Your Medicare Letter is Coming: Don’t Ignore it. OPEN IT.

#medicare #medicareenrollment
This is part 2 of The January Check. The date that matters this week is October 15, not the Social Security headline.
What actually hits your account in January 2027

Social Security is expected to announce the 2027 COLA on October 14. Medicare Annual Enrollment starts the next morning, October 15, and runs through December 7. Coverage you choose then starts January 1, 2027. If you wait for the percent, you can miss the window that opens the next day.

The letter in the pile is the Annual Notice of Change. It is the plan you already have, telling you what changes on January 1. Plans should have mailed it by September 30. 2027 plan details are generally live on Medicare.gov around October 1.

This video is about the notice, not about which plan to buy. A dropped plan, a higher out-of-pocket limit, or a drug moving off the list can take more of the raise than the Part B premium. Part B for 2026 is official at $202.90. The 2027 premium is not final until Medicare announces it.

Four lines to mark: the premium, even if last year’s card said $0; the out-of-pocket limit; the drug list; and the network, or whether the plan itself is ending. The 2027 Part D cap of $2,400 is set. It does not count your monthly premium, and it does not count a drug the plan will not cover.

Nearly one million people are being reported as losing their current 2027 Medicare Advantage plan. That number is a scale of exits, not a statement that your plan is ending. Your letter decides. Read the title on page one. A routine notice means the plan continues with changes. A non-renewal means you need a landing spot by December 7.

Not everyone gets this letter. Original Medicare alone, with no Advantage plan and no stand-alone Part D, has no private notice. Medigap is a different letter, and fall enrollment is not a nationwide free pass to buy a supplement with no health questions. Employer, union, and retiree plans can use a different notice and a different deadline.

Before October 15, find the envelope. If it is not in the house, call the plan. Mark the plan ID, not just the brand name. On Medicare.gov, sort by estimated yearly cost, not the lowest premium. A switch has to be received by December 7, not just postmarked that day. If you might leave Advantage, get Medigap answers before you disenroll. Free help is at shiphelp.org and 1-800-MEDICARE. Do not give your Medicare number to a stranger at a card table.

The worksheet is linked below. Six lines: notice type, premium, drugs, doctors, out-of-pocket limit, and keep or switch.

If the plan is leaving, the next video is Medicare Advantage Plans Are Leaving in 2027. If it is staying, the harder question is whether staying is still what you meant. The answer is in your envelope, not in the COLA headline.

These are planning notes, not a plan recommendation. Official sources are Medicare.gov, your own notice, and 1-800-MEDICARE.

Chapters
0:00 Open the notice before October 15
0:20 October 14 is the percent. October 15 is the plan window.
0:35 The notice can take more than Part B
0:55 Nearly 1 million exits is a scale, not your letter
1:16 Two clocks
1:45 What the notice changes on the January deposit
2:01 A higher out-of-pocket limit
2:17 A drug off the list and the $2,400 cap
2:38 A network cut or a non-renewal
3:06 Four lines to mark
3:27 Who does not get this notice
3:44 Medigap is not a free pass
3:56 Read the title on page one
4:12 Employer and union plans
4:30 The line that does not apply to you
4:57 What to do before October 15
5:09 Mark the plan ID, not the brand
5:23 Sort by yearly cost. Received by December 7.
5:38 Get Medigap answers before you leave
6:20 The six-line worksheet
7:17 The answer is in the envelope

The Worksheet: Download it here : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jwKsll1vzM1f7emUkedbzOQnOPqtmAPf/view?usp=sharing


Annual Notice of Change, Medicare Open Enrollment 2026, ANOC, Medicare Advantage 2027, Part D, October 15, December 7, non-renewal, January Check, SHIP