Medicare Advantage

What’s Changing in Alabama Medicare Advantage for 2027: 10 Plans Leaving, 27 Changing

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama's Medicare Advantage lineup is shifting again for the 2027 plan year, and every one of the state's 67 counties will feel some version of the change. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files, Alabama had 98 Medicare Advantage plans offered somewhere in the state for 2026 and will have 113 for 2027. Behind those two totals is more turnover than the net number suggests: 10 plans are leaving, 25 are new, 27 are changing in at least one way CMS tracks, and 61 are continuing unchanged.

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Here is what the two Landscape files tell Alabama beneficiaries, and what to do with that information before the Annual Enrollment Period closes on December 7, 2026.

What the statewide numbers mean

CMS publishes a Landscape Source File for each plan year that lists every Medicare Advantage plan offered in every county. Comparing the 2026 file to the 2027 file produces the counts Alabamians are reading about now.

For 2026, 98 Medicare Advantage plans were offered somewhere in Alabama. For 2027, that number is 113. Each plan is counted once statewide, no matter how many counties it serves.

Inside those totals:

• 10 plans are leaving. They were offered somewhere in Alabama for 2026 and will not be offered anywhere in Alabama for 2027.
• 27 plans are changing. They are offered in both plan years, but at least one of the attributes CMS tracks in its file — premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name — differs in at least one county.
• 25 plans are new for 2027.
• 61 plans are continuing unchanged in the attributes CMS records.

A "changing" plan under this definition could differ in small ways or larger ways. The Landscape file flags that a difference exists; the specifics for your particular plan live in the ANOC your carrier is required to send you. This article does not describe what changed or by how much, because that is exactly what the ANOC is for.

All 67 Alabama counties see at least one plan leave or change for 2027.

If your plan is leaving

If your current Medicare Advantage plan is one of the 10 not being offered anywhere in Alabama for 2027, two things apply.

First, you will receive a non-renewal notice from your plan. That notice triggers a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February 2027, giving you time beyond the standard Annual Enrollment Period to choose a new Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare with or without a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

Second, if you do nothing, you will not be automatically moved into another Medicare Advantage plan by your former carrier. You would return to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027, which generally does not include prescription drug coverage. That is why the Special Enrollment Period matters: it exists so you don't have to make a rushed decision inside the Annual Enrollment Period window.

If your plan is changing

If your plan is one of the 27 changing for 2027, it will still be available — but something CMS tracks about it is different from 2026 in at least one county. That is where the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) comes in.

Your carrier must send you an ANOC each fall. It compares your current plan's details to next year's details side-by-side. If you do nothing, you stay enrolled in the renewing plan with the changes described in that ANOC on January 1, 2027.

The practical step is simple: open the ANOC when it arrives, read the comparison, and decide whether the 2027 version of the plan still fits.

The counties with the most change

Every Alabama county has turnover of some kind. These eight are the ones with the highest combined counts of plans leaving and plans changing, based strictly on the CMS Landscape comparison:

• Marshall County: 10 leaving, 17 changing
• Bibb County: 8 leaving, 18 changing
• Elmore County: 10 leaving, 16 changing
• Lauderdale County: 10 leaving, 16 changing
• Chilton County: 7 leaving, 18 changing
• Coosa County: 8 leaving, 17 changing
• Cullman County: 8 leaving, 17 changing
• Autauga County: 8 leaving, 16 changing

These are county-level counts; a plan leaving statewide shows up as "leaving" in each of the counties where it had been offered. If you live in one of these counties, odds are higher that something in your mailbox this fall deserves a careful read.

What to do before December 7

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7, 2026. Any Medicare Advantage or Part D choice you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

A short checklist: 1. Watch your mail in September and October for either an ANOC (plan continuing) or a non-renewal notice (plan leaving). 2. Confirm which of the three situations applies to you: continuing unchanged, changing, or leaving. 3. If your plan is leaving, remember the Special Enrollment Period extends through the end of February 2027, but you can also act during the Annual Enrollment Period. 4. If your plan is changing, read the ANOC's year-over-year comparison before deciding whether to stay or switch. 5. If your plan is continuing unchanged, you still have the right to shop during the Annual Enrollment Period.

Where to get free help

You don't have to sort this out alone, and you don't have to pay anyone to help you.

• Medicare.gov — the official Plan Finder lets you compare every plan available in your ZIP code.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — available 24/7.
• Alabama SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) — free, one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who do not sell insurance.