Published: Updated:
Sometimes fall can seem like it’s open season on Medicare beneficiaries. Insurance companies are after your money by raising costs, reducing benefits, and dropping covered drugs. And, of course, there are crooks who use this period to target you with Medicare scams.
If you’re on Medicare and want or need to watch your budget, pay attention. Now is the time to protect yourself.
Here’s what Medicare beneficiaries need to know to prepare for 2026.
Don’t overlook your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)
Now through Dec. 7 is Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period. It’s also known as the Annual Election Period and often referred to as the Annual Open Enrollment. I’ll refer to it as the AEP. By any of those names, it’s the time of year when you should look at your current Medicare coverage. You’ll want to assess whether making changes will reduce your costs or improve your benefits.
Every September, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and prescription drug plans must mail every enrollee an “Annual Notice of Change” (ANOC). That document will inform you of how your coverage will change starting in January.
During the AEP, those in Original Medicare can choose to switch to a different prescription drug plan to save money or use it as an opportunity to switch to a MA plan.
Those in MA can switch to a different plan or change to Original Medicare. But the latter might not be practical if you can’t get a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan.
How ignoring your ANOC can be a $20,000 mistake
In my role as a registered Medicare counselor with SHIP (the State Health Insurance Assistance Program), I recently met with a woman with a significant problem. I’ll call her Anne (not her real name). Anne had ignored the required Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) which her Medicare Advantage plan had sent to her.
That was a grievous mistake.
Among other things, the ANOC informed her that the plan would be discontinuing its contract with the medical group where her doctors practiced. It also said if she did nothing, the plan would choose a new primary care physician for her.
She continued to see her long-time primary care physician and specialists. She only realized there was a problem the following March when she received a bill for about $20,000 because those doctors were no longer in the plan’s network and therefore not covered.
By the time I met with her, she was being hounded for that past due bill. Not only that, but she was unhappy with the new doctor assigned to her, and could not find a specialist included in her plan.
Think of the ANOC as your Early Warning System
What happened to Anne is not unusual and could happen to more Medicare enrollees in 2026. That’s because several insurance companies plan to leave the MA space completely. Others will be leaving certain rural areas and small cities.
Three of the largest have said they intend to reduce the number of enrollees they cover by both leaving markets and reducing benefits.
United Healthcare, the largest MA plan seller, said in their most recent investor call that it will reduce benefits and discontinue plans. The company estimates that this will cut MA enrollment by about one million people. The second largest, Humana, expects to lose more than 500,000 subscribers because of reductions in benefits. Aetna expects to drop more than 400,000 enrollees, saying it plans to prioritize financial “margins over membership.”
In most of the country, those who intend to change to a different MA plan will find fewer choices available.
If you lose coverage because your Medicare Advantage plan discontinues or leaves your area, you may have rights to get a Medigap plan without being denied for pre-existing conditions. However, timing is critical in these situations, so you should contact the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) in your state.
Fewer and more costly drug plan choices
Something similar is happening with stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs). Some insurance companies offering PDPs are reducing the number of plan choices they offer. Others are leaving that part of the business completely.
In 2026, depending on where they live, Medicare beneficiaries will have a choice of between 8 and 12 PDPs. Compare that to as many as 32 such plan choices just a few years ago.
Most of the remaining drug plans have increased their premiums, deductibles, and copays. Many are moving drugs to higher co-pay tiers, which means they will likely cost you more than in the past. Some plans are quietly removing particularly expensive drugs from their formulary (the list of drugs the plan covers).
If you don’t pay attention to that, you could find yourself paying the full cost of a drug in 2026 even though your PDP covered it previously.
You’re not helpless if you act by Dec.7
Surveys show that a little over half of beneficiaries read the ANOC. Those same surveys show that about 70% of those people don’t bother comparing their current coverage with alternatives.
That defeats the point of reading the ANOC.
The ANOC should be your trigger to explore your options. Compare your current coverage with other plans to see which gives you the best mix of doctor access, benefits, and overall costs — premiums, deductibles, and copays included.
If you find something better, this is your chance to make a change. If you don’t even compare, you’re gambling that everything will be fine.
That’s a Medicare Advantage bet you could regret for the next year.
How to go online to shop for and compare alternative Medicare plans
You probably spend hours researching big purchases — a car, a vacation, even a new phone. Isn’t your healthcare worth the same effort to make sure you’ve got the best Medicare coverage?
