Medicare Advantage

Does your doctor matter more than the plan count?

For 2027, Glendale is looking at 92 Medicare Advantage plans: 17 new, 13 gone since 2026, and 33 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 13 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Maricopa County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Fall 2026 — If you live in Glendale and are sorting through Medicare Advantage choices for 2027, the first fork in the road isn't a specific plan. It's the plan type. The letters after a plan's name — HMO, HMO-POS, PPO — tell you how its network works, whether you need a referral to see a specialist, and what happens if you get care outside the plan's list of doctors. In Maricopa County, where Glendale sits, the 2027 lineup leans heavily toward HMOs, with a smaller slice of HMO-POS and PPO plans in the mix.

Here is how the county's 2027 plans break out by type, which carriers offer each one, and what each type generally means for the way you get care.

How do Maricopa County's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans split by type?

For 2027, Maricopa County has 92 Medicare Advantage plans from 16 carriers. By type, that's 56 HMO plans, 19 HMO-POS plans and 17 PPO plans. There are no PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service) plans in the county's 2027 lineup.

If you group HMO and HMO-POS together, 75 of the 92 plans use some form of HMO structure. PPOs make up the remaining 17. Those counts come from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape file for plan year 2027 and apply at the county level, which is how Medicare sets plan availability — Glendale residents choose from the Maricopa County menu. The table below lists every plan.

What does an HMO Medicare Advantage plan mean for my care?

An HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) plan asks you to use doctors, hospitals and other providers in the plan's network. In most HMOs, you also pick a primary care doctor who coordinates your care and gives you a referral when you need to see a specialist. Out-of-network care is generally not covered except for emergencies, urgent care and out-of-area dialysis.

For 2027 in Maricopa County, these carriers offer HMO plans: Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Banner Medicare Advantage, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), eternalHealth, HealthSpring, Humana, Mercy Care Advantage, Molina Healthcare of Arizona, SCAN Health Plan and Verda Health Plan of Arizona.

What is an HMO-POS plan, and how is it different from a regular HMO?

HMO-POS stands for HMO with a "Point of Service" option. It works like an HMO — network-based, often with a primary care doctor and referrals — but adds a limited ability to see certain out-of-network providers for specific services, usually at a higher cost share. The exact point-of-service rules vary by plan, so the Evidence of Coverage is the place to check what's actually covered outside the network.

For 2027 in Maricopa County, these carriers offer HMO-POS plans: Elevance Health (Anthem), eternalHealth, Gold Kidney Health Plan, SCAN Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare.

What does a PPO Medicare Advantage plan mean for networks and referrals?

A PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plan has a network, but it also covers care from out-of-network providers who accept Medicare — usually at a higher cost share than in-network care. PPOs generally do not require referrals to see specialists. That flexibility is what people often look for if they split time between states, travel a lot, or want to keep seeing a doctor who isn't in a particular HMO network.

For 2027 in Maricopa County, these carriers offer PPO plans: Aetna (CVS Health), Devoted Health, HealthSpring, Humana and UnitedHealthcare.

Are there any PFFS plans in Glendale for 2027?

No. The 2027 Maricopa County lineup does not include any PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service) plans. PFFS is a plan type that pays providers a set rate; providers can decide, visit by visit, whether to accept it. It still exists in the Medicare program nationwide, just not in the mix available to Glendale residents next year.

Which plan type should a Glendale resident pick for 2027?

There is no single "right" plan type — and no type is cheaper or better than another as a rule. What matters is how a specific plan fits your situation: whether your doctors and preferred hospitals are in-network, whether you want the structure of a primary care doctor and referrals or the flexibility of going directly to specialists, how much you travel, and what your prescriptions and expected care look like for the year.

A practical way to compare: pull up your current plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which arrives by late September, and use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to filter by plan type and by the doctors and drugs you use. For 2027 in Maricopa County, CMS data shows 13 plans are not returning, 17 are new, and 13 have been renamed, so even if you're happy with your plan it's worth a look.

When do I need to make a change for 2027 coverage?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7, 2026. Any change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing and your plan is offered again next year, it will renew automatically with whatever changes are listed in its ANOC. If your plan is one of the ones not returning in 2027, you'll get a non-renewal notice and have a special enrollment window to pick something else.

A couple of program-level numbers to keep in mind for 2027: the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible is $700 (up from $615 in 2026). CMS announces the 2027 Part B standard premium, deductible and IRMAA brackets later in the fall.