Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period opens October 15 and closes December 7. Whatever you pick takes effect January 1, 2027.
Seven weeks sounds like plenty of time. In practice, most people start looking in late November, rush the decision, and keep whatever they already have because comparing plans from scratch under a deadline is miserable. The ones who come out ahead do the boring part in September.
Here is that boring part. It takes about an hour.
Step 1: Put the Paperwork in One Pile
You need five things in one place: your red, white and blue Medicare card, your current plan’s member ID card, your Annual Notice of Change (it arrives by September 30), your Evidence of Coverage, and any letter your plan has sent you this year about benefit or formulary changes.
If you throw the plan mail away unopened, call the number on your card and ask them to resend the ANOC. It is worth the phone call. Here is what to look for in it.
Step 2: Write Down What You Actually Spent This Year
Not what the plan advertised. What left your bank account. Premiums, drug copays, specialist visits, any hospital or outpatient bills, dental and hearing costs you paid yourself.
This number is the only honest benchmark you have. A $0 premium plan that cost you $4,000 in copays is not a cheap plan, and you will never see that on a comparison chart.
Step 3: Make a Real Medication List
Write every prescription with the exact name, the dosage, and how often you take it. Generic or brand matters. Dosage matters, because plans price the same drug differently at different strengths.
This is the single highest value thing on the list. Drug coverage is where the money is, and it is where plans change the most from year to year. For 2027, the maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge goes to $700 (up from $615), and the annual cap on your out of pocket prescription costs goes to $2,400 (up from $2,100). Those ceilings apply no matter which plan you choose, so what varies is how fast you get there.
Step 4: List Your Doctors and the Hospital You Want
Primary care, every specialist you see, and the hospital system you would want to be taken to. In Knox County that usually means UT Medical Center, Covenant Health, or Tennova, and networks are not identical across plans.
Being in network this year does not mean in network next year. Verify for 2027 specifically, not for today.
Step 5: Understand What You Cannot Change in December
This is the step people find out about too late. During Open Enrollment you can freely switch Medicare Advantage plans, switch Part D plans, or move between Advantage and Original Medicare.
What you cannot freely do is pick up a Medicare Supplement. Tennessee has no birthday rule, so unless you qualify for a guaranteed issue situation, a Medigap carrier can ask health questions and turn you down. If leaving Medicare Advantage for a Supplement is something you are considering, that conversation needs to happen before you drop anything, not after. More on how the two compare here.
Do This Now and October Is Easy
With those five things in hand, comparing plans takes an afternoon instead of a month of dread. Bring your list to a free review with us and we will run your medications, your doctors, and your real costs against the plans we offer in Knox County. Local, independent, and no charge. The calendar fills up fast once October 15 hits, so September is the time to call.
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