The Autumn Medicare Review — What to Check While the Window Is Open
Twenty minutes each autumn, in order. Drug lists, networks, premiums and deductibles all change on January 1 whether or not anyone looked. Most years nothing needs to change — but that is only worth knowing if it was checked against the notice your plan already sent you in September.
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Twenty minutes each autumn, worked down in order. Most years the answer is that nothing needs to change — but that is only worth knowing if it was checked, because drug lists, networks and premiums all move on January 1 whether or not anyone looked.
This sheet names no insurer and recommends no plan. It tells you what to look at and where the official figures are published; the choosing happens on Medicare’s own Plan Finder or with a SHIP counselor, both free.
Medigap Open Enrollment Period
Six months, starting the first month you have Medicare Part B and are 65 or older. It is one-time only — it does not repeat each year.Before the window opens — gather, do not shop
Everything here comes from paperwork you already have. None of it needs a website.
1. Find this year's Annual Notice of Change from your plan.
It arrives in September.
It is the single most useful document in this process and the most thrown away. It lists, in one place, what your plan is changing for next year: premium, deductible, copays, the drug list and the pharmacy network. If nothing in it affects you, your review can stop early.
2. Write down every prescription you actually take, with the dose.
Drug coverage is the part of this that changes most and costs most when it goes wrong. A plan is only cheap for the specific drugs on its own list at your own dose; a formulary change can move a drug to a higher tier, or off the list, without the premium moving at all.
3. List the doctors and pharmacies you would be unwilling to change.
Networks change annually too, and a plan that no longer includes a doctor you rely on is a worse plan for you whatever it costs. Deciding this before you look at any figures stops the price doing the deciding.
4. Note what you actually paid out of pocket this year.
It is the only honest baseline. A comparison against what you expected to spend, rather than what you did spend, is a comparison against a guess.
While the window is open
Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7 and changes take effect January 1. The dates do not move.
5. Check the new standard Part B premium and deductible against this year's.
These are set by CMS in an annual notice and apply to everyone, regardless of plan. Knowing the baseline change stops you attributing an increase to your plan when it came from the premium instead.
6. Check whether your income two years ago crossed an IRMAA threshold.
A surcharge is a per-person step change, not a gradual one, and it is charged on both Part B and Part D. It arrives with no warning because the income that caused it is two years old. This is also the moment to see how close next year's income is to the next edge.
7. Compare on Medicare's own Plan Finder, using your drug list.
It is the only comparison tool that is not selling anything, and entering your actual prescriptions is what makes the total cost figure mean something. We name no insurer and rank no plan, so this is where a plan decision belongs.
8. If anything is unclear, book free time with a SHIP counselor.
State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselors are federally funded, take no commission and sell nothing. They will work through your own drug list and doctors with you at no cost. Demand peaks in November, so book early.
Before the window closes
December 7 is the deadline for Open Enrollment. One further window exists afterwards.
9. Confirm any change in writing and keep the confirmation.
A change requested is not a change made. Keep the confirmation number and the date; if January arrives and the old plan is still billing, that record is what resolves it quickly.
10. If you did nothing, confirm that was a decision rather than an oversight.
Staying put is often the right answer and this sheet does not push anyone to switch. But it should be a decision made after reading the Annual Notice of Change, not one made by the deadline passing.
11. Know that one more window exists, and what it does not cover.
Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, January 1 to March 31.
It lets someone already in a Medicare Advantage plan switch to another one or return to Original Medicare with a drug plan. It does not let someone on Original Medicare join an Advantage plan, and it does not reopen Medigap without health underwriting.
Your figures
These are the numbers this sheet asks for. Write them in once and the rest goes faster. They stay on the paper — nothing here is sent anywhere or saved.
A note on what arrives in your mailbox in October
Marketing volume around this window is very high, and some of it is designed to look official. Medicare does not cold-call you, and nobody who telephones out of the blue needs your Medicare number. If a call, letter or door-knock is pressing you toward a decision, that urgency is the product being sold, not a real deadline — the real deadline is December 7 and it is the same for everyone.Where to take a plan question
We take no money from any insurer and name none, so we are not the place to settle what you buy. These three are, and all of them are free.
Verified 2026-08-02 against Medicare.gov, "When does Medicare coverage start?" (Initial, General and Special Enrollment Periods); plan windows from Medicare.gov, "Joining a plan" (https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/get-more-coverage/joining-a-plan); Medigap window from Medicare.gov, "Medigap basics" (https://www.medicare.gov/health-drug-plans/medigap/basics) (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not financial, tax, legal, or insurance advice. Only MEDICARE can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: Medicare.gov — Joining a plan and Open Enrollment ↗
🎓 Understand this tool
What it is
A short autumn review: what to check while the Medicare enrollment window is open, in the order that makes the check quick. Most years the answer is that nothing needs to change, and this sheet is designed to reach that answer in about twenty minutes rather than an afternoon.
How it works
The sheet starts from documents you already hold — the Annual Notice of Change your plan sends in September, your own prescription list, and what you actually paid this year — before it sends you to any website. That order matters: entering a shopping tool without your own drug list produces a comparison of premiums, and premiums are the part of a plan's cost that matters least to most households.
Getting the most from it
- Find the Annual Notice of Change. It lists exactly what your plan is changing for January, and if nothing in it affects you the review can stop early.
- Write down every prescription with its dose, and the doctors and pharmacies you will not change. Deciding this before you see any prices stops the prices doing the deciding.
- Check the new standard Part B premium against this year's, so an increase that applies to everyone is not mistaken for something your plan did.
- Check whether your income two years ago crossed an income-related threshold, since that surcharge is a step change rather than a gradual one.
- Do any comparing on Medicare's own Plan Finder with your drug list entered, or with a SHIP counselor. Both are free and neither is selling anything.
Reading your result
A completed sheet with no changes made is a good outcome, not a wasted twenty minutes: it means the plan still fits and you now know that rather than assuming it. Any change you do make needs a confirmation number and a date written down.
What it can't tell you
This sheet compares nothing and recommends nothing. It cannot see plan availability where you live, cannot price your prescriptions, and names no insurer — all of which is why every comparison step on it ends at Medicare's own tool or a counselor rather than here.
Frequently asked questions
It runs October 15 to December 7, and changes take effect January 1. During it you can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan or a drug plan. The dates do not move, and any other urgency you are being told about is not a real deadline.
Related calculators
Part B Premium
The standard Medicare Part B premium and annual deductible for 2026, taken straight from the CMS notice that set them, with every year back to 2016 so you can see how fast this line item has actually risen. Higher earners pay more through IRMAA; this page shows the base figure everyone starts from.
IRMAA Calculator
IRMAA is the income-related surcharge added to your Medicare Part B and Part D premiums when the tax return you filed two years ago showed income above a threshold. Enter that income and your filing status to estimate your tier, the monthly and yearly surcharge, and exactly how many dollars sit between you and the next cliff.
Medigap vs Advantage
Medigap and Medicare Advantage do not cost more or less than each other — they put the cost in different places. One front-loads predictable premiums, the other front-loads less and exposes you to out-of-pocket charges up to a yearly maximum. Here is the structure of each, in figures CMS publishes, with no plan named.
Annual update alerts — new tax and benefit figures the week they drop
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