Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage Annual Notice of Change: How to Read Your Plan's Letter Before AEP Ends
Read your Medicare Advantage Annual Notice of Change before AEP ends on December 7, 2026. Check premiums, copays, doctors, and drugs that change on January 1.
Key takeaways
- The fall window runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026 (Ledger B4).
- Changes you make in that window start on January 1, 2027 (Ledger B4).
- Your letter is the source for your plan's own new costs. No guide can state them for you.
- Check four things first: your monthly cost, your care costs, your doctors, and your drugs.
- If a change hurts you, you can shop for a new plan before December 7.
Each fall, your Medicare Advantage plan sends a letter called the Annual Notice of Change. It lists what will change in your plan on January 1. The letter can be long. It can be hard to tell what matters for you. This guide shows you how to read it, page by page, and what to do before the fall window closes. Our Medicare Advantage section holds more guides on plan rules and dates.
Watch the video
What this letter is
The letter is not junk mail. Your plan must send it each fall. It compares your plan this year with your plan next year. It shows the parts that will change and the parts that will stay the same.
Some plans change very little. Others raise a copay, drop a drug, or lose a doctor group. The letter tells you which case is yours. If you do not read it, the new rules still start on January 1. You may first learn of a change at the pharmacy or at a visit.
Keep the letter. Put it with your plan card and your drug list. You will use it more than once this fall.
The dates that frame your choice
The Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026 (Ledger B4). People call it AEP for short. In this window you can join a new Medicare Advantage plan, switch plans, or go back to Original Medicare. Changes you make in this window take effect on January 1, 2027 (Ledger B4).
After December 7, most people must wait for a later window or a special case. So the letter is timed for this choice. Read it in the fall, not in January.
Our AEP care needs checklist can help you list the care and drugs you must keep. Our guide on Original Medicare vs Medicare Advantage costs shows how the two routes charge you in different ways.
Start with the summary page
Most letters put a short summary near the front. It lists the biggest changes in plain rows. Read that page first, then check each row in the full text.
Look for these rows:
Write down each change that hits care you use. A change to a service you never use may not matter to you. A small rise in a drug you take each day can add up fast.
- Monthly plan premium: did it go up, go down, or stay at zero?
- Yearly limit on your costs: did the cap change?
- Doctor visit copays: what do you pay for your main doctor and for a specialist?
- Hospital costs: what do you pay for the first days of a stay?
- Drug costs: are your drugs still covered, and at what cost?
Check your doctors and hospitals
A plan can change its network for January 1. A doctor who took the plan this year may not take it next year. The letter or the plan list for next year will show this.
If you stay in the plan and use a doctor outside the network, you may pay more. In some plans you may pay the full cost. Do not guess. Call the plan and ask, and write down the name of the person who told you.
- Look up each doctor you see, not just your main doctor.
- Check the hospital you would use in an emergency near home.
- Check any clinic where you get tests or therapy.
- If a doctor is out, ask if the plan has a like doctor in network near you.
Check your drugs
Drug lists change too. A drug can move to a higher tier. It can need prior approval. It can be dropped from the list.
See our guide on changing Medicare Advantage plans during AEP for what a switch does on January 1. One guide from the November 4 group in this same section covers plan checks for the fall. Use it with this letter in hand.
- List each drug you take, with the dose and how often you take it.
- Find each drug in the list for next year.
- Note the tier and any new step you must take before the plan pays.
- Ask your doctor if a like drug on the list would work for you, if yours moved.
Who pays for what
- Medicare pays your plan a set amount each month to cover your care.
- Your plan pays for your covered care under its own copays and rules.
- You pay the plan premium if it has one, plus copays and costs the letter lists.
- Original Medicare pays its share only if you leave the plan and go back to it. It does not pay on top of a Medicare Advantage plan.
- Medicaid can help with costs for people who qualify through their state.
- Private pay covers care the plan does not cover and costs above plan rules.
Sample situation
Rosa is 72 and has been in the same plan for three years. Her letter says her specialist copay will rise in January and one of her drugs will need prior approval. Her main doctor stays in the network. Rosa lists the care she used this year. She sees the specialist four times a year, so that rise is a real cost for her. She calls her doctor about the drug step and learns the office can send the form. She then checks one other plan. Its specialist copay is lower, but her main doctor is not in it. Rosa stays in her plan, notes the new costs in her budget, and marks the drug form for her next visit. She made the call before December 7, while she still had a choice.
What to do if a change hurts you
- Call the plan and ask if the change is final and if any other plan they offer keeps your care.
- Shop at Medicare.gov or by phone with Medicare. Use your own doctor and drug list for the search.
- Ask a State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselor for free help. They do not sell plans.
- Make any switch before December 7, 2026 (Ledger B4). Keep proof of the date you sent it.
- Watch for your new plan card in late December and check it at once.