Medicare Advantage

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in Tucson: what's new

TUCSON, Ariz. — For the 2027 plan year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona will offer two Medicare Advantage plans in Pima County, the county Tucson sits in, up from one this year. Both are HMOs, both include prescription drug coverage, and one of the two — Blue Best Life Select (HMO) — is new for next year. The returning plan, Blue Best Life Classic (HMO), carries over from 2026. If you already have the Classic plan, you don't need to do anything on December 7 to keep it; it renews automatically with whatever changes are described in the plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent news and education site, not Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. We're walking through this carrier's lineup because readers asked, but 14 other carriers also offer Medicare Advantage plans in Pima County for 2027, for a total of 88 plans countywide.

What Medicare Advantage plans does Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona offer in Tucson for 2027?

In Pima County for 2027, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona offers two Medicare Advantage plans, both HMOs and both with prescription drug coverage: Blue Best Life Classic (HMO) and Blue Best Life Select (HMO). The table below lists every plan.

The carrier does not offer a Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP), a Chronic Condition SNP (C-SNP) or an Institutional SNP (I-SNP) in Pima County for 2027. If you qualify for Medicaid or have a specific chronic condition, you can still look at SNPs from other carriers in the county.

What's new or not returning from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona in Pima County for 2027?

One plan is new for 2027 — Blue Best Life Select (HMO) — and no Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona plans are being discontinued in Pima County. Nothing was renamed.

A new plan option does not mean the returning plan is unchanged. Benefits, copays, pharmacy networks, provider networks and drug lists can all shift from year to year. The ANOC that your plan mails (or posts online) in late September spells out those changes for 2027. We can't publish benefit or cost details here — those come from the plan itself and from Medicare's Plan Finder.

How do I check a plan against my doctors and prescriptions before December 7?

The most reliable way is the official Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code, add your prescriptions and your preferred pharmacy, and the tool will show the 2027 plans available in Pima County along with each one's estimated yearly drug cost based on your list. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Three checks are worth doing before you enroll in or stay with any plan:

• Doctors and hospitals. Call your provider's office and ask whether they will be in-network for the specific plan you're considering in 2027 — not just "any BCBSAZ plan." Networks differ by plan.
• Prescriptions. Confirm each drug is on the plan's 2027 formulary and check the tier. Formularies change every year.
• Pharmacy. Preferred pharmacies often cost less than standard ones. Make sure your pharmacy is listed as preferred, if that matters to you.

When is the deadline to change plans for 2027?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any change you make in that window — switching plans, joining a Medicare Advantage plan, going back to Original Medicare, adding or dropping Part D — takes effect January 1, 2027. If you take no action, your current plan simply renews for next year, assