North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey is warning Medicare beneficiaries that many plans plan 2027 increases, some significant, and that changes must be made by Dec. 7 for coverage to start Jan. 1. In an Oct. 14 release, Causey said, “Many plans have indicated that they intend to have increases, some significantly.” The department did not say which plans or by how much.
What did Causey tell North Carolinians to do?
His message was aimed at people who might sit tight. “This is not the year to simply say, ‘I’m happy with what I have,’ without exploring your options,” Causey said. The release reminds beneficiaries to compare their current plans during Open Enrollment, which began Oct. 15 and runs eight weeks.
Changes must be made by Dec. 7 so coverage does not lapse on Jan. 1, 2027, the release says. The Medicare & You 2027 handbook was mailed to beneficiaries in September, and the department points people to its Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program, known as SHIIP, for expert advice on next year’s coverage.
For North Carolinians on a Medicare Advantage plan or a Part D drug plan, the question is whether their own plan is one of the ones raising costs for 2027. The release names no plans and gives no figures, so the answer sits in the comparison tools the department lists, not in the warning itself.
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Do the national numbers back up the warning?
Partly, and the gap between averages and individual plans is the reason for the advice. In a Sept. 28 release, CMS said the average monthly Medicare Advantage premium will be $12.00 in 2027, down from $14.37, and that the average stand-alone drug plan premium will be $36, up less than $1 from $35.09.
An average hides the spread. KFF researchers Juliette Cubanski, Nancy Ochieng and Meredith Freed found in an analysis published Oct. 2 that the AARP Medicare Rx Preferred plan will rise by $50 or more a month in every state and Washington, D.C., for members who stay put, by more than $75 in 37 states and by more than $100 in four. Together with a second AARP plan, it enrolled more than 2 million people in 2026.
KFF also found that no stand-alone drug plan will charge a zero premium to people without low-income subsidies in 2027. About 4 million stand-alone enrollees, 28% of the total, paid no premium in 2026 and will face one whether they stay or switch.
The KFF figures are national, not North Carolina’s, and the department’s release does not cite them. They do show the pattern Causey described: a modest national average with some plans rising sharply.
What changed for drug plan premiums?
KFF says CMS ended the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration after 2026, rather than continuing it for a third year. CMS’s own fact sheet says the agency will discontinue the demonstration at the end of calendar year 2026, because plan sponsors had enough experience under the redesigned Part D benefit.
KFF says ending it did not push premiums up across the board, but it likely affected 2027 levels. It also notes that 56% of Part D enrollees were in Medicare Advantage drug plans in 2026, so stand-alone premium changes reach only part of the Medicare population. Anyone in an Advantage plan faces a separate set of changes to costs, benefits and networks.
Where can North Carolinians get free help comparing plans?
SHIIP is a division of the Department of Insurance that offers free, unbiased help on Medicare, drug coverage, Medicare Advantage and other health insurance. Its counselors are not licensed insurance agents and do not sell, endorse or oppose any plan, product or company. They can also check whether someone qualifies for Medicare cost-savings programs.
The release lists several ways to compare 2027 options: one-on-one help from a local SHIIP office, a call to SHIIP at 1-855-408-1212 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., a side-by-side comparison at Medicare.gov, and 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), open 24 hours a day, with TTY users at 1-877-486-2048. It also lists a trusted licensed insurance agent, and says questions about a specific plan go to the agent or the insurer.
The department says even people who like their Advantage or Part D plan may find a cheaper plan that covers their needs in their area.
What does Dec. 7 actually decide?
Medicare.gov says changes made during Open Enrollment take effect Jan. 1 as long as the plan receives the request by Dec. 7. People can join, drop or switch a Medicare Advantage plan, add or drop drug coverage, switch drug plans, or move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
Staying put is also a choice, and it is the one Causey cautioned against making by default. A person who keeps a plan that has raised its premium, changed its drug list or dropped a doctor has made the same decision as someone who switched, only without comparing.
Is your 2027 Medicare premium going up?
A plan that quietly raises its premium for 2027 costs a household the difference every month from Jan. 1, and Dec. 7 is the deadline for a new plan to start on Jan. 1. The commissioner’s warning does not say which plans are rising, so the comparison falls to each member.
The 2027 Medicare Open Enrollment Decision Kit includes a cost calculator spreadsheet that compares plans on cost, drugs and doctors, and the Open Enrollment calendar. Its 55 pages include Part 3, The Three-Year Cost Model, which prices a plan beyond the first January.
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.
