Medicare Advantage

Shopping Medicare Advantage in Montgomery for 2027? Here is the full plan-by-carrier list

Montgomery County has 67 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 4 plans are not coming back, 15 are new, and 17 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 6 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Montgomery, not which plan to pick.

Montgomery, Ala. — If you are sorting through Medicare Advantage choices for 2027, Montgomery has a long menu to work through. Montgomery sits in Montgomery County, and Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. For plan year 2027, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shows 67 Medicare Advantage plans from 8 carriers offered to people on Medicare in Montgomery County. Every one of those 67 plans includes prescription drug coverage. The table below lists each plan by carrier, its plan type, and whether it includes drug coverage.

What is on the Montgomery menu

The 8 carriers offering Medicare Advantage in Montgomery County for 2027, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Devoted Health, Humana, Simpra Advantage, UnitedHealthcare, and VIVA Medicare.

Here is how many plans each carrier offers in the county, straight from the CMS MA Landscape Source File:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 4 plans (HMO; 3 Special Needs)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama: 3 plans (PPO)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC): 7 plans (HMO, PPO; 2 Special Needs)
• Devoted Health: 11 plans (HMO, PPO; 6 Special Needs)
• Humana: 18 plans (HMO, PPO; 5 Special Needs)
• Simpra Advantage: 3 plans (PPO; 3 Special Needs)
• UnitedHealthcare: 12 plans (HMO-POS, PPO; 6 Special Needs)
• VIVA Medicare: 4 plans (HMO; 1 Special Needs)

The full list of plan names, plan types, and drug-coverage status is in the table on this page.

Understanding the plan types

You will see three plan types in Montgomery's list, and the differences matter for how you get care.

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization): You generally use in-network doctors and hospitals, and you usually need a primary care doctor and referrals for specialists.
• HMO-POS (Point of Service): Works like an HMO, but lets you use some out-of-network care in defined situations, usually at a higher cost.
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): More flexibility to see out-of-network providers, though you typically pay more when you do.

Every one of Montgomery County's 67 Medicare Advantage plans in the 2027 landscape file comes with Part D drug coverage built in. There are no stand-alone Part D plans listed in the county file for 2027, so if you go with a Medicare Advantage plan here, your prescriptions are covered through the plan itself.

Special Needs Plans, explained

Of the 62 plans in Montgomery County, 26 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs). SNPs are designed for people who fit one of these groups:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible): For people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition): For people with certain chronic conditions, such as diabetes or heart failure.
• I-SNP (Institutional): For people who live in a nursing home or need a similar level of care.

You will see labels like "HMO D-SNP," "PPO C-SNP," and "PPO I-SNP" in the plan list. If a SNP label does not describe your situation, that plan is not a fit for you, even if it is available in your ZIP code.

Part D basics to keep in mind for 2027

Whether your drug coverage comes through a Medicare Advantage plan or, elsewhere, a stand-alone drug plan, a few program-level rules apply in 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 for 2027. Once your out-of-pocket drug spending reaches that amount, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027).
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your Part D costs into monthly payments through your plan, if you choose to opt in.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

For specific drug costs under any specific plan, use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov or read the plan's own documents.

Key dates and how to compare

Two enrollment windows drive most decisions:

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Changes take effect Jan. 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to a different one, or go back to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan).

When comparing the plans in the table, look at a few things beyond the plan name:

• Are your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies in network?
• Are your prescriptions on the plan's formulary, and at what tier?
• Does the plan match your travel patterns (HMOs are tighter, PPOs are more flexible)?
• If you are dual-eligible or have a qualifying condition, would a SNP fit better?

Star Ratings, published by CMS, can also help you gauge quality; they are not a substitute for checking that your own doctors and drugs are covered.

A note on the local picture

About 36,690 people in Montgomery County are 65 or older, and they can choose among 67 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. That is a lot of options, and the "right" plan is genuinely personal — it depends on your health, your doctors, your prescriptions, and your budget. The list on this page is the county-level availability from the CMS MA Landscape Source File for 2027. Specific benefits, premiums, copays, networks and Star Ratings for each plan live on the Medicare Plan Finder and in each plan's own documents.