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Enrollment & timing

Medicare Plan Finder Will Draw Doctor-Network Data From Plans Themselves Starting October 9

A behind-the-scenes switch two days before open enrollment begins means the in-network doctor lists on Medicare.gov will come directly from Medicare Advantage plans for the first time, replacing third-party data feeds. CMS cautions the information may not be fully error-free in year one.

By the Goodsurance editorial teamOctober 7, 2026

Medicare Plan Finder, the comparison tool on Medicare.gov that beneficiaries use to shop for health and drug plans, will switch to provider directory data supplied directly by Medicare Advantage organizations starting October 9, 2026, according to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services update document published September 29. The change takes effect six days before the Annual Enrollment Period opens October 15.

Until this transition, the tool drew its provider network information from third-party data sources. Under the new approach, Medicare Advantage plans maintain publicly accessible provider directory application programming interfaces built to federal interoperability standards, and CMS ingests that data into the Plan Finder directly. Plans were required to submit their directory URLs to CMS by July 10, 2026. A preview window opened September 8 so organizations could review and correct their listings before the public launch.

Medicare Plan Finder switches to plan-supplied doctor-network data on October 9, just before the October 15 open enrollment start.

CMS said it does not expect all data submissions to be fully cleared of errors in the first year of the program, given the scale of the transition. The preview process was built specifically to help plans catch and fix problems ahead of the public rollout.

For consumers shopping for 2027 Medicare Advantage plans this fall, the practical effect is that the doctor and hospital lists shown on Medicare.gov will reflect data the plan itself submitted rather than data assembled by an outside aggregator. CMS recommends confirming network status directly with both the plan and the provider before finalizing any enrollment decision, a step that is particularly important in this first year of the new system.

In plain words

Medicare's plan comparison website, Medicare.gov, is getting a new feature on October 9. Starting that day, each Medicare Advantage plan will send its own list of doctors and hospitals directly to Medicare. Before this change, outside companies provided that information. Medicare says the data might not be perfect the first year because this is new for everyone. Open enrollment starts October 15. If you shop for a 2027 plan, look up your doctors on Medicare.gov, but also call the plan or your doctor's office to make sure they are really in the plan before you sign up.

Understand the basics first

Source: CMS
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