Medicare Part D in 2027: a higher cap and deductible, and fifteen newly negotiated drugs
Medicare open enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026, and the drug benefit changes on January 1: the out-of-pocket cap and the deductible both rise, negotiated prices reach fifteen more drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy, and premium support for stand-alone drug plans ends. Here is what to check before choosing a plan.
Updated October 3, 2026
What happened
- January 2026Medicare-negotiated prices for the first ten drugs took effect.
- July 2026The Medicare GLP-1 bridge program began, running through the end of 2027.
- October 15 to December 7, 2026Annual open enrollment: compare and switch Part D or Medicare Advantage plans for 2027.
- January 1, 2027The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises from 2,100 to 2,400 dollars, the maximum standard deductible from 615 to 700 dollars, and negotiated prices take effect for fifteen more drugs.
What changes in 2027
The annual cap on what you pay out of pocket for covered Part D drugs rises to 2,400 dollars; once you reach it, covered drugs cost nothing for the rest of the year. The standard deductible rises more steeply, to as much as 700 dollars, and because everyone passes through the deductible while relatively few reach the cap, it is the change most people will notice. A temporary federal subsidy that held down premiums for stand-alone drug plans ends, so many of those premiums are expected to rise.
Negotiated prices take effect on January 1 for a second group of fifteen drugs, including the semaglutide family (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), Trelegy Ellipta, Breo Ellipta, Xtandi, Ibrance, Pomalyst, Ofev, Calquence, Linzess, Austedo, Tradjenta, Janumet, Xifaxan, Vraylar and Otezla. What you pay still depends on your plan’s tiers and phases, but lower negotiated prices mean you work through the deductible and toward the cap on smaller totals.
The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads out-of-pocket drug costs into monthly instalments, continues and renews automatically, and the monthly cap on covered insulin continues.
Where paying cash still fits
Many common generics cost less at some pharmacies for cash than the copay or deductible-phase price under a Part D plan. Paying cash for those can make sense, but a cash purchase made outside your plan usually does not count toward your deductible or out-of-pocket cap unless you submit it to the plan, so it pays to know which drugs you will take all year and which plan handles them best.
The Plan Finder on Medicare.gov lets you enter every drug and pharmacy you use and compare total annual cost across plans, which matters more than the premium alone.
What to do
- Read your plan’s Annual Notice of Change for 2027 as soon as it arrives.
- Enter all your drugs and your pharmacy in the Medicare Plan Finder and compare total yearly cost, not just premiums.
- Check whether each of your drugs is on the new plan’s formulary and which tier it sits on.
- For inexpensive generics, compare the cash price with your plan’s price, especially in the deductible phase.
- Make any change between October 15 and December 7, 2026.
How Script Unlock gets you a cash price for your prescription
Prices on this site come from pharmacies responding to a real prescription. We do not publish estimated, average or "typical" prices, because none of those would be your price.
- 1You upload your prescription
A photo of your your prescription prescription is enough. Nothing is sold on the site; you are asking pharmacies to quote.
- 2Licensed pharmacies respond
Pharmacies that Script Unlock has verified see the request and each can reply with its own cash price for your exact drug, strength and quantity.
- 3You choose and pay the pharmacy
You compare the responses, pick a pharmacy, and pay that pharmacy directly when you collect. Script Unlock never takes a patient payment and never sets the price.
Related
Sources
- Medicare.gov, Medicare Plan Finder
- CMS, Medicare drug price negotiation
- Mere Benefits, what the 2027 Medicare & You handbook changes
- Yahoo Finance, Medicare changes coming in 2027
Written by the Script Unlock editorial team from the reporting and official sources above, as of October 3, 2026. Policies and prices in this area change often; check the linked sources for the latest.
Script Unlock is a marketplace that lets licensed pharmacies quote a cash price on your prescription. It does not prescribe, dispense or sell medication, does not process patient payments, and does not give medical advice. Always follow the instructions of your prescriber and pharmacist and read the medication guide supplied with your medicine.