If you have Medicare, August is a good time to start thinking about your coverage for next year. Medicare plans, costs, benefits, prescription coverage, and provider networks can change from year to year. Your own healthcare needs can change, too.

That is why an annual review is worth your time—even if you’re happy with your current coverage.

Start Preparing for 2027

Medicare’s Open Enrollment period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. During this period, people with Medicare can review their options and make changes to Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug coverage. Changes made during Open Enrollment generally take effect January 1, 2027.

You don’t necessarily need to change plans. If your current coverage continues to meet your needs, you can keep it. But you should understand what is changing before deciding to stay where you are.

Watch for Your Annual Notice of Change

If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage or Medicare prescription drug plan, your plan will send an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) in September. This document explains changes to your plan’s costs, coverage, benefits, and other important details that will take effect in the coming year. Medicare recommends reviewing these changes to determine whether your plan will continue to meet your needs.

When your notice arrives, don’t simply file it away.

Look carefully at:

• Monthly premiums and other costs
• Deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance
• Prescription drug coverage and costs
• Whether your medications are still covered
• Your doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and other providers
• Changes to provider networks
• Benefits or services that have been added, changed, or removed

Your Evidence of Coverage document, also generally provided in the fall, contains additional information about what your plan covers and what you will pay.

Your Healthcare Needs May Have Changed

Your plan isn’t the only thing that can change.

Think about what has happened since your last annual review.

Have you:

• Started taking a new prescription?
• Changed doctors or specialists?
• Been diagnosed with a new health condition?
• Begun using a different hospital or pharmacy?
• Started needing services that weren’t important to you a year ago?
• Found that your healthcare costs have increased?

Medicare itself points out that changes in health conditions, prescriptions, providers, and diagnoses can affect which coverage best meets a person’s needs.