Medicare Advantage

What’s Changing in Arizona Medicare Advantage for 2027: 21 Plans Leaving, 31 Changing

PHOENIX — Arizona's Medicare Advantage menu is shifting again for the 2027 plan year. According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape files, the state will have 148 Medicare Advantage plans available for 2027, up from 133 for 2026. Behind that headline number is more movement than it suggests: 21 plans offered somewhere in Arizona for 2026 will not be offered anywhere in the state for 2027, another 31 plans continuing into 2027 will look different in at least one county, 36 plans are brand new for 2027, and 81 plans continue unchanged. Every one of Arizona's 15 counties sees at least one plan leave or change.

Here is what that means for Arizonans with a Medicare Advantage plan, and what to do during this fall's Annual Enrollment Period.

What the statewide numbers mean

CMS publishes a Landscape file for each plan year that lists every Medicare Advantage plan offered in every county. Comparing the CY2026 and CY2027 files side by side shows how the market is moving.

In this comparison, each plan is counted once statewide, no matter how many counties it serves. A plan is counted as leaving if it was offered somewhere in Arizona for 2026 but is not offered anywhere in Arizona for 2027. A plan is counted as changing if it is offered in both years but, in CMS's file, differs on premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name in at least one Arizona county. A plan is new if it appears for 2027 but not for 2026, and continuing unchanged if those four fields match in every county it serves both years.

For 2027 in Arizona, that produces 21 leaving, 31 changing, 36 new, and 81 continuing unchanged — adding up to 148 plans for 2027 versus 133 for 2026.

If your plan is leaving

If you are enrolled in one of the 21 plans leaving Arizona, your carrier is required to mail you a non-renewal notice. You will qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that runs through the end of February 2027, which gives you extra time beyond the Annual Enrollment Period to choose another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and, if you choose, add a stand-alone Part D drug plan).

If you do nothing, your coverage under that plan ends when the plan ends. You will not automatically be moved into a comparable plan from another carrier, so taking action during the SEP matters. A choice you make during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026, takes effect January 1, 2027; a choice made during the SEP takes effect the first of the month after you enroll, under standard SEP rules.

If your plan is changing

Thirty-one plans continue into 2027 but differ in CMS's file on at least one of four fields — premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name — in at least one Arizona county. The Landscape file does not tell the whole story of a plan's benefits; the document that does is the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which your carrier is required to send before the Annual Enrollment Period.

The ANOC spells out exactly what is different about your plan for 2027 compared with 2026 — including anything about cost sharing, the drug formulary, the provider and pharmacy networks, and extra benefits. If you do nothing, you will stay enrolled in your current plan with the changes described in the ANOC applied automatically on January 1, 2027. That is why reading the ANOC when it arrives, and comparing it with other options on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder, is the single most useful step most members can take this fall.

The counties with the most change

Every one of Arizona's 15 counties sees at least one plan leave or change for 2027. The counties with the highest counts, as listed in the Landscape comparison, are:

• Pima County: 14 leaving, 20 changing
• Maricopa County: 13 leaving, 20 changing
• Pinal County: 9 leaving, 15 changing
• Santa Cruz County: 7 leaving, 11 changing
• Graham County: 7 leaving, 7 changing
• Yavapai County: 7 leaving, 7 changing
• Mohave County: 7 leaving, 6 changing
• Yuma County: 6 leaving, 6 changing

These are plan counts, not member counts. A single plan can serve a very large or very small number of enrollees, so the practical impact in any county depends on which plans are moving and who is in them.

What to do before December 7

A simple checklist for Arizona members this fall:

1. Watch the mail in September. Look for the ANOC from your current carrier, and, if your plan is leaving, a non-renewal notice. 2. Confirm your plan's status for 2027. Is it continuing unchanged, changing, or leaving? The ANOC or non-renewal letter will tell you. 3. Make a short list of what matters to you — your doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and prescriptions. 4. Compare on Medicare.gov during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026. Any choice you make there takes effect January 1, 2027. 5. If your plan is not renewed, remember you have the SEP through the end of February 2027 if you need more time.

Where to get free help

You do not have to sort this out alone, and you do not have to work with a salesperson to get answers.

• Medicare.gov — the official site to compare every plan available in your ZIP code.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — 24/7 phone help.
• Arizona's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — free, unbiased, one-on-one Medicare counseling from trained volunteers.