Medicare’s 7 December deadline: what your 3.6% raise is worth after Part B, the new US$2,400 drug cap, and the US$43.75 test for choosing a plan
Medicare's annual open enrollment closes on 7 December, and the plan you are in on that date is the plan you keep for 2027. Next year's drug-cost cap rises to US$2,400, the maximum deductible rises to US$700, and the 3.6% Social Security raise will be partly absorbed by a Part B premium that has not yet been announced. This report puts numbers on each change and gives a simple test for comparing drug plans.
Open enrollment runs until 7 December, and four weeks out, most people with Medicare are weighing two numbers they can see and one they cannot. They can see the 3.6% Social Security raise and the new drug-cost cap. They cannot yet see the 2027 Part B premium, which comes out of most retirees’ Social Security payments before the money lands. VNN has worked through what the raise is worth across three possible Part B outcomes, what the higher cap costs heavy drug users, and the break-even point between a cheap plan with a deductible and a pricier one without.
The report sets out the one-line test that shows when a zero-deductible plan cannot save you money, the drug spending at which the cap is reached under two common plan designs, the income rule that can add a surcharge to your 2027 premiums based on your 2025 tax return, and a checklist to work through before 7 December. Every figure is current as of 10 November 2026 and is checked against Medicare and Social Security Administration information.
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