Medicare drug premiums are likely to rise for Alaska seniors in 2027

The federal government has been quietly subsidizing Medicare drug plans to keep monthly premiums down. That support ends after this year, and many Alaska seniors will probably pay more for Part D coverage in 2027.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is letting the program that propped up those premiums expire, returning Part D to what it calls normal market conditions. What that means at the mailbox: higher monthly premiums and, for some, different plan options next year.

Not everyone is exposed the same way. Low-income enrollees who get Extra Help, the federal subsidy that covers premiums up to a set level, stay largely protected, as long as they're in a qualifying plan. Everyone else pays their plan's full premium, whatever it becomes. The annual cap on out-of-pocket drug spending, created under the Inflation Reduction Act, stays in place either way.

The practical advice is the same as every year, but it matters more this one: check your plan during open enrollment, Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, because premiums and benefits can change. CMS releases final 2027 prices in September.