Every fall, Medicare beneficiaries hear a great deal about changing Medicare plans.
Advertisements highlight new benefits, different premiums and additional coverage options.
With significant Medicare Advantage plan changes taking place in Minnesota for 2027, there’s even more attention on comparing Medicare coverage this year.
But here’s something important to remember:
You don’t need to change Medicare plans simply because another Annual Enrollment Period has arrived.
If your current plan is continuing into 2027 and still meets your healthcare needs, keeping it may be a perfectly reasonable decision.
The important thing is to review your coverage before deciding.
Here are five reasons keeping your current Medicare plan may be the right choice.
1. Your Doctors and Hospitals Are Still in Your Plan’s Network
If you’re enrolled in Medicare Advantage, your provider network can be one of the most important factors in your coverage.
Perhaps you’ve spent years developing relationships with your primary care doctor and specialists.
You know your healthcare team, and they understand your medical history.
If those providers remain in your Medicare Advantage plan’s network for 2027, that’s an important reason to consider keeping your current coverage.
Before deciding, check:
- Your primary care doctor
- Specialists you regularly see
- Your preferred clinic
- Your preferred hospital
- Your healthcare system
- Other providers important to your care
Don’t assume your providers will remain in-network simply because they participated in 2026.
Provider networks can change.
Check the specific 2027 plan’s provider directory and consider confirming important providers with both the insurance company and the provider’s office.
If the providers you rely on remain in-network and the plan continues to meet your other needs, keeping your coverage may make sense.
2. Your Prescription Drug Coverage Still Works Well
Prescription drug coverage is another important consideration.
If your current Medicare Advantage plan includes prescription drug coverage, or you have a standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, review how your medications will be covered in 2027.
Consider:
- Are your prescriptions still on the plan’s formulary?
- Have their formulary tiers changed?
- What will your medications cost?
- Has the deductible changed?
- Are there new prior authorization requirements?
- Does step therapy apply?
- Are there quantity limits?
- Is your preferred pharmacy still in the plan’s network?
- Does your pharmacy offer preferred cost-sharing?
If your medications remain covered at costs that work for you, that’s a good reason to consider staying with your current plan.
However, don’t rely only on what you paid in 2026.
Review the actual 2027 prescription drug coverage.
A plan that covered your medications well this year may have different costs or coverage rules next year.
3. Your Overall Healthcare Costs Remain Reasonable for Your Needs
A Medicare plan shouldn’t be evaluated solely on its monthly premium.
When reviewing your current coverage, consider the entire financial picture.
That includes:
Monthly premiums
What will you pay each month for the plan?
Deductibles
What amounts might you need to pay before certain coverage begins paying?
Copays
What fixed amounts will you pay for covered doctor visits, specialists and other services?
Coinsurance
What percentage might you pay for certain covered services?
Hospital costs
What could inpatient or outpatient care cost?
Maximum out-of-pocket limit
If you have Medicare Advantage, what is your applicable annual limit on qualifying cost-sharing for covered Medicare Part A and Part B services?
If your current plan’s costs remain manageable and appropriate for the healthcare you expect to use, there may be little reason to change solely because another plan advertises a lower premium.
For example, a plan with a lower monthly premium could have higher specialist copays, hospital costs or a higher maximum out-of-pocket limit.
Likewise, a plan with a higher premium might provide a cost-sharing structure that works better for someone who uses healthcare frequently.
The lowest premium isn’t necessarily the lowest total cost.
Compare what you might spend in a typical year and what you could potentially spend if you experience significant healthcare needs.
4. Your Current Plan’s Benefits Match What You Actually Use
Medicare Advantage plans may offer supplemental benefits beyond Original Medicare.
Depending on the plan, these may include:
- Dental services
- Vision services
- Hearing services
- Fitness programs
- Transportation
- Over-the-counter allowances
- Other supplemental benefits
These benefits can be useful, but only if they fit your needs.
For example, suppose your current Medicare Advantage plan provides dental coverage that works with your dentist and includes services you regularly use.
Another plan might advertise a larger dental benefit, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it would work better for you.
The alternative plan could have different provider requirements, annual limits or restrictions.
The same principle applies to vision, hearing and other supplemental benefits.
Ask yourself:
“Am I actually using the benefits my current plan provides?”
And:
“Will those benefits continue to meet my needs in 2027?”
If the answer is yes, that may be another reason to keep your current plan.
Don’t change coverage based solely on an advertised extra benefit without understanding the details.
5. Your Healthcare Needs and Lifestyle Haven’t Changed Significantly
Your Medicare coverage should fit your individual circumstances.
Perhaps your healthcare needs are relatively similar to what they were when you selected your current plan.
You continue seeing the same doctors.
You take the same prescriptions.
You receive healthcare in the same area.
Your travel patterns haven’t changed.
And your current plan continues to provide coverage that works for you.
In that situation, there may be no compelling reason to switch.
However, think about whether anything important has changed.
Have you:
- Started seeing a new specialist?
- Begun taking a new medication?
- Experienced a hospitalization?
- Started using durable medical equipment?
- Changed doctors or healthcare systems?
- Begun spending winters in another state?
- Started traveling more frequently?
- Changed your financial priorities?
If your circumstances haven’t changed significantly, and your plan’s 2027 costs and benefits remain appropriate, keeping your coverage may be a sensible choice.
The key is making that decision after reviewing your coverage, not simply assuming everything will stay the same.
When Keeping Your Current Plan May Not Be an Option
This is especially important for Minnesota Medicare beneficiaries in 2027.
Several major insurance companies are discontinuing or restructuring Medicare Advantage plans.
If your current plan is ending, you generally cannot keep that same plan for 2027.
You will need to review your available coverage options.
Read any notice from your current insurance company carefully.
A plan termination or nonrenewal may provide additional enrollment rights, including certain Medicare Supplement guaranteed-issue protections, depending on your circumstances.
Keep the notices you receive.
If you’re considering Original Medicare with Medicare Supplement insurance, verify your eligibility and applicable rights before making a decision.
Minnesota has Medicare Supplement rules that differ from those in many other states.
Don’t assume that rules described in general national Medicare Supplement articles necessarily apply the same way in Minnesota.
Don’t Confuse Staying With the Same Insurance Company With Keeping the Same Plan
An insurance company may discontinue one Medicare Advantage plan and introduce another.
The new plan might have:
- A different premium
- Different deductibles
- Different copays or coinsurance
- A different maximum out-of-pocket limit
- Different prescription coverage
- A different provider network
- Different supplemental benefits
Even if the replacement plan is offered by the same insurance company, it may not provide the same coverage.
Compare the actual plan details for 2027.
Don’t assume the new plan is identical to the one you’re losing.
What If Your Current Plan Is Continuing?
If your Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan is continuing into 2027, review its Annual Notice of Change.
This document explains important changes to your coverage for the coming year.
Then consider whether your current plan still meets your needs.
If it does, you generally don’t need to take action during the Annual Enrollment Period simply to remain enrolled in that continuing plan.
Your coverage ordinarily renews for the following year, subject to the plan’s terms and continued eligibility.
However, if your plan is ending or you receive a notice requiring action, follow the instructions and deadlines in that notice.
Five Questions to Ask Before Deciding to Stay
Before deciding to keep your current Medicare plan for 2027, make sure you can answer these questions:
1. Are my doctors, specialists and hospitals still available under my plan?
2. Are my prescriptions still covered at costs that work for me?
3. Are my premiums, deductibles, copays, coinsurance and other potential costs reasonable for my needs?
4. Do the plan’s benefits continue to match what I actually use?
5. Does my current coverage still fit my healthcare needs and lifestyle?
If your answers are favorable and your plan is continuing, keeping your coverage may be the right decision.
When Can You Make Medicare Changes for 2027?
Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period runs from:
October 15 through December 7, 2026.
During this period, people with Medicare can make certain changes to their Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug coverage for 2027.
Changes made during the Annual Enrollment Period generally take effect January 1, 2027.
If your current plan is continuing and still meets your needs, you generally don’t need to make a change.
Depending on your circumstances, other enrollment periods may also be available.
Reviewing Doesn’t Mean Switching
It’s easy to think that comparing Medicare plans should result in finding something new.
But that’s not necessarily true.
A careful review may show that your current plan continues to work well.
Your doctors are available.
Your prescriptions are covered.
Your costs remain appropriate.
Your benefits meet your needs.
And your coverage fits your lifestyle.
In that case, keeping your existing plan may be a well-informed decision.
The purpose of reviewing Medicare coverage isn’t to change plans every year.
It’s to understand what coverage you’ll have and determine whether it continues to meet your needs.
The Bottom Line
Here are five reasons keeping your current Medicare plan may be the right choice:
1. Your doctors and hospitals remain available under the plan.
2. Your prescription drug coverage continues to meet your needs.
3. Your overall healthcare costs remain reasonable for your situation.
4. Your current benefits match what you actually use.
5. Your healthcare needs and lifestyle haven’t changed significantly.
None of these factors guarantees that your current plan is the best choice.
But together, they may provide good reasons to stay.
Before making your 2027 Medicare decision, review your coverage, compare alternatives when appropriate and consider your individual needs.
Sometimes the right decision is to change Medicare plans.
Sometimes the right decision is to keep the plan you already have.
Either way, the goal is the same:
Learn First. Decide With Confidence.
Medicare Guidance for Minnesotans
At YourMedicareMN, our focus is education first.
We help Minnesota Medicare beneficiaries understand changes to Medicare coverage, compare their options and make informed decisions based on their individual healthcare needs.
Visit Contact Us to schedule a personalized Medicare review and get answers tailored to your situation.
For official Medicare information, visit the Medicare.gov website.
YourMedicareMN is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. Plan availability and benefits vary by location and plan. Contact the plan or Medicare for complete plan information.
Learn First. Decide With Confidence.
YourMedicareMN
Medicare Guidance for Minnesotans