UnitedHealthcare’s AARP Medicare Rx Preferred stand-alone drug plan is projected to carry an average monthly premium of $204.50 in 2027, up from $126.00 this year, KFF says in an Oct. 30 analysis. It is the highest-premium of the eight drug plans sold nationwide. Members who stay put rather than switching during open enrollment, which ends Dec. 7, would pay the higher rate.
That is an increase of $78.50 a month, or 62%, according to KFF’s full look at 2027 Part D costs. The $204.50 is an average across the country, so a member’s own bill depends on where they live: the plan’s regional premiums run from $136.70 to $264.50. KFF weights its estimates by June 2026 enrollment and assumes current members keep the plan they have.
The decision for a member is whether this plan is still the cheapest way to cover the drugs they take. Juliette Cubanski, a KFF vice president who directs its Program on Medicare Policy, said the stakes are higher this year for people with stand-alone drug coverage because some plans are raising premiums substantially. She added that low-premium options exist, but that people facing large increases need to take action to avoid them.
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Why are stand-alone drug plan premiums jumping?
The biggest change is the end of a federal cushion. CMS said in a July 28 fact sheet on 2027 Part D bids that it will discontinue the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration at the end of 2026, because plan sponsors have had enough experience under the redesigned benefit to support their 2027 bids. The demonstration began in 2025 and applied to stand-alone drug plans.
KFF’s analysis ties the end of that program to two effects. Extra subsidies paid to stand-alone plan sponsors stop, and so does the limit on how much a plan could raise its monthly premium, which was $50 for 2026. KFF also reports that no stand-alone drug plan will charge a zero premium in 2027, which is why more than 4 million people now in zero-premium plans would pay something if they do not switch.
Stated over a year, the gap is larger than the monthly figure suggests. At $126.00 a month, the plan’s average premium came to $1,512 across 2026. At $204.50, it would come to $2,454 across 2027, or $942 more, before any deductible or drug costs. Those totals are simple multiplication of KFF’s monthly averages, and a member’s real total depends on the region.
KFF’s analysis finds that most stand-alone plan members who do not receive low-income subsidies would pay more in 2027 if they stay in their current plan. That group includes the more than 4 million people now in zero-premium plans, since no stand-alone plan will have a zero premium next year.
How does AARP Medicare Rx Preferred compare with the other national plans?
The eight national stand-alone plans are projected to range from about $6 to $204 a month on average in 2027, KFF reports. At the low end is Centene’s Wellcare Value Script Rx at $6.50, up from $5.80 in 2026. The spread between the cheapest and the most expensive plan is close to $198 a month.
Across all stand-alone drug plans, KFF projects the average premium will rise 50%, from $34 in 2026 to $51 in 2027, if current members do not move. Drug coverage bundled inside Medicare Advantage plans costs far less on that measure: the average premium for that drug coverage is projected at $9 a month, an increase of less than $2.
What else gets more expensive besides the premium?
Deductibles are climbing too. The maximum Part D deductible a plan may charge is $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026, though plans can set a lower amount. KFF’s figures put the average deductible at $643 for stand-alone plan members, up from $540, and at $489 for Medicare Advantage members with drug coverage, up from $360. Those averages assume people keep their current plans, and KFF does not report a deductible for AARP Medicare Rx Preferred itself.
The premium that CMS sets as a benchmark is rising as well. The agency said the 2027 base beneficiary premium will be $41.33, and that the national average monthly bid amount, which determines the government subsidy to plans, will be $296.05. Federal law holds yearly growth in the base premium to 6% between 2024 and 2029, according to the same CMS fact sheet.
How does a member switch before Dec. 7?
People in Original Medicare can join, drop or switch a drug plan from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, Medicare.gov says. Coverage generally starts Jan. 1, and the new plan must receive the request by Dec. 7 for that to happen.
The site points shoppers to its plan comparison tool, where a plan can be chosen and enrolled in, and to 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048) for enrolling by phone. Comparing is a drug-by-drug exercise, because the same plan can be cheap for one list of prescriptions and costly for another. The premium is only one line, and the deductible and each drug’s price set the rest.
Still in AARP Medicare Rx Preferred with the Dec. 7 deadline coming?
A member who does nothing is projected to pay an average of $204.50 a month next year, $78.50 more than now, with plans allowed to charge a deductible of up to $700. Open enrollment ends Dec. 7, and a request that arrives after that date does not start coverage on Jan. 1.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit is a 55-page download built around a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, plus a prescription-by-plan comparison. Part 2, the Drug and Doctor Coverage Check, is where a member lists their medicines and tests this plan against the alternatives.
Get the drug-plan cost calculator and prescription-by-plan comparison before Dec. 7 →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
