Medicare Advantage

Phoenix Medicare Advantage for 2027: a six-step way to compare your options before Dec. 7

For 2027, Phoenix 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.

Phoenix, Ariz. — Fall 2026 is shopping season for Medicare, and the window to switch, drop or pick up a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any choice made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews next year — assuming it is still offered — with whatever changes are spelled out in its Annual Notice of Change.

In Maricopa County, the county Phoenix sits in, there is plenty to sort through. CMS's 2027 plan file lists 92 Medicare Advantage plans from 16 carriers, including 17 that are new for 2027 and 13 that are not returning from 2026. All 92 include prescription drug coverage. The step-by-step below is about how to compare them — doctors, hospitals, drugs, pharmacies, the ANOC and the Medicare Plan Finder — not which one is "best." That answer depends on your doctors, your medicines and your budget.

What's on the Maricopa County menu for 2027

CMS's 2027 Landscape file for Maricopa County shows:

• 92 Medicare Advantage plans from 16 carriers
• By type: 56 HMO, 19 HMO-POS, 17 PPO
• Special Needs Plans: 25 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNP), 10 Dual Eligible SNPs (D-SNP) and 5 Institutional SNPs (I-SNP)
• All 92 plans include Part D drug coverage
• 17 plans are new for 2027; 13 are not returning

The 16 carriers offering plans next year, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Banner Medicare Advantage, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), eternalHealth, Gold Kidney Health Plan, HealthSpring, 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.

A quick note on plan types: HMOs usually require you to use the plan's network and get referrals; HMO-POS plans let you go out of network for some services at a higher cost; PPOs give the most freedom to see out-of-network providers, usually at a higher cost. Special Needs Plans are only for people who meet specific conditions — a chronic illness (C-SNP), both Medicare and Medicaid (D-SNP), or long-term institutional care (I-SNP).

What's new for 2027 in and around Phoenix

Three things to notice this year:

1. 17 new plans and 13 not returning. If your 2026 plan is one of the 13 going away, your carrier will send you a non-renewal notice and you will have a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else. Don't ignore that letter. 2. A shift in the plan mix. HMO-POS counts rose from 16 to 19, and C-SNP options grew to 25, giving people with qualifying chronic conditions more plans to consider. 3. National Part D changes you'll feel locally. CMS has confirmed the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible rises to $700 (from $615). The 2027 Part B premium and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet; CMS usually publishes those in November.

A six-step way to compare plans before December 7

Here's the order that works for most Phoenix-area readers.

Step 1: Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). Your current plan mailed this in September. It lists every change for 2027 — premium, drug tiers, copays, network, extra benefits. If nothing important changed and you're happy, you can let the plan renew. If something did change, that's your cue to shop.

Step 2: List what matters to you. Write down your doctors and hospitals, every prescription (name, dose, how often), your preferred pharmacy, and any benefit you actually use — dental, vision, hearing, transportation, OTC allowance.

Step 3: Check doctors and hospitals. For each plan you're curious about, look up your providers in that plan's online directory for 2027, or call the plan. Networks change every January. In the Phoenix metro, systems like Banner Health, HonorHealth, Dignity Health and Mayo Clinic are not all in every network, so don't assume.

Step 4: Check drugs and pharmacy. This is where people get surprised. Enter your medicines into the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov; it will show each plan's total estimated yearly drug cost based on your list. Also confirm your pharmacy is a "preferred" pharmacy for that plan — the same drug can cost different amounts at different pharmacies on the same plan.

Step 5: Compare the full picture, not just the premium. A $0-premium plan is not automatically cheaper once you add deductibles, copays, specialist visits and drug costs. The Plan Finder shows an estimated annual total, which is more useful than any single number.

Step 6: Enroll by December 7, 2026. You can enroll online at medicare.gov, by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or directly with the plan.

Using the Medicare Plan Finder

Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare. You can search as a guest with your ZIP code, or log in to your Medicare account to pull in your current plan and drug list automatically. The tool lets you:

• See every Medicare Advantage plan available at your Phoenix address for 2027.
• Enter your medicines and pharmacy to see estimated yearly drug costs.
• Filter by plan type (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO) and by Special Needs Plan.
• See Star Ratings, which measure plan quality on a 1-to-5 scale.

Star Ratings are useful background, but they are not a recommendation and they don't tell you whether your doctor is in the network or your drug is on the formulary. Use them alongside the other checks, not instead of them.

If you have Medicaid or a qualifying chronic condition

Maricopa County's 2027 lineup includes 10 D-SNPs (for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, called AHCCCS in Arizona), 25 C-SNPs (for conditions like diabetes, heart disease or chronic kidney disease), and 5 I-SNPs (for people living in a nursing facility or needing that level of care at home). You must meet the eligibility rules for the specific SNP; the plan will verify. If a SNP fits your situation, the Plan Finder lets you filter for it.