The official Medicare website has a tool you can use for finding and comparing health plans. If you want to compare drug plans, you enter your zip code, your prescription medications and preferred pharmacies. It will search all the plan choices in your area and then sort them from the least to most expensive for total cost, combining premiums and copays for your specific situation.
You can drill down into the plan details to see your out-of-pocket cost for each drug and which pharmacy would be the least expensive. If you find a better plan, you can enroll online (which is much easier and faster than enrolling by phone).
You can also use the plan finder to compare the details of the MA plans where you live. In addition to costs, it will show you which, if any, extra benefits, such as dental and vision, are covered and whether a plan’s rules will allow you to access those benefits. As with the drug plans, you can enroll online.
📰 Real stories. Real rescues. Real advice.
Join thousands of smart travelers and savvy consumers who already subscribe to Tales from Consumer Advocacy Land — the friendly weekly newsletter from Consumer Rescue. It's filled with helpful consumer guidance, insider tips, and links to all of our latest articles.
Join today! We promise to never spam you.
There is a little bit of a learning curve to using Medicare’s plan finder. However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created a how-to video that does a good job of explaining it.
What to ask your insurance agent
Trying to understand and compare plans — and then make a decision — can be intimidating. That’s why many people turn to insurance agents who specialize in Medicare products. If you go that route, here are a few things to keep in mind.
Insurance agents earn their income through payments from enrollments and ongoing renewals. The most lucrative plans are usually Medicare Advantage (MA) options. However, several major insurers have announced they’re reducing or even eliminating those payments for certain plans in some parts of the country — both for new sign-ups and renewals.
By contrast, prescription drug (PDP) plans typically offer the smallest financial incentive. In fact, many companies have said they’ll stop paying agents for drug plan enrollments altogether this year.
If you plan to use an agent, that could affect your experience. Some agents might be tempted to promote plans that still pay them, while skipping others. Ask whether your agent represents all the MA or drug plans available in your area. If not, you could miss out on the plan that’s best for you.
For free, unbiased help reviewing every option, contact your state’s SHIP program. Ethical agents will refer you there for information on plans they don’t represent.
Watch out for Medicare Scammers
Consumer Rescue founder and chief fiasco fixer, Michelle Couch-Friedman, has been getting a large number of Medicare-related scam phone calls. And she’s still many years from Medicare eligibility age. As she does with other scam callers, Michelle has recorded many of these bad actors in action.
Related: Listen to the recorded call: The Publishers Clearing House scam is making a comeback
One recent scam call (which I heard myself) began with a woman asking if Michelle had Medicare Parts A and B. Playing along to find out what the call was about, she said yes. The caller replied, “Perfect! You qualify for the benefits,” and then transferred her to a “supervisor.”
A man with a heavy accent came on and said, “Thank you for reaching the additional benefits department.” He immediately began asking for personal information. When Michelle asked where he was calling from, he said, “I’m calling you from U.S. Healthcare, Miss. I work for the additional benefits department.”
To sound legitimate, he added, “No, ma’am — you remember, Medicare never calls,” when she feigned confusion. But when she asked for a number to call him back after talking with her daughter, the scammer hung up.
Medicare insurance agents and plans are not allowed to cold-call you
Michelle asked how our readers can identify the legitimate calls. Here’s a simple and safe rule:
If someone you don’t know calls about your Medicare, it’s almost certainly not legitimate.
Under Medicare’s marketing rules, agents and plan representatives can only contact you if you already have a relationship with them or if you’ve given explicit written permission — for example, through an online form or at a presentation. They’re also prohibited from going door-to-door to solicit Medicare business.
So if a stranger calls about your Medicare coverage, your red flags should fly. Don’t share personal information. Don’t engage. Just hang up.
If you’re curious about possible extra benefits, call your plan directly or use the official Medicare Plan Finder tool.
What to do now — before Dec. 7
- Read your ANOC and any other letters from your current MA or drug plan.
- Compare your 2026 plan details with alternatives using Medicare.gov before Dec. 7.
- Make an informed decision to stay with your plan or switch before the deadline.
- If you use an insurance agent, confirm which local plans they do and don’t represent.
- Get free, unbiased help from your state’s SHIP program.
- Never enroll in a Medicare plan or give information to anyone who calls or shows up uninvited.
If you’re a regular Consumer Rescue reader, you’re already someone who pays attention to details — and those details matter when it comes to your health and your wallet.
Have other Medicare questions? Ask me here at Consumer Rescue’s Ask Abe. (Abe Wischnia, special features columnist and registered Medicare counselor)
