Medicare drug-plan shoppers who stay put could pay far more next year, even though the average stand-alone Part D premium is rising only modestly. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says the average monthly premium for a stand-alone drug plan goes from $35.09 in 2026 to $36 in 2027, an increase of less than $1. KFF’s analysis of the plans behind that average finds that enrollees in some plans face premium jumps many times larger if they do not switch before Dec. 7.
A $1 average hides much bigger plan-level jumps
The $36 figure comes from CMS’s Sept. 28 announcement that Medicare Advantage and prescription drug programs are expected to remain stable in 2027. The same release says 88 percent of beneficiaries without low-income help can reach a basic Part D plan at $10.30 or less a month.
KFF researchers Juliette Cubanski, Nancy Ochieng and Meredith Freed, in a brief published Oct. 2, found that many stand-alone enrollees will see modest increases while others could pay much more if they keep their current plan. The size of the jump depends on which plan a person is in and which state the person lives in.
Question for drug-plan members: did the plan jump?
The practical question is whether a member’s own plan is on the list of those that went up, and what a different plan would cost for the same prescriptions. Most Medicare Part D members, 56 percent per KFF, are in Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage and are not affected by stand-alone premium changes. Those in a stand-alone plan have to look at their own plan.
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Which plans jump, and by how much
KFF listed premium increases for enrollees who keep their current plan. Humana Basic Rx enrollees in 28 states face increases of $6.30 to $30.60 a month. Wellcare Classic enrollees in 16 states face $7.30 more a month, and HealthSpring Assurance Rx enrollees in 11 states face $9.30 to $14.70 more.
The largest increases are in AARP Medicare Rx Preferred, where KFF found monthly premium increases of $50 or more in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. At $50 a month, staying put costs at least $600 more over a year than the same coverage cost in 2026. Humana Value Rx enrollees in five states face $17.20 to $22.30 more a month.
A plan that rises by a large amount is not the same as a plan that rises everywhere. KFF found that Wellcare Value Script, a plan with 5.9 million enrollees who do not receive low-income help, goes down by less than $1 to $17.50 in 29 states and up by less than $1 to $5.30 in 22.
Why zero-premium plans are disappearing
About 4 million stand-alone enrollees without low-income subsidies, 28 percent of that group, paid no monthly premium in 2026 and will face a premium in 2027, according to KFF. The brief ties part of the change to the end of the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration, a program that gave extra subsidies to drug-plan sponsors and capped year-over-year premium increases.
CMS confirmed the demonstration ends. In its fact sheet on the 2027 Part D bid amounts, the agency said it will discontinue the demonstration at the end of 2026 and set the national average monthly bid amount at $296.05 and the base beneficiary premium at $41.33.
The choices are also narrowing. KFF counts 316 stand-alone plans from 15 parent organizations in 2027, down from 360 plans from 17 organizations in 2026, and the average beneficiary will see nine plans instead of 11.
How to price a drug list before Dec. 7
Medicare’s free Plan Finder lets a member enter each medication, pick a pharmacy and see the expected cost of every plan in the area, premium included. The premium alone does not settle it, since a low-premium plan can carry a high cost for a particular drug.
For a switch to take effect Jan. 1, Medicare.gov says the plan must receive the request to join by December 7. Members who do nothing generally stay in their current plan at the new price, which is how a $50 monthly jump becomes the default.
Official 2027 figures for some other Medicare costs, including the Part B premium, have not been published, and this report does not use any. The premium numbers above are limited to stand-alone drug plans.
Is the current drug plan still the cheapest for the same prescriptions?
The risk is the default. A member who never opens Plan Finder keeps a plan whose premium may have jumped by $50 a month, and the last day to change it for January is Dec. 7.
“The Medicare Money Bundle” includes “Open Enrollment in an Afternoon: Plan Finder in one sitting, and a keep-or-switch answer.” The guide is built for exactly this task: entering a drug list once and ending the session with a decision on whether to keep the current plan or move.
Get the Medicare bundle for a keep-or-switch answer on a drug plan →
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.
