Medicare 2026

New Medicare Advantage Plans for 2027: What "New" Means Before You Switch

Every fall, the Medicare Advantage lineup gets reshuffled. Plans arrive, plans leave, and many of the ones that stay look a little different than they did the year before. If you're reviewing coverage for 2027, it helps to know what "new" actually means on a plan brochure — and what to do if your current plan is one of the ones leaving.

A quick snapshot of the 2027 landscape

Nationwide, 5,595 Medicare Advantage plans were offered in 2026, and 5,561 are offered in 2027 (counting each plan once nationally). The small change in the total hides a lot of churn underneath:

• 1,150 plans offered somewhere in the U.S. in 2026 are offered nowhere in 2027.
• 1,116 plans are new for 2027.
• 1,632 continuing plans changed in at least one county they serve — a different premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name.

On the organization side, 32 companies that offered Medicare Advantage plans in 2026 offer none in 2027, and 9 organizations are new to Medicare Advantage for 2027.

The point isn't the headline count — it's that the odds your plan is identical to last year's are lower than you might think.

What "new" can mean on a plan

When you see "new for 2027" on marketing material, it can mean several different things:

• A brand-new plan from an organization that already offers Medicare Advantage.
• A plan from one of the organizations entering Medicare Advantage for the first time this year.
• A continuing plan with a new name, a different plan type (for example, HMO vs. PPO), a different premium, or a different drug deductible.

Each of those is worth a careful look. A new plan name on an old plan doesn't automatically mean better or worse — it means read the Summary of Benefits as if you've never seen it before.

If your plan is not being renewed

If your plan is leaving, your plan is required to send you a non-renewal notice. You have a few paths:

• Choose a new Medicare Advantage plan during Annual Enrollment (October 15 – December 7, 2026) for coverage starting January 1, 2027.
• Use the Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or move to Original Medicare with a Part D plan.
• Do nothing — in which case you're returned to Original Medicare on January 1, without drug coverage unless you actively enroll in a Part D plan.

A non-renewal also triggers a federal guaranteed-issue right to buy certain Medigap policies. That matters if you're considering Original Medicare + Medigap, because outside of guaranteed-issue situations, Medigap insurers in most states can use medical underwriting.

Medicare Advantage vs. Original Medicare + Medigap: a neutral look

Neither path is "better" in the abstract. The trade-offs look roughly like this:

• Medicare Advantage bundles Parts A and B (and usually Part D) through a private plan. Many plans include extras like dental or vision. In exchange, you generally use the plan's network and follow its rules for referrals and prior authorization.
• Original Medicare lets you see any provider that accepts Medicare, with no network. Most people pair it with a standalone Part D plan and often a Medigap policy to help with cost-sharing. Medigap premiums are an added monthly cost, and underwriting rules outside guaranteed-issue windows vary by state.

Which fits you depends on your doctors, your prescriptions, your travel patterns, your tolerance for plan rules, and your budget. There's no universal right answer.

Program-level numbers to keep in mind for 2027

A few national figures are confirmed for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026). After you hit that cap on covered drugs, you pay $0 for the rest of the year.
• No Part D plan may charge a drug deductible higher than $700 in 2027.
• The Part D "base beneficiary premium" for 2027 is $41.33. That's a national figure used to calculate the late-enrollment penalty; actual plan premiums are set plan by plan.
• The Social Security Administration announced a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for benefits payable beginning January 2027.

Two important numbers are not out yet: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges. CMS typically announces these in the fall. Until they're published, be cautious about any source quoting specific figures.

A simple review checklist

Before you switch — or stay — walk through these questions:

1. Did you get an Annual Notice of Change or a non-renewal letter? Read it page by page. 2. Are your prescriptions still on the plan's formulary at a tier you can afford? 3. Are your doctors, specialists, and preferred hospitals still in network? 4. Did the premium, drug deductible, or plan type change? 5. If you're weighing Original Medicare + Medigap, do you qualify for guaranteed issue, and have you compared total expected costs?

Where to go next

For official, local information — including which plans are available where you live and what each one actually covers — use Medicare.gov's Plan Finder or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7. Comparing on your own ZIP code and medication list is the only way to see what "new for 2027" means for you.