Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: What Lancaster Can Change by March 31

Dallas County has 84 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 29 plans are not coming back, 20 are new, and 31 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 9 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Lancaster, not which plan to pick.

Lancaster, Texas — If you signed up for a Medicare Advantage plan last fall and are already second-guessing it, you still have time to fix things. The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs from January 1 through March 31, giving people on Medicare Advantage a second window each year to make a change.

This period is easy to confuse with the fall Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7), but the rules are different — and narrower. Here's what Lancaster residents can and can't do between now and the end of March.

What This Window Is For

The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (MA-OEP) is a chance to correct course if the plan you're in this year isn't working for you. According to CMS, if you're currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can make one change during this period. That change takes effect the first day of the following month.

Lancaster is in Dallas County, where dozens of Medicare Advantage plans are offered by multiple carriers, so residents who want to switch generally have real options to look at. Plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level, so anything you see on Medicare.gov for Dallas County applies to Lancaster.

What You Can Do Between January 1 and March 31

If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you may:

• Switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage).
• Drop your Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare (Part A and Part B).
• Add a standalone Part D prescription drug plan if you go back to Original Medicare.

That's it — one change, and it takes effect the first of the month after your request is processed.

What You Cannot Do in This Window

This is where people trip up. During the MA-OEP, you cannot:

• Switch from Original Medicare into a Medicare Advantage plan (that had to happen during fall enrollment or a Special Enrollment Period).
• Join a standalone Part D plan if you're staying on Original Medicare with no Advantage plan to leave.
• Make more than one change. If you switch plans in January and dislike the new one in March, you're generally locked in until next fall — unless a Special Enrollment Period applies.

Knowing the limits up front is the single best way to avoid a costly mistake this season.

2027 Numbers Worth Keeping in Mind

Even if you're happy with your plan, the underlying Medicare rules changed meaningfully for 2026. When you're weighing whether to switch, keep these program-level facts in view:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 for the year in 2027. Once you hit that in covered drug costs, you pay nothing for covered prescriptions the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible in 2027: $700.
• The coverage gap (“donut hole”) is gone. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. You can ask your drug plan to spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D — kicks in above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming your doctors are still in-network. Provider networks can change year to year. Confirm before you switch, not after.
• Overlooking your drug list. A plan that covered your medication one year may not cover it the same way the next, or the tier may have moved.
• Cancelling a Medigap policy too quickly. If you dropped a Medigap policy to try Medicare Advantage, you may not be able to get the same one back without medical underwriting. Ask questions before you cancel anything.
• Confusing MA-OEP with AEP. The fall window (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7) is when almost anyone can change almost anything. This spring window is much more limited.

What About Star Ratings?

CMS publishes Star Ratings (1 to 5 stars) that measure plan quality on things like customer service, member complaints, and how well plans manage chronic conditions. Star Ratings are a useful data point — but they're one input among several. Your doctors, your prescriptions, and your total expected costs matter just as much.