Medicare open enrollment opens Oct. 15, and patients who take expensive cancer, multiple sclerosis, or other specialty drugs face a practical choice before it closes on Dec. 7. The yearly cap on out-of-pocket Part D drug costs rises to $2,400 in 2027, and people can either pay that amount as bills arrive at the pharmacy or spread it across the year in monthly installments.
That installment option, called the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, does not follow anyone who changes plans. People who switch to a new drug plan or Medicare Advantage plan during open enrollment must set it up again with the new insurer, according to an open enrollment guide from the Association of Health Care Journalists. People who stay in the same plan are renewed each year automatically, according to a Medicare guide to the payment plan.
