For years, Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) has followed a familiar rhythm. From October 15 to December 7, beneficiaries could review their coverage, check on prescription costs, and decide whether to stick with their current plan or make a change.
It was never exactly simple—Medicare rules rarely are—but it was predictable. Most retirees felt they could get by with minimal review. After all, if your doctor was still covered and your medications hadn’t changed much, why rock the boat?
This was the comfortable “normal” for many: look at the basics, trust that your plan won’t change too drastically, and assume things will roll over smoothly into the new year.
But this year, the script has changed—and if you approach AEP the way you always have, you could face costly surprises.
This Year’s Disruption
2026 and beyond will look very different for Medicare beneficiaries. Several major shifts are happening all at once:
- CMS rule changes are causing drastic cuts to Medicare Advantage plan benefits and major shakeups in prescription drug formularies.
- Competition among carriers is tightening. In many counties, insurance companies are reducing the number of available plans, cutting options that aren’t profitable.
- Medicare Supplement plan holders aren’t immune. Even if your supplement policy isn’t changing, your standalone Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) is experiencing the same disruptions—higher premiums, reduced coverage, or disappearing entirely.
What does that mean in practice? The plan you’re using today will not be the same in 2026. Some will shrink in benefits. Others will vanish altogether.
If you’ve been able to “set it and forget it” in the past, that won’t be enough this year. Doing nothing could mean losing access to your doctor, paying significantly more at the pharmacy, or being forced into a plan that no longer meets your needs.
For a retiree who always assumed their plan would automatically “take care of itself”—this disruption could be an unfortunate wake-up call.
A Planning Guide + a Licensed Broker
The good news? You don’t have to navigate these changes alone. Two tools can transform this overwhelming moment into an opportunity:
Annual Enrollment Planning Guide
Our planning guide is designed to maximize your time by walking you through the exact questions you need to answer before enrollment.
- Worksheets help you document your current health conditions, prescriptions, preferred doctors, and travel plans so nothing slips through the cracks.
- Budget planning sections help you balance monthly premiums with out-of-pocket costs.
- A checklist ensures you’ve reviewed your Annual Notice of Change, confirmed your doctors, and verified your pharmacy coverage.
In short, it organizes the chaos so you’re not blindsided when benefits shift.
A Licensed Broker
- Medicare brokers spend hundreds of hours each year in training and recertification to stay current on the latest plan rules and offerings.
- We provide our services at no cost to you—brokers are compensated by carriers, not clients. Read more about how brokers are compensated in our blog How Do Medicare Insurance Brokers Get Paid? (And Why It Doesn’t Cost You Extra)
- As a broker, we can cut through the noise, showing you how this year’s changes impact you directly and which plans still deliver the coverage you need.
At Elkin Financial Group, we take this even further. What sets our team apart is that we don’t just review plans—we train our local teams in your area and give free in-person educational seminars all around Indianapolis on the very products and plans you’ll be choosing from. We know all the details inside and out because we partner with carriers to learn all the changes in advance and I personally train the trainers.
That means when you sit down with me or one of my agents, you’re not just talking to someone who sells plans. You’re working with a Better Business Bureau A+ rated business AND a team that helps educate other professionals so that they too understand those plans.
Giving You Confidence, Clarity, and Control
Imagine the alternative. Instead of waiting until January to discover your medication doubled in cost or your doctor fell out of network, you walk into the new year with confidence.
- Your prescriptions are covered at the most affordable tier available.
- Your doctors and specialists remain in-network.
- You understand your premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket limits before they hit your wallet.
- You’ve secured extra benefits—like dental, vision, or hearing—that weren’t available in your old plan.
That’s the power of using the AEP Planning Guide in partnership with a licensed broker. It turns a potentially stressful and disruptive season into a moment of control.
Instead of facing higher drug costs and losing access to your specialist, you can work through the planning guide, meet with a broker, and find a plan that keeps your care team intact and proactively manages pharmacy costs. Instead of uncertainty, you enter 2026 with peace of mind.
Final Word - This Year Requires Action
The stakes are higher this year than ever before. With CMS changes, reduced plan availability, and shifts in drug coverage, your current plan will not look the same going forward. Ignoring these changes isn’t just risky—it’s costly.
But there’s good news: you don’t have to figure it all out on your own and it doesn’t cost you a single penny out of pocket or impact your premium.
- Get the AEP Planning Guide to keep you organized.
- If you are in the Indianapolis area, attend a free in-person Medicare 101 seminar.
- Schedule an appointment with a licensed broker who can help make sense of the details.
This AEP is unlike any before. The times of “just letting your plan renew” is gone. The disruption is real: plans are shrinking, disappearing, or costing more. But using our tools, resources, and meeting with one of our experts—leads you into 2026 prepared, confident, and protected.
At Elkin Financial Group, we believe you deserve a retirement defined by security, not surprises. That’s why we’ve built this guide and committed to the hours of training required to know the details inside and out.
📅 Don’t wait. AEP runs October 15 to December 7. Take time now to complete the guide, then schedule an appointment with Mike or one of our highly qualified agents.
Because when it comes to your healthcare coverage, the right guidance isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.