Medicare Part D Drug Plans in Brighton, CO

What to know before you choose

For 2027 the CMS Landscape lists 8 stand-alone Part D plans in Colorado, with monthly premiums from $5.30 to $260.20 and deductibles from $300 to $700 (CMS CY2027 Landscape). Premium is only one piece. Each plan has its own drug list (formulary), its own tiers and its own preferred pharmacies, so two plans with similar premiums can be hundreds of dollars apart once your prescriptions are priced.

There is a yearly cap on what you pay out of pocket for covered Part D drugs. In 2026 the cap is $2,100; once you reach it, covered drugs cost you $0 for the rest of the year. For 2027 CMS has set the cap at $2,400 and the most a plan's deductible can be at $700 (CMS CY2027 Rate Announcement). The cap helps most if you take expensive medicines, but how quickly you reach it, and what you pay on the way, still depends on the plan.

A worked example, as an illustration only. Suppose your covered prescriptions are costly enough to reach the cap in 2027. You pay up to $700 first if your plan uses the full deductible, then your copays or coinsurance until your out-of-pocket spending reaches $2,400, then $0 for covered drugs for the rest of the year. Under the 2026 rules the same year stopped at $2,100, so the most you can spend on covered drugs rises by $300. Your premium is paid on top of the cap, and drugs not on the plan's list do not count toward it.

Timing matters. If you go 63 days or more in a row without Part D or other creditable drug coverage after your Initial Enrollment Period, Medicare adds a late enrollment penalty to your premium for as long as you have Part D. It is 1% of the national base premium for each full month without coverage, rounded to the nearest 10 cents (CMS). The base premium is $38.99 in 2026 and $41.33 in 2027 (CMS), so 20 months without coverage adds $7.80 a month in 2026 and $8.30 a month in 2027, recalculated every year.

A month by month example, as an illustration with a hypothetical drug. Say one covered brand-name drug has a negotiated price of $500 a month and your plan uses the full $700 deductible and the standard 25% coinsurance that applies after it (CMS). In January you pay the full $500. In February you pay the last $200 of the deductible plus 25% of the remaining $300, or $275. From March to December you pay 25% of $500, $125 a month. The year comes to $2,025, under the $2,400 cap, so the cap never applies. Double the drug price and the year would stop at the cap instead. The $500 price is an assumption to show the arithmetic; your real prices come from each plan's formulary, which is why I price your actual list.

Big January bills can be spread out. Since 2025 every Part D plan offers the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: you pay $0 at the pharmacy for covered drugs and the plan bills you monthly, with no interest or fees. It does not lower what you owe, and it may not suit people with low or steady costs, people who join late in the year, or people with Extra Help (CMS). In the example above it would turn a $500 January into a smaller bill spread across the year.

Insulin has its own limit: you pay no more than $35 for a one-month supply of each covered insulin product, and you do not pay the deductible for it (CMS).

Many Medicare Advantage plans include Part D, so this page is mainly for people on Original Medicare. If you are comparing the two routes, I price your drugs both ways so the comparison is fair.

Your needs and situation are unique, and I am committed to spending the time to get to know you so you get coverage and support that fits your lifestyle.

Colorado rules to know

Extra Help, the federal program that lowers Part D premiums and copays for people with limited income and savings, is applied for through Social Security. People enrolled in a Health First Colorado Medicare Savings Program qualify for Extra Help automatically.

Colorado's Medicare Savings Programs, run by Health First Colorado, can also pay your Part B premium. For 2026 the income limits for a single person run from $1,350 a month (QMB) to $1,816 a month (QI-1) (Colorado HCPF), and working income can raise the limit. Apply through your county human services office or PEAK.

For a no-cost, no-obligation Part D review, call me at (303) 887-8584 and bring your prescription list.

How and when to enroll

1. Join when you first get Medicare, during your seven month Initial Enrollment Period, unless you have creditable drug coverage from work.
2. If you are working past 65, ask your employer plan for its creditable coverage notice every year and keep it; it protects you from the penalty.
3. Review every fall: Annual Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026 for coverage starting January 1, 2027.
4. Give me each medicine by name, dose and how often you take it, plus your pharmacy. I price them across the plans I offer and you choose.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Picking the lowest premium without pricing your drugs.
• Skipping Part D because you take no medicines today. The penalty is permanent and new prescriptions are hard to predict.
• Not checking the pharmacy. Preferred pharmacy pricing can change your cost more than the premium does.
• Ignoring the Annual Notice of Change. Drug lists and tiers change every January.

What Lisa checks for you

1. Each medicine by name, dose, quantity and how often you fill it, plus the pharmacy you use and whether you would use mail order.
2. Every Colorado stand-alone plan that covers your area priced on that list, for the whole year: premium plus what you pay at the pharmacy.
3. Tier, prior authorization, step therapy and quantity limits for each drug, flagged before you choose.
4. Whether your income points to Extra Help or a Health First Colorado Medicare Savings Program.
5. If you are working past 65, the creditable coverage notice from your employer plan, so a late penalty never starts.

Questions to ask Lisa

• What will my exact drug list cost on this plan for the whole of 2027, not just the premium?
• Is my pharmacy preferred on this plan, and how much does that change the price?
• Do any of my drugs need prior authorization or step therapy?
• Would the Prescription Payment Plan help me, or would it only add a bill?
• Do I qualify for Extra Help or a Medicare Savings Program?

How Lisa helps

• Every prescription priced by name, dose and pharmacy, not guessed
• Estimated total yearly cost compared: premium plus drug costs
• Prior authorization, step therapy and quantity limits flagged up front
• A creditable coverage check if you are working past 65, to avoid the late penalty
• Extra Help and Health First Colorado Medicare Savings Program screening for limited incomes
• A fresh drug review every Annual Enrollment Period

Who it fits

You have Original Medicare, alone or with a Medigap plan, and need drug coverage. Or you already have a Part D plan and want to know whether it still fits your 2027 prescriptions.