Medicare Part D Premiums to Jump 50% in 2027

Medicare's standalone drug coverage, known as Part D, is the plan many retirees buy to pay for prescriptions. Its price is rising sharply for 2027, and staying in the plan you have now has become the expensive choice.

What changed in the pricing

The average monthly premium for a standalone Part D plan is expected to reach $51 in 2027, which is up 50% from $34 in 2026. That estimate assumes enrollees keep their current plan.

One policy change drives much of the jump. The Trump administration ended the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration after 2026, which ended both the extra subsidies to the companies that run the plans and the $50 monthly cap on premium increases.

The government's own number is much lower. CMS, the agency running Medicare, projects the average standalone premium will rise from $35 to $36, and said that 93% of beneficiaries who aren't low-income can get an enhanced Part D plan for less than $6 a month. Regulators didn't explain the methodology, but KFF researchers said the agency may have assumed people will switch plans.

The math on doing nothing

Three-fourths of standalone enrollees without low-income subsidies, or 10.4M people, will pay more in 2027 if they don't change plans during open enrollment — up from 56% a year earlier. For 2.4M of them, the monthly premium would rise by more than $50. Only 38K people crossed that line in 2026.

More than 4M of these enrollees are in zero-premium plans today, and no zero-premium standalone plans exist for 2027, so they'll have to start paying.

Deductibles are climbing too. The average for standalone enrollees will be $643 in 2027, up from $540, while the standard maximum deductible grows from $615 to $700.

How you pay is changing as well. Most enrollees will face coinsurance, a percentage of a drug's price, instead of a flat copay, which makes out-of-pocket costs harder to predict.

Where the cheaper options sit

Price differences across national plans are the key lever. Centene'sCNC Wellcare Value Script Rx averages $6.50 a month in 2027, the cheapest of the eight plans sold nationally.

Wellcare Classic averages $10.90, and Humana'sHUM Basic Rx averages $16.00. At the high end, Humana Premier Rx Plan averages $137.40, and UnitedHealth'sUNH AARP Medicare Rx Preferred averages $204.50, up from $126 in 2026.

AARP Medicare Rx Saver averages $98, a 97% jump. Depending on the region, its range runs from $10.30 to $235.30. Premiums for the same plan vary by region, so the national average isn't what any single household pays.

Moving from a high-premium national plan to the cheapest one is worth close to $198 a month on average figures alone. Comparing formularies matters as much, since the list of drugs each plan covers decides the rest of the bill.

Medicare Advantage is the other route. Drug coverage inside those private plans averages $9 a month in 2027, more than 5x cheaper than standalone coverage, because sponsors can use Medicare rebate dollars to lower premiums.

The tradeoff is access. These Medicare Advantage plans tend to use narrower provider networks and heavy prior authorization, which can delay or deny care.

What to do before Dec. 7

Open enrollment runs through Dec. 7, 2026, and changes take effect Jan. 1. Plans can be compared at Medicare.gov using the Plan Finder, and 1-800-MEDICARE is available for help comparing costs.

Not acting is the biggest risk. Some 65% of Medicare beneficiaries didn't compare coverage options during last year's open enrollment.

For some, acting is not optional. About 4.3M Medicare beneficiaries will see their plan terminated at the end of 2026 and must pick something new regardless.