Consumer columnist and West Hartford resident Harlan Levy has more than 20 years of experience writing stories about everyday experiences that anyone could encounter.

By Harlan Levy

Before I get to my main unexciting consumer topic that requires attention, here’s a delicious recipe that my wife told me about:

“There are a gazillion posts on Facebook and Instagram and elsewhere on the internet,” she said, “saying that if you beat together two cups of cottage cheese and a cup of Greek yogurt and two eggs and your sweetener of choice – and I put in a lot of vanilla – and you bake it for 45 minutes, you’ll get a low-calorie, high-protein cheesecake.”

People respond, she added, that there isn’t any cheese in it.

But there is, we say: cottage cheese.

Regardless, she made a batch and added a graham-cracker under-crust, and stuck it in the fridge for several hours. Then we tried it, and it was very tasty.

Okay, on to more serious business:

Open Enrollment in Connecticut, 2027

If you haven’t seen the TV ads or received emails on this, you need to know that you need to either renew or change your Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare prescription drug plans for 2027 in the Open Enrollment period from Oct. 17 to Dec. 7.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says the costs and covered benefits of different options can change from year to year.

For plan choices visit Medicare.gov/plan-compare.

For 2027 CMS just announced significant premium savings for millions of Medicare beneficiaries:

• The average monthly medicare advantage (MA) premium decreases 16.5% from $14.37 in 2026 to $12 per month in 2027.
• MA-PD (drug coverage) drops further averaging around $7 nationally.
• Part B Premium: Still mandatory, separate from your MA plan premium (projected around $221.00+).
• Maximum Out-of-Pocket (MOOP): Median in-network limit rises from $6,500 to $7,100.
• Standalone Part D: Separate prescription drug plans average $36, with a drug out-of-pocket cap of $2,400.
• $0 Premiums: Roughly 70% of MA-PD plans still offer a $0 monthly plan premium, though availability varies by location.

Based on plan projections, enrollment in Medicare in Connecticut will be 783,973 individuals. The state Insurance Department and Access Health CT have released final target metrics, approved rates, and historical baseline data for the upcoming cycle:

• Approximately 220,000 Connecticut residents are enrolled in the fully insured individual and small group plans affected by the upcoming 2027 cycle.
• Revised dates: The open enrollment period through Access Health CT runs from Oct. 23, 2026 through Jan. 15.
• Enroll by Dec. 15 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2027. Enroll between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15 for coverage starting February 1, 2027.

Approved 2027 Premium rate stats: The state finalized rate increases for the four remaining insurers (Anthem, ConnectiCare Benefits, ConnectiCare Insurance Co., and UnitedHealthcare) while ConnectiCare Inc. exits the market:

• Individual market: Average premium increase of 11.3% approved (reduced from the 16.2% requested by insurers).
• Small Group Market: Average premium increase of 15.1% approved (reduced from the 17.8% requested).
• 48 MA plans are available in 2027, up from 47 plans in 2026.
• 100% of people with Medicare have access to an MA plan.
• $0 is the lowest monthly premium for an MA plan.
• 100% of people with Medicare will have access to an MA plan with a $0 monthly premium.
• Medicare Part D: 10 stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans are available in 2027. All individuals with Medicare have access to a Medicare prescription drug plan. 100% of people with a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan have access to a plan with a lower premium than what they paid in 2026. 32.38% of people with a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan get Extra Help. $13.30 is the lowest monthly premium for a stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plan.
• Supplemental benefit offerings, including hearing, dental, and vision benefits, are expected to remain stable.

If you need help, call 1-800-MEDICARE.

Open Enrollment scams

If you’re looking for a new plan, you might search online. But before you click on a search result, remember: Bad actors often use web addresses that look similar to government website addresses, the Federal Trade Commission warns. They also use keywords and official-looking logos to make you think you’re at the real Healthcare.gov or Medicare.gov when you’re not. If you use the link or phone number in the ad, you might end up paying for a scammy plan that’s not health insurance, or expose yourself to medical identity theft.

Advice:

• Type the name of the website directly into the search engine. For Medicare, it’s Medicare.gov, or call 800-633-4227. To compare health insurance plans, check your coverage, or find out if you qualify for savings, go to HealthCare.gov or call 800-318-2596.
• Look for small “Ad” or “Sponsored” labels next to search results to identify paid ads. Scroll past paid ads and be sure to look for the .gov ending.

Now you know.

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