Medicare Advantage

HMO or PPO? Arizona Medicare Advantage for 2027: 121 HMO Plans, 27 PPO

PHOENIX — When Arizonans sit down with the 2027 Medicare Advantage choices during the Annual Enrollment Period that runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, one of the first forks in the road is the plan type on the label: HMO, HMO-POS, or PPO. According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for CY2027, Arizona will have 148 Medicare Advantage plans from 16 carriers available somewhere in the state. By type, that breaks down to 89 HMO plans, 32 HMO-POS plans, and 27 PPO plans. Grouping HMO and HMO-POS together, the HMO family totals 121 plans statewide.

Those are statewide counts. Medicare Advantage is sold county by county, so a plan listed in the Landscape File may or may not be offered where you live. The point of this explainer is to help you read the "type" column with confidence before you open the Medicare Plan Finder.

The statewide split by plan type

For 2027, the CMS Landscape File shows Arizona Medicare Advantage divided this way: 89 HMO plans, 32 HMO-POS plans, and 27 PPO plans, for a total of 148. The HMO family — standard HMO plus HMO-POS — adds up to 121 of those plans. PPO plans account for the remaining 27. No PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service) plans appear in the Arizona 2027 Landscape File, though the term still comes up in Medicare materials, so we explain it below.

The full plan-by-plan and carrier-by-carrier breakdowns appear in the tables elsewhere on this page. Below, we'll point to carriers by name only where it illustrates a specific point.

What HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and PFFS actually mean

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You generally use the plan's contracted network of doctors, hospitals, and other providers. Many HMOs ask you to pick a primary care physician and get a referral before seeing a specialist. Out-of-network care is typically covered only for emergencies, urgent care, or out-of-area dialysis.

HMO-POS (HMO with a Point-of-Service option). This is an HMO that adds a limited ability to go outside the network for certain services. The scope of that "point of service" option varies by plan, so the Evidence of Coverage is where you confirm what is and isn't included.

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). PPOs have a network too, but they also cover out-of-network care from providers who accept Medicare assignment, usually at a different cost share. Referrals to specialists are generally not required. PPOs can be local (a defined service area) or regional (a broader multi-county footprint).

PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). A PFFS plan sets its own terms for payment, and you can see any Medicare-approved provider who agrees to the plan's terms at the time of service. PFFS plans are not part of Arizona's 2027 Landscape File, but you may still see the term in national Medicare publications.

Plan type is a framework, not a verdict. Two HMOs from different carriers can feel very different in practice, and the same is true of two PPOs.

Which Arizona carriers offer each type in 2027

Fourteen carriers offer HMO plans somewhere in Arizona for 2027: 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.

Five carriers offer HMO-POS plans: Elevance Health (Anthem), eternalHealth, Gold Kidney Health Plan, SCAN Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare.

Five carriers offer PPO plans: Aetna (CVS Health), Devoted Health, HealthSpring, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.

A carrier appearing on more than one list simply means it files more than one type of plan with CMS. Which specific plans reach your mailbox depends on your county.

How to decide which type fits your doctors and your travel

Start with the people and places you already use. Make a short list of your primary care doctor, any specialists you see regularly, your preferred hospital, and the pharmacy you use most. Then think about where you spend time: Do you winter in a different state? Visit grandchildren out of state for weeks at a stretch? Split time between Arizona and another home?

If you want the simplicity of one coordinated network and don't mind getting referrals, an HMO or HMO-POS may feel natural — as long as your providers are in-network. If you want more flexibility to see providers outside a defined network, a PPO's out-of-network coverage may matter to you. People who travel often sometimes lean toward PPOs for that reason, but "travel coverage" varies plan by plan and is spelled out in the Evidence of Coverage, not on the sticker.

Whatever type you lean toward, verify two things on medicare.gov before you enroll: that the plan is offered in your county, and that your doctors and hospitals are listed in that plan's directory for 2027. Directories can change year to year.

What to do before December 7

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any Medicare Advantage election you make during that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

A simple checklist:

1. Pull your current plan's Annual Notice of Change and read what's different for 2027. 2. List your doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and regular prescriptions. 3. Note your travel patterns and any out-of-state addresses. 4. On medicare.gov, enter your ZIP code and compare plans actually offered in your county. 5. Check each short-list plan's provider directory and drug list for 2027. 6. If you decide to switch, enroll by December 7, 2026.

If you're happy with your current coverage and it will still be offered in 2027, you don't have to do anything.

Free help

For official, unbiased help, use medicare.gov to compare plans at your ZIP code or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048. Plan-specific details — premiums, cost sharing, benefits, networks, drug lists, and star ratings — come from the Medicare Plan Finder on medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or the plan's own Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories.