Stay or switch
Do you actually need to switch? Probably not. Here’s how to know.
Short answer: most people can keep their current Medicare plan, and CMS projects that roughly eight in ten Medicare Advantage members can stay in their 2026 plan at the same or a lower premium next year. You do not need to re-enroll in Medicare annually, and there is no prize for switching. But doing nothing is still a decision, because your plan renews under next year’s terms, not this year’s. Here is the honest test: five findings that mean stay, four that mean shop, and the twenty minutes that tell you which you are.
Key takeaways
- You never need to re-enroll in Medicare itself; Parts A and B and Medigap policies continue automatically.
- CMS projects about 8 in 10 Advantage members can keep their current plan at the same or lower premium for 2027.
- Doing nothing still has consequences: your plan renews under its new premiums, tiers, network, and deductible.
- Shop if any of four things changed: your drugs, your doctors, your plan’s costs, or your own health situation.
- Staying after checking is a legitimate, informed outcome. Staying without checking is a guess.
What actually happens if you do nothing
Nothing dramatic, and this deserves saying clearly because enrollment season advertising implies otherwise. There is no lapse, no penalty, and no re-enrollment requirement: Medicare Parts A and B continue automatically, Medigap policies continue automatically, and Advantage and Part D plans renew themselves January 1. CMS says plainly that people who want to keep their current coverage generally do not need to re-enroll.
The catch is small but real: your plan renews under next year’s terms. The premium, deductible, drug tiers, network, and out-of-pocket maximum reset every January, and your plan disclosed those changes in the Annual Notice of Change it mailed you in September. Doing nothing means accepting those terms sight unseen. That is fine when the terms are fine, which they often are.
Five signs you can stay
| Check | What “stay” looks like |
|---|---|
| Your premium | Flat, or moved by a few dollars |
| Your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum | Unchanged, or changed trivially |
| Your drugs | Same tiers, no new restrictions, same pharmacy status |
| Your doctors and hospital | Confirmed in-network for next year, by phone, not directory |
| Your health situation | No new diagnosis, surgery, or medication since last fall |
All five come from your Annual Notice of Change plus a couple of phone calls. Five for five means staying is an informed decision, not a guess.
If all five hold, you are genuinely done. Close the tab, ignore the commercials, and enjoy the fall. That outcome is common and nobody advertises it, because there is no commission in telling someone to keep what they have.
Four signs you should shop
- Your drugs changed, or your plan’s treatment of them did. A tier move or a new prior-authorization requirement on a medication you take is the most common reason switching pays. Run the exact list through the Plan Finder.
- A must-keep doctor or hospital is leaving the network. The strongest single reason to change Advantage plans, and worth verifying by phone rather than trusting a directory.
- Your plan’s costs moved meaningfully. A deductible climbing toward the 2027 maximum of $700, or an out-of-pocket maximum rising by thousands, changes what a bad year costs you.
- Your health changed. A new diagnosis, a planned surgery, or a new expensive medication can make a different plan design clearly better than the one you chose when you were healthier.
One more, for people on standalone drug plans: even though CMS projects average standalone premiums rising less than a dollar for 2027, averages hide wide plan-level variation. Checking costs fifteen minutes.
The twenty-minute test
Ten minutes with the ANOC circling five numbers, ten minutes in the Plan Finder with your prescriptions sorted by total annual cost, and a phone call or two if you’re on Advantage. That is the entire exercise, and it ends one of two ways: you find nothing and stay (most people), or you find something and switch before December 7. Either ending is a good one; only skipping the test entirely leaves money on the table by accident.
If you would rather answer a few questions than read a checklist, the one-minute re-shop checker gives you a verdict and the steps that apply to you. The whole season, including a free printable version, lives on the open enrollment page.
Questions people also ask
Do I have to re-enroll in Medicare every year?
What happens if I don’t change my Medicare plan during open enrollment?
Is it worth switching Medicare plans?
How do I know if my Medicare plan is still good for me?
When is the deadline to change Medicare plans?
Sources for this article
- CMS.gov2027 landscape announcement (September 28, 2026): re-enrollment guidance and the plan-continuity projection.
- Medicare.govMedicare.gov: enrollment windows, automatic renewal, and plan-change rules.
- Medicare.govPlan Finder: comparing your current plan against alternatives.
Figures checked against these sources on September 30, 2026. We update within days when CMS publishes new amounts.
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- Your enrollment dates calculated from your own birthday, with the penalty deadlines marked
- Advantage vs. Medigap scored against your doctors, drugs, travel, and budget
- Word-for-word scripts for the broker, HR, the pharmacy, and Social Security
- The September re-shop ritual you reuse every fall, with the 2026 and 2027 numbers card
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