If you’re on Medicare Advantage, your premium may dip next year while your pharmacy bill goes up.
Your Daily Dad Joke
What’s the difference between a poorly dressed man on a tricycle and a well-dressed man on a bicycle?
Attire.
Your drugs next year
I was going through next year’s coverage on my Medicare Advantage plan, the one I told you I love. It’s going to cost me more out of pocket.
And I’m left wondering where all those promises of lower drug costs went. That stings for retired folks, sure. Maybe even more for the younger families who are already struggling.
That’s why I wanted to pass this along.
You may have seen CNN’s report last week on Medicare Advantage for 2027. A review of government data found that nearly three out of four people on those plans will pay more for their prescriptions.
Here’s the part that’s easy to miss. Your drug coverage really comes down to three numbers.
The first is the monthly bill, what you pay just to have the plan. That’s the premium, and for a lot of people it’s going down next year.
The second is what you pay at the pharmacy counter before the plan starts helping. That’s the deductible, and for a lot of people on these plans it’s going up.
The third is the most you could pay in a whole year, even in a bad one. That’s going up too.
Your first thought might be: my monthly bill went down, so I’m fine. Maybe. But if you pick up a few medicines every month, a smaller monthly bill can still add up to more money out of your pocket. And the deductible comes first, right at the start of the year.
If you have Original Medicare with a separate drug plan, it’s a different story with the same ending. Medicare says the temporary help that held those plan premiums down ends this year. And the most you can pay for covered drugs in a year goes up to $2,400, and the top deductible goes up too, according to Medicare’s 2027 numbers.
Here’s the one thing I’d do this week. Your plan mailed you a letter in September called the Annual Notice of Change. I’d find it and look at two lines next to this year’s: the drug deductible and the most you could pay in a year. If either went up, I’d put my actual prescriptions into Medicare’s plan finder before December 7. If the letter has gone missing, you can call the number on your plan card and ask them to send another.
I know. Nobody wants to read a Medicare letter. But Medicare says if you do nothing, your coverage simply continues, with next year’s costs.
If you’re not on Medicare yet, this may still be your story. A lot of times it’s the grown kid who ends up helping Mom or Dad sort it out.
To go deeper, I wrote about why a plan’s star rating won’t tell you what you’ll pay.
Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it while there’s still time to switch.
Did your plan’s drug costs go up or down for next year? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.
Got a money question of your own? Send it my way, and watch for the answer on my Facebook page.
Ten minutes with that letter isn’t fun. But it’s a lot better than a surprise at the pharmacy in January, and you don’t have to understand all of Medicare. Just your two lines.
— Steve
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