enrollment that hits a snag. If you finish in early November, you are done, and the deadline rush no longer applies to you. Enrolling early does not change when coverage starts; it still begins January 1, 2027.
A worked example: the real yearly cost
Here is a worked example with illustrative numbers, not real plan prices. Say your Annual Notice of Change shows your current plan's monthly premium rising from $20 to $45. Over twelve months that is $45 times 12, or $540. You take three medicines, and Plan Finder estimates your drug costs under this plan at $700 for the year. Your yearly total is $540 plus $700, which is $1,240. Now suppose another plan has a $30 monthly premium, so $30 times 12 is $360, and Plan Finder estimates your drugs there at $650. That total is $360 plus $650, or $1,010. The difference is $230 a year, about $19 a month. Notice that premium alone never tells the whole story, because the drug estimate is a big part of the total. Before you switch, confirm your doctors are in the new plan's network and your pharmacy is covered.
What people get wrong
Four mistakes cost people money. The first is ignoring the Annual Notice of Change because the plan has the same name as last year; the name stays while premiums, copays, and drug tiers can change. The second is comparing premiums only, which leaves out your drug costs. The third is checking doctors by asking the front desk whether they take Medicare, when the real question is whether they are in network for the specific plan you are considering. The fourth is assuming the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 through March 31, is a do-over. According to CMS, it is a limited second chance for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan, not a do-over for everyone. So picking in a hurry on December 7 and planning to fix it in the new year may not work. If you are in Original Medicare, that window does not apply to you.
How to check your own situation
Pull together five things before you open Plan Finder. First, your Medicare card, so your number is handy. Second, your Annual Notice of Change; read the pages on premium, deductible, drug tiers, and any drugs being removed. Third, a list of every prescription with its dose and how often you take it, plus the pharmacy you use. Fourth, the names of your doctors and any hospital you would want to use. Fifth, your latest notice from Social Security, because higher income can add an income-related surcharge called IRMAA to your premiums, according to the Social Security Administration. Then ask four questions of every plan you compare. Are all my drugs covered, and at what tier? Are my doctors in network? What is my total estimated annual cost? What is the most I could pay out of pocket in a year? Write the answers down side by side.
Your starting point changes the checklist
Your starting point changes what you should check. If you have Original Medicare with a standalone Part D drug plan, your main task is the drug plan comparison: run your medicines through Plan Finder and compare total yearly cost the way the example did. If you also have a Medigap policy, remember it is a separate product from your drug plan, and the Medigap guidance at Medicare.gov explains how those policies work. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, you are comparing whole packages, meaning premium, doctors, drugs, and any extra benefits, so use the same side-by-side list for each. If you are considering leaving Medicare Advantage for Original Medicare, find out before you cancel whether a Medigap insurer would accept you and what it would charge. That question is much easier to answer in November than in January.
Get free help, skip the pressure
You do not have to do this alone, and you should not do it under pressure. Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, called SHIP, offers free, unbiased counseling, and you can find yours through the SHIP National Technical Assistance Center at shiphelp.org. Senior Medicare Patrol, at smpresource.org, helps people spot and report Medicare fraud and misleading sales tactics. Be cautious with any caller or mailer who says you must switch right now, asks for your Medicare number up front, or promises benefits that sound too good to be true. A legitimate comparison can happen on your schedule, and you can verify any plan on Medicare.gov before you enroll. Here is the one takeaway from this issue: the plan you have chosen when December 7 ends is the plan that starts January 1, 2027, so use the next six and a half weeks to make that a choice rather than a default. If you are stuck, call SHIP this week.
Get a straight answer on your Medicare options before the deadline, from a licensed agent who will walk you through the comparison with no pressure and no obligation.
Talk to a licensed agent, or call (937) 887-4548
A licensed agent contacts you to walk through your options; no obligation to buy.
General educational information, not individual insurance, legal, or financial advice. Dollar figures in the worked example are illustrative only and are not real plan prices. Plan benefits, costs, and rules vary by plan and location; confirm details with Medicare.gov, your plan, or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) before enrolling.