2027 Medicare numbers: every figure, and whether it is final

In short: Part D is the one part of 2027 that is genuinely settled. All three headline numbers are published.

The base beneficiary premium at $41.33 is not a coincidence. It is $38.99 multiplied by 1.06, which rounds to $41.33, since the Inflation Reduction Act caps annual growth in that figure at 6% through 2029, and 2027 lands precisely on the cap. The NAMBA jump of 23.7% is the number to watch, because the base premium was held to 6% by statute while the underlying bid rose almost four times that fast. That gap has to show up somewhere, and where it shows up is plan-level premiums (see 2027 Part D premium changes).

In short: Two numbers from the Trustees Report, neither announced by CMS.

CMS announces the final figures in the fall. The recent record: November 14, 2025 for the 2026 numbers, November 8, 2024 for 2025, October 12, 2023 for 2024, and September 27, 2022 for 2023. Full detail, including the hold-harmless mechanics and a competing higher figure in circulation: the 2027 Part B premium page.

In short: The thresholds are a calculation, and eleven of the twelve inputs are published.

Based on your 2025 tax return. The last inflation input publishes September 11, 2026, after which every threshold is arithmetic. Method, flip points, and the SSA-44 reduction path: the 2027 IRMAA brackets page.

In short: CMS has announced nothing, but the Trustees Report carries a full projected set that almost nobody is publishing.

Source: 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, Table V.E1, intermediate estimates. The report states plainly that "the values listed in the table for future years are estimates, and the actual amounts are likely to be somewhat different as experience emerges." Three of these are statutory fractions of the inpatient deductible: days 61 through 90 cost one quarter of the deductible, lifetime reserve days cost one half, and skilled nursing days 21 through 100 cost one eighth.

In short: What CMS pays plans for 2027 is settled. What plans charge you is not, until October.

The Advance Notice on January 26, 2026 proposed an average payment change of just 0.09%. The final on April 6 came in at 2.48%. Nearly the entire swing came from one line, the risk model revision and normalization adjustment moving from down 3.32% to down 1.12%.

In short: Neither has been published. Both have arrived in October in recent years.

The Senior Citizens League's outside projection for the COLA is 3.6% as of August 12, 2026, down from 3.9% in May. It is an independent estimate, not a government figure. Full detail: the 2027 COLA and your Medicare page.

In short: Negotiated prices for 15 drugs take effect January 1, 2027.

The second cycle of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program covers 15 Part D drugs, with maximum fair prices announced November 25, 2025 and effective FINAL. CMS figures: about 5.3 million Part D enrollees used these drugs during 2024, accounting for $42.5 billion, roughly 15% of gross covered Part D drug costs.

• Aug 12, 2026Page created. Part A section populated from Trustees Table V.E1 and verified against the report itself.
• Aug 12, 2026Part B figures re-sourced from Table V.E2 directly. Part B and IRMAA states set.

• CMS, 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Rate Announcement, April 6, 2026
• CMS, Medicare Part D 2027 National Average Monthly Bid Amount Information, July 28, 2026
• CMS, 2026 Medicare Trustees Report, Table V.E1 and V.E2, transmitted June 9, 2026
• CMS, Selected Drugs and Negotiated Prices (IPAY 2027)
• Social Security Administration, 2026 cost of living adjustment announcement, October 24, 2025
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index release schedule
• Machine-readable version of this page