Medicare Advantage

Before You Compare Huntsville Plans, Know the Letters

For 2027, Huntsville is looking at 76 Medicare Advantage plans: 15 new, 5 gone since 2026, and 24 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 6 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Madison County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Huntsville shoppers heading into the 2027 Medicare Advantage season have a fuller menu than many realize — and understanding who sells plans here, and what the letters after each plan name mean, is the first step to a smart comparison.

Huntsville is in Madison County, where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists 70 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, offered by eight carriers. All 70 include prescription drug coverage. Before you compare premiums or benefits, it helps to know what kind of plan you are actually looking at, because HMOs, PPOs and Special Needs Plans work differently — even when they come from the same insurer.

Who sells Medicare Advantage in Huntsville

Eight carriers offer Medicare Advantage plans in Madison County for 2027. Listed alphabetically, they are:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 8 plans
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama — 3 plans
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC) — 7 plans
• Devoted Health — 10 plans
• Humana — 19 plans
• Simpra Advantage — 3 plans
• UnitedHealthcare — 12 plans
• VIVA Medicare — 4 plans

The number of plans a carrier offers doesn't tell you which plan fits you — it just tells you how many options that insurer has put on the shelf here. The full roster of plan names is in the table below.

HMO, HMO-POS and PPO: what the letters mean

Most of the choices in Huntsville fall into three network types.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You pick a primary care doctor and use the plan's network for most care. Referrals are usually needed to see specialists. Out-of-network care generally isn't covered except in emergencies. In Madison County, 25 of the 66 plans are HMOs, offered by Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Devoted Health, Humana and VIVA Medicare.

HMO-POS (Point of Service). This is an HMO with a limited "point of service" option that lets you go outside the network for certain services, usually at a higher cost. There are 9 HMO-POS plans in the county, all from UnitedHealthcare (including plans branded through AARP).

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). PPOs give you more freedom to see out-of-network providers, though your share of the cost is typically higher when you do. Referrals usually aren't required. Huntsville's lineup includes 32 PPOs across most of the carriers listed above, plus regional PPO options from Humana.

PFFS plans

Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) is a fourth Medicare Advantage plan type nationally. In a PFFS plan, the insurer — not Medicare — decides how much it will pay providers and how much you pay. Providers can choose whether to accept the plan's terms each time you get care.

For 2027, no PFFS plans are listed in Madison County. If someone tries to sell you one locally, double-check on Medicare's Plan Finder that it is actually available in your ZIP code.

Special Needs Plans (SNPs)

Special Needs Plans are Medicare Advantage plans built for people in specific situations. To join, you have to qualify. Of Huntsville's 66 plans, 26 are SNPs. There are three types:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible). For people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. These plans coordinate benefits between the two programs.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition). For people with a qualifying chronic condition, such as diabetes or certain heart or lung conditions. Devoted Health and UnitedHealthcare offer C-SNPs in the county.
• I-SNP (Institutional). For people who live in a nursing home or need a similar level of care. Simpra Advantage and UnitedHealthcare offer I-SNPs here.

If you don't qualify for an SNP, you can't enroll in one — but that also means the "regular" (non-SNP) list is the one that matters for most shoppers.

Two things to know about 2027 drug coverage

Because every Medicare Advantage plan in Madison County includes drug coverage, the 2027 Part D rules apply to all of them:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your drug spending hits that limit, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D deductible can be no higher than $615.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• If your drug costs are uneven, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread them into monthly bills at no extra charge.

Higher-income enrollees may also owe an IRMAA surcharge on Part B and Part D; for 2026, that starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Star Ratings, briefly

CMS publishes Star Ratings (1 to 5) that measure plan quality and member experience. Ratings are one input among many — coverage of your drugs, whether your doctors are in-network, and total expected costs usually matter more day to day.

How to compare, step by step

1. Make a list of your doctors, hospitals and prescriptions. 2. On medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code and your drug list. 3. Filter by plan type if you already know you want an HMO or a PPO. 4. Check each plan's provider directory to confirm your doctors are in-network. 5. If you qualify for Medicaid, ask about D-SNPs; if you have a qualifying chronic condition, ask about C-SNPs.

Mark your calendar: the Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, and Medicare Advantage members have a second window, Jan. 1 through March 31, to switch plans or return to Original Medicare.