Annual Review (AEP) in Ohio: October 15 – December 7

Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7 every year, and whatever you choose takes effect January 1. It is the one window when anyone on Medicare can switch plans, move between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, or pick up drug coverage. If you do nothing, your current plan renews automatically — with whatever changes it made for the new year.

That last sentence is the one that costs people money. Doing nothing is a decision, and it is made on your behalf by a plan that has already told you what it is changing.

I am Steve Almeroth, an independent Medicare broker in Middleburg Heights. Every autumn I sit with people across Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, and Summit counties and go through this. Here is what actually matters.

What you can change during AEP

AEP is not a Medigap window. This is the single most common misunderstanding I hear, and it matters more in Ohio than in some other states — see the Medigap section below.

Read the Annual Notice of Change

Every September, your plan mails you an Annual Notice of Change — the ANOC. It is a thick, boring document, and it is the single most useful piece of mail you will get all year, because it lists every change your plan is making for January.

Four things to look for, in order:

1. Your drugs. Did anything move to a higher tier, get dropped from the formulary, or pick up a prior-authorization requirement? This is where the real money is, and it is the change people notice in February rather than October.
2. Your doctors and hospitals. Networks change every year. A provider who was in-network in 2026 may not be in 2027.
3. The out-of-pocket maximum. On a Medicare Advantage plan this is your worst-case year.
4. Premiums, deductibles, and copays. Usually the first thing people check and rarely the most important.

If you cannot find your ANOC, call your plan and ask them to resend it. Do not rebuild your year from memory.

What Medicare itself costs in 2027

Here is an honest limitation: the 2027 figures are not published yet. CMS releases the Part A and Part B numbers in the autumn, and the Medicare Advantage and Part D landscape files come out shortly before AEP opens. Anyone quoting you 2027 premiums today is guessing.

For reference, these are the confirmed 2026 figures:

The Part D out-of-pocket cap is worth understanding before you compare drug plans. It did not exist before the Inflation Reduction Act — there was no ceiling at all. Once you reach it, you pay nothing more for covered drugs for the rest of the calendar year.

The pre-AEP checklist

Do these four things before October 15 and the actual decision takes twenty minutes.

Write down your prescriptions. Exact names, doses, and how often. Not “my blood pressure pill.” The comparison is done drug by drug against each plan’s formulary, and a single tier change can swing a year by hundreds of dollars.

Write down your doctors. Every one you intend to keep, plus the hospital system you prefer. In Northeast Ohio this usually means naming which system your specialists sit in — and it is worth checking each one rather than assuming a whole system is in or out.

Find your ANOC. See above.

Think honestly about the coming year. A knee replacement, a move, a spouse retiring, a course of physical therapy — these change which plan design fits. Physical therapy in particular is among the most prior-authorized services in Medicare Advantage, so if you expect a lot of it, say so out loud when comparing.

The part of AEP that does not apply in Ohio

You cannot use AEP to buy a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy on equal terms, and Ohio gives you less room here than you might expect.

Your protected window for Medigap is the six months beginning the first month you are both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. During those six months no insurer can refuse you, charge you more, or price you differently because of your health. That comes from Ohio Administrative Code Rule 3901-8-08.

After that window, Ohio permits full medical underwriting. And Ohio has no “birthday rule” — no annual window to switch supplements without health questions. Some states have one; Ohio does not, and the claim circulates online anyway. There is also no annual Medigap open enrollment.

Ohio does provide guaranteed issue on specific triggering events — your employer coverage ends, your Medicare Advantage plan leaves your area or terminates, your insurer becomes insolvent, or you are exercising a trial right after trying Medicare Advantage for the first time. Those are events, not a calendar.

The practical consequence: if you are on Medicare Advantage and thinking “I’ll switch to a supplement someday,” someday may not be available. A health history that develops in the meantime can make you uninsurable for Medigap. This is the decision I most often wish people had made with better information the first time. The full comparison is in Medigap vs Medicare Advantage in Ohio.

What happens after December 7

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment runs January 1 – March 31 for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan. It is narrower than AEP, and people routinely assume it is a full second chance. It is not.

During it you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, or drop your Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare — and if you do that, you may then join a Part D drug plan.

You cannot switch from Original Medicare into a Medicare Advantage plan, join a Part D plan if you are on Original Medicare, or switch between Part D plans on Original Medicare. You get one change, and it takes effect the first of the month after the plan receives it.

There are also Special Enrollment Periods for specific life events — moving out of your plan’s service area, losing other coverage, entering or leaving a nursing home, or qualifying for Extra Help or a Medicare Savings Program. Those are situational, not annual.

Common questions

If I like my plan, do I have to do anything? No. But read the ANOC anyway. “I like my plan” is a statement about the 2026 version of it, and the 2027 version is a different product.

Will my premium go up if I switch plans? Not because you switched. Medicare Advantage and Part D premiums are set by plan and year, not by your history. Medigap is the exception — that one is medically underwritten in Ohio outside your protected window.

Can I change my mind after December 7? Only through the January–March Advantage window described above, or a Special Enrollment Period. Plan on December 7 being final.

Does using a broker cost me anything? No. Carriers pay the commission and the premium is identical whether you enroll through me, directly, or on Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder. You can absolutely do this yourself — plenty of people do.

Talk it through before December 7

October and November fill up fast, and the last week before December 7 is the worst possible time to be making this decision carefully. Earlier is better.

Steve Almeroth · MedStar Insurance Agency · Middleburg Heights, OH · 440-622-2112 · steve@medstar.agency

I also give free Medicare talks at public libraries across Northeast Ohio — see upcoming dates.

Sources

• Medicare.gov — Joining a plan
• CMS — Understanding Medicare Advantage & Medicare Drug Plan Enrollment Periods (Pub. 11219)
• CMS — 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles
• CMS — Final CY 2026 Part D Redesign Program Instructions
• Ohio Administrative Code — Rule 3901-8-08, Medicare supplement

For information on all of your options, including plans I do not offer, contact Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or reach Ohio’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (OSHIIP) at 800-686-1578.