Is there a limit on what I pay for prescriptions in 2026?

Yes: $2,100 in 2026 ($2,400 in 2027) for the whole year. Your deductible, copays and coinsurance for covered drugs all count toward it, and after you hit it your plan pays 100% until the year ends. If you'd rather not pay it all up front, you can spread it into monthly payments.

More detail

Here's how it might look. Say you take an expensive brand-name drug. In January you fill it, meet your deductible if your plan has one, and pay your share. By spring you may reach $2,100 in 2026 ($2,400 in 2027). From then on, you pay nothing for covered drugs for the rest of the year.

That's where the monthly payment option comes in. It's called the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. Instead of paying the pharmacy, you get a monthly bill from your plan, spread across the calendar year. Every Part D plan offers it, and it costs nothing to join. It won't lower your drug costs, though. It just evens them out. It may not be a good fit if you get or qualify for Extra Help.

Watch out: the cap counts only drugs your plan covers. Your monthly plan premium is separate.

What to have ready: your full drug list with doses, so we can check each plan's drug list.

If you take costly medicines, I'd be glad to walk through how the cap and the payment plan could work for you.