Medicare drug plan premiums jump 50% to $51 if you stay put

The average monthly premium for a standalone Medicare drug plan will rise 50%, from $34 in 2026 to $51 in 2027, if people keep the plan they have now, KFF projected on Oct. 30. That is $17 more a month.

CMS put out a much smaller number. The agency projected the national average would rise about $1, from $35 to $36, based on September enrollment. KFF says CMS did not explain its method. KFF raises one possibility: CMS assumed people switch to cheaper plans.

Switching does pull the average down. A year ago KFF estimated the average would climb from $37 to $44 for 2026. After open enrollment, the real 2026 average came in at $34.

The $51 figure assumes nobody switches.

Who pays more

About 13.6 million people in standalone drug plans don’t get Medicare’s Low Income Subsidy, also called Extra Help. If all of them keep their plans, KFF found:

• 10.4 million, or 76%, pay a higher premium in 2027. In 2026 it was 56%.
• 2.4 million see their premium rise more than $50 a month. In 2026 only 38,000 people faced a jump that big.
• 4.1 million who pay $0 today will pay something, because no standalone plan has a $0 premium in 2027.
• 3.9 million, nearly 30%, pay at least $100 a month.

There is a cheap end too. More than half of that group, 7.5 million people, would still pay less than $20 a month.

Why the jump

The federal Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration ends after 2026. It paid extra subsidies to standalone plan sponsors and capped monthly premium increases at $50 for 2026. KFF says the Trump administration’s decision to end it removed both the subsidies and the cap.

Medicare Advantage drug plans barely move. Their average drug premium is projected at $9 in 2027, up less than $2. Medicare Advantage plans can use rebate dollars from their Medicare payments to buy down drug premiums. Standalone plans don’t get that money. Nearly 8 in 10 Medicare Advantage drug plan enrollees paid no drug premium in 2026.

The national plans

Per KFF, average premiums for the 8 national standalone plans range from about $6 to $204 a month in 2027.

The lowest are both from Centene. Wellcare Value Script Rx averages $6.50, up from $5.80. Wellcare Classic averages $10.90, up from $8.60.

The highest are UnitedHealthcare’s AARP Medicare Rx Preferred at $204.50, up from $126.00, and Humana Premier Rx Plan at $137.40, up from $119.60.

Premiums also vary by region. AARP Medicare Rx Preferred averages $204 but runs from $136.70 to $264.50 across Medicare’s 34 drug plan regions. Humana Basic Rx averages $16 and runs from $6.30 to $169.60.

Deductibles and coinsurance

The standard Part D deductible rises to $700 in 2027 from $615. The average deductible is $643 for standalone plan enrollees, up from $540, and $489 for Medicare Advantage drug plan enrollees, up from $360.

Nearly all standalone plan enrollees, 99.8%, face median coinsurance of 25% on preferred brand drugs and 35% on nonpreferred drugs. That means you pay a share of the price, not a flat copay. We covered the shift to coinsurance on Oct. 27.

What it means for you

If you have a standalone drug plan, look up its 2027 premium before you renew. Open enrollment runs Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, per Medicare.gov.

Compare plans with your actual drug list, not just the premium. A cheaper premium can come with a higher deductible or more coinsurance on the drugs you take.

If you keep your plan without checking, you pay its 2027 price.