Goodsurance

Enrollment & timing

Part D Benchmark Rises Nearly 24 Percent for 2027. CMS Expects Zero-Premium Plans to Remain Available for Low-Income Enrollees.

The July 28 bid-data release set the 2027 Part D national average bid at 296 dollars and 5 cents, raising the stakes for 13.6 million enrollees who rely on premium-free drug coverage through the Extra Help program.

By the Goodsurance editorial teamAugust 2, 2026

On July 28, 2026, CMS released preliminary bid information for contract year 2027, setting the national average monthly bid amount at 296 dollars and 5 cents, a roughly 24 percent increase from the prior year. The base beneficiary premium for 2027 will be 41 dollars and 33 cents. For most standalone drug plan enrollees, that means notable premium increases when plans finalize offerings for the October open enrollment period, as the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration is ending after 2026. But the picture is different for the approximately 13.6 million people enrolled in the Low-Income Subsidy program, known as Extra Help. LIS enrollees pay no premium if they select a benchmark plan, meaning a plan whose bid is at or below the regional low-income premium subsidy amount. CMS said in the July 28 announcement that it expects people who qualify for Extra Help will have multiple prescription drug plan choices with no premiums in 2027. The reassurance matters because the number of benchmark plans available to LIS enrollees hit a record low in 2026 as the PDP market contracted. KFF reported in June 2026 that only 360 standalone drug plans will be offered in 2026, down 22 percent from 2025. Whether the 2027 market offers more or fewer zero-premium LIS options will not be clear until CMS releases the full plan landscape in mid-to-late September 2026. LIS enrollees who are auto-enrolled in a non-benchmark plan are automatically reassigned by CMS each year to a zero-premium plan, if one is available. Those who made an active plan choice bear responsibility for switching if their current plan no longer meets the benchmark threshold.

The 2027 Part D benchmark jumped 24 percent. CMS says zero-premium options for Extra Help enrollees should still exist, but the full picture arrives in September.

In plain words

Medicare has a program called Extra Help that pays drug plan premiums for people with low incomes. About 13.6 million people use it. In 2027, the average drug plan bid went up a lot, about 24 percent. CMS says it still expects low-income enrollees to find plans with no premium in 2027, but the number of free plans has been shrinking. The full list of 2027 plans will not be released until mid-September 2026. If you use Extra Help, it is worth checking your plan during open enrollment in October.

Understand the basics first

Source: CMS
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