Medicare Advantage

Gilbert Medicare review for 2027: what your ANOC should tell you before Dec. 7

Maricopa County has 92 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 13 plans are not coming back, 17 are new, and 33 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 13 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Gilbert, not which plan to pick.

GILBERT, Ariz. — The envelope that landed in your mailbox in late September is the single most important piece of Medicare paperwork you will see all year. It is called the Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, and it spells out what your current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan will look like in 2027. Open it before you make any decision for next year.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any change you make during that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews — with every change the ANOC describes baked in.

What is an ANOC and why does it matter for 2027 coverage?

The Annual Notice of Change is the booklet your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan must send each fall. It compares your 2026 plan to the 2027 version — premium, deductible, copays, drug tier changes, network updates and any benefit that is being added or removed.

Plans mail ANOCs by September 30. If you cannot find yours, call the member services number on your plan ID card or check your plan's online account. The companion booklet, the Evidence of Coverage, has the full rules in detail.

What should Gilbert residents check in the ANOC before December 7, 2026?

Walk through these items in order. Each one is in the ANOC or the plan's online tools.

• Monthly premium. Is it different in 2027? Does it include Part D?
• Medical deductible and copays. Look at primary care, specialists, urgent care, outpatient surgery and hospital stays.
• Out-of-pocket maximum. Confirm the 2027 number for in-network and, for PPOs, combined in- and out-of-network.
• Drug deductible and tiers. Your drugs may have moved tiers. The 2027 Part D maximum deductible any plan can charge is $700 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D out-of-pocket cap. Across all plans, the 2027 cap is $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026). You can also opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan to spread drug costs across the year.
• Extra benefits. Dental, vision, hearing, OTC and fitness allowances change often. Read the fine print on limits.
• Provider network. Make sure your doctors, your specialists and the hospitals you use are still in-network for 2027.
• Pharmacy network. Preferred pharmacies can shift. Check that your usual pharmacy still has preferred status.

How do I check my doctors, hospitals and prescriptions against next year's plan?

Use the plan's 2027 provider directory and 2027 drug formulary — both are posted by the plan, and both are also searchable on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

For doctors and hospitals, search by name and confirm the 2027 effective date. In the East Valley, that includes checking the Banner Health, Dignity Health (including Mercy Gilbert Medical Center) and HonorHealth facilities you actually use, plus your primary care clinic. A call to the office to ask "do you take this plan in 2027?" is worth the three minutes.

For prescriptions, enter every drug, the exact dose and the pharmacy you use. Plan Finder will show the tier, any prior authorization or step therapy, and your estimated yearly cost under each plan.

How many Medicare Advantage plans and carriers are offered in Maricopa County?

Gilbert is in Maricopa County, where CMS's 2026 Landscape file lists 88 Medicare Advantage plans from 16 carriers. By plan type, that breaks down to 55 HMO, 16 HMO-POS and 17 PPO plans; 36 are Special Needs Plans (for people with certain chronic conditions, Medicaid, or who live in a nursing home), and 82 include Part D drug coverage.

The carriers active in Maricopa County are Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Banner Medicare Advantage, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), eternalHealth, Gold Kidney Health Plan, Humana, Mercy Care Advantage, Molina Healthcare of Arizona, SCAN Health Plan, UnitedHealthcare and Verda Health Plan of Arizona. The table below lists every plan by name and type. CMS will publish the 2027 Landscape file ahead of the enrollment window; the counts above are from the current plan year.

What are the key dates and figures Gilbert enrollees should know for 2027?

The Annual Enrollment Period is October 15 – December 7, 2026, with coverage starting January 1, 2027. If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and change your mind, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31, 2027) lets you switch to a different Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare once.

Confirmed 2027 figures from CMS:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 (2026: $2,100).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 (2026: $615).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 (this is a formula input, not what any specific plan charges).

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those in November — watch medicare.gov.

What happens if I do nothing by December 7?

If your plan is still offered in Maricopa County for 2027, you stay enrolled and the 2027 version of the plan — the one described in your ANOC — takes effect January 1. If your plan is being discontinued, your plan must notify you in writing, and you'll have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new one. Either way, reading the ANOC now avoids a January surprise.