AEP 2026: what's changing and how to prepare

Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period — AEP — is the once-a-year window when you can change almost anything about your coverage. Recent law has reshaped Part D in the most meaningful way in years, so this is a good year to actually look at your plan rather than letting it auto-renew. Here's what's changed, what to re-shop, and how to get ready before the window opens.

Part D is simpler now

For years, Part D had a confusing multi-phase structure — deductible, initial coverage, the "donut hole" coverage gap, and catastrophic coverage. Recent changes have removed the coverage gap and added an annual cap on what you pay out of pocket for covered prescriptions. Once you reach that cap, your covered drugs are paid for the rest of the year.

This matters most if you take expensive specialty medications. The structure is cleaner, and many plans have repriced their premiums and copays in response — so a plan that looked expensive a couple of years ago may be competitive today. Your exact numbers live in your plan's Annual Notice of Change, which we'll walk through with you.

Spreading drug costs across the year

There's also a voluntary option that lets you spread your Part D out-of-pocket costs across the calendar year in even monthly payments, instead of paying the full amount at the pharmacy counter. It doesn't reduce your total cost — it smooths it. That can help if you have a high-cost medication early in the year and want predictable monthly cash flow rather than a large bill in January.

What this means for you

If you take expensive prescriptions

Re-shop your Part D plan this AEP. The plan that was optimal a couple of years ago — under the old coverage-gap structure — may not be optimal now. Bring an accurate medication list so any comparison reflects your real costs.

If you take few or no prescriptions

There's less to change, but it's still worth confirming the lowest-cost plan that covers your medications. Healthy seniors with simple drug needs often have very affordable options.

If you're on Medicare Advantage

Re-verify your network, formulary, and out-of-pocket maximum. Medicare Advantage plans rebid every year, and changes are common:

• Extra benefits like dental, vision, and hearing can be reduced or repriced year to year.
• OTC and flex-card allowances can change.
• Networks change quietly — verify your doctors before re-enrolling.
• The plan you have today may not be the best plan in your ZIP code for next year.

If networks and travel matter more to you than a low premium, it may also be worth comparing a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, which lets you see any provider who accepts Medicare.

The calendar that matters

• Now through mid-October: get your medication list and provider list ready and accurate.
• Around October 1 — Annual Notice of Change: your current plan sends a notice listing next year's changes to premium, deductible, copays, formulary, and network. Read it carefully — this is how costs quietly rise.
• October 15 — AEP opens: you can shop plans, but don't enroll until you've done a real comparison.
• December 7 — AEP closes: to have new coverage effective January 1, you must enroll by this date.
• January 1 — new coverage starts: confirm your card arrived and that your medications and doctors are still covered.
• January 1 – March 31 — Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: if you're on an Advantage plan and your AEP choice didn't work out, you get one election here to switch plans or return to Original Medicare.

The hidden AEP mistake

Most families don't re-shop during AEP. Their existing plan auto-renews quietly, and they assume that if it was right last year, it's right this year. That assumption is rarely correct: plans change every year, medications change over time, doctors come and go from networks, and the lowest-cost carrier in a ZIP code can rotate annually. A short comparison either confirms your choice or finds you something better — far better than leaving it to inertia.

How to prepare

Three things to do before AEP opens:

1. Update your medication list. Include name, dose, frequency, and pharmacy. This is the single biggest input to an accurate plan comparison.
2. Update your provider list. Primary care, specialists, hospital, and urgent care — and verify whether they're in your current plan's network.
3. Schedule your review. Independent agents fill up during AEP. Booking early means unhurried attention; booking late means rushing.

We're an independent agency, so we don't push one company's plan. Our help is always free — and by law your premium is identical whether you use an agent or enroll on your own. The difference is that we compare your options, verify your doctors and drugs, explain the tradeoffs in plain English, and answer the phone after you enroll.