Medicare Advantage

Gilbert's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup: what's new, what's leaving, and who still sells

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. — Fall 2026. With the Annual Enrollment Period running Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, the 2027 Medicare Advantage picture in Gilbert is starting to come into focus. Gilbert is in Maricopa County, where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sets plan availability, and county-level filings show a familiar mix of national names and Arizona-based carriers — along with a handful of plans that are not coming back and a batch of new ones taking their place.

If you are shopping, renewing, or just want to know who is still selling in your area, this is the carrier-by-carrier roundup for Gilbert in 2027.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Maricopa County for 2026, and who sells them?

For the 2026 plan year, Maricopa County — which includes Gilbert — has 88 Medicare Advantage plans from 16 carriers on the CMS Landscape file. By plan type, that breaks down to 55 HMOs, 16 HMO-POS plans and 17 PPOs. Thirty-six are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) for people with specific conditions, dual Medicare-Medicaid eligibility, or who live in institutional settings, and 82 include Part D drug coverage.

The 16 carriers active in the 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 carrier and type.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are new for 2027 in Gilbert?

CMS filings show 17 Medicare Advantage plans new to Maricopa County for 2027. They span several carriers and plan types — some chronic-condition SNPs, some general HMOs and PPOs.

The new-for-2027 plans, in alphabetical order by carrier:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP); Aetna Medicare Prime (HMO)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona: Blue Best Life Select (HMO)
• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Arizona Complete Health Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP)
• Devoted Health: DEVOTED C-SNP ENHANCED 092 AZ (HMO C-SNP); DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 104 AZ (HMO C-SNP); DEVOTED C-SNP PLUS 093 AZ (HMO C-SNP); DEVOTED CORE 090 AZ (HMO); DEVOTED GIVEBACK 091 AZ (HMO); DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 105 AZ (HMO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Wellpoint I CareMore Home Care (HMO I-SNP)
• Gold Kidney Health Plan: Gold Dialysis Premier (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• Humana: Humana Value Choice (PPO)
• SCAN Health Plan: SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care Complete (HMO-POS C-SNP); SCAN Walmart Medicare Advantage (HMO); SCAN Walmart Medicare Complete (HMO C-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx AZ-MA2 (HMO-POS)

A plan being "new" just means it is on the Landscape file for the first time this cycle. Benefits, networks and costs are in each plan's own documents and in the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are leaving Gilbert after 2026?

Thirteen Medicare Advantage plans available in Maricopa County in 2026 are not being offered for 2027. If you are enrolled in one of them, your coverage ends Dec. 31, 2026, and you will need to pick a new plan or return to Original Medicare.

The plans leaving after 2026:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Elite (PPO); Aetna Medicare Prime (HMO); Aetna Medicare Prime Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP); Aetna Medicare Prime Extra (HMO); Aetna Medicare Signature Extra (HMO)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC): HealthSpring Preferred (HMO)
• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Arizona Complete Health Dual Align (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Giveback (HMO); Wellcare Simple Value (HMO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Wellpoint I CareMore Home Care (HMO I-SNP)
• eternalHealth: eternalHealth Grand Give Back (HMO)
• SCAN Health Plan: SCAN Strive (HMO C-SNP)

A few of these names overlap with the "new" list — for example, Aetna is retiring an "Aetna Medicare Prime (HMO)" contract and introducing a new plan under the same name. That is a different contract on the CMS file, not the same plan continuing, so if you are enrolled you will still get an Annual Notice of Change and should read it carefully.

What happens if my Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Gilbert?

If your Medicare Advantage plan is not returning in 2027, Medicare gives you a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that lets you switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare (with the option to add a stand-alone Part D plan) without waiting for the next open window. The SEP for a non-renewed plan generally runs from Dec. 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027, and your plan will send a non-renewal notice explaining the dates that apply to you.

You do not have to use the SEP — you can also pick a new plan during the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026), which lines up neatly with a Jan. 1, 2027 start date and avoids any gap.

What is renaming or changing in Maricopa County for 2027?

In addition to the new and departing plans, 13 plans in Maricopa County have been renamed for 2027, and roughly 20 are flagged for a change on premium, deductible, type, or name. A rename does not mean your coverage ends — the contract continues — but the name on your card or your Annual Notice of Change may look unfamiliar.

Examples of renames in the CMS file include several Alignment Health Plan C-SNPs (now numbered, such as Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 003), the HealthSpring Alliance (HMO) renamed HealthSpring Preferred (HMO), eternalHealth + Fry's Medicare Advantage (HMO) renamed eternalHealth Harmony (HMO), two Humana Essentials Plus Giveback (PPO) contracts consolidated under a single name, and UHC Dual Complete AZ-Y001 renamed UHC Dual Complete AZ-YL. The ANOC your plan mails each fall is the definitive source for what is changing in your specific plan.

What Medicare costs are confirmed for 2027, and what is still pending?

For 2027, CMS has confirmed the Part D out-of-pocket cap will rise to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026) and the maximum Part D deductible will rise to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33 — that is a formula input used in calculations, not the premium any single plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced. CMS typically publishes those figures in the fall, usually in November. Until then, treat any specific 2027 Part B number you see as an estimate.

Also unchanged for 2027: the coverage gap (the old "donut hole") has been gone since 2025, Part D now has three phases, and the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available if you want to spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments.

How should I use this information to decide?

Start with your current plan's Annual Notice of Change, which arrives by late September. It tells you exactly what your 2027 premium, deductible, drug formulary and provider network will look like. Then, if something has shifted — or if your plan is on the "leaving after 2026" list — use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to compare the 2027 options available in your ZIP code side by side. You can filter by plan type (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO), by whether drug coverage is included, and by whether a plan is a Special Needs Plan.

A few things worth checking as you compare:

• Are your doctors and preferred hospitals in the plan's network for 2027?
• Are your prescriptions on the formulary, and in what tier?
• Does the plan use referrals (common with HMOs) or let you see specialists directly (more common with PPOs)?
• If you qualify for Medicaid or have a chronic condition like diabetes, heart failure or ESRD, is a SNP a better fit?

Nothing happens automatically if you do nothing and your plan is renewing — you simply roll into the 2027 version of your current plan. If your plan is leaving, you must act.