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Your Part D Premium Had a Cushion for Two Years. It Ends 12/31.

Writer: Gen Kruse
Gen Kruse
Sep 4
2 min read

Updated: Oct 8

For two years, a temporary federal program absorbed part of the premium increase on stand-alone Medicare drug plans. Most people never knew it was there. It ends December 31, 2026, and 2027 is the first year without it.




What is changing

Medicare ran the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration in 2025 and 2026. It lowered the base premium and limited how much a stand-alone drug plan could raise its monthly premium from one year to the next — by $35 in 2025 and by $50 in 2026. On July 28, 2026, CMS announced the program ends with contract year 2026. For 2027, that limit is gone.


What that may cost you

Without the limit, a stand-alone drug plan may raise its premium by more than you have seen in the past two years. There is no ceiling on what an individual plan can charge. If you stay put without reading your notice, you may first see the new number on your January bank statement.


Where the real number is

Your Annual Notice of Change is mailed by September 30. It shows your 2027 premium, deductible, drug tiers and pharmacy network next to this year's. It is a few pages, and it is the only document that tells you what your own plan is doing. Annual Enrollment runs October 15 through December 7.


A premium increase on its own does not open a special enrollment window. Annual Enrollment is your window.


Takeaway

The cushion is going away, not the coverage. Your drug plan will keep working in 2027. The open question is what it will cost, and that answer is already in your mailbox.


Bring your Annual Notice of Change and your prescription list, and we will help walk through it line by line.




Sources

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only. Benefits, costs, and coverage vary by plan and area. Medicare rules may change.

Content for educational purposes only. AskGen is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program.

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Last Updated 10.01.2026

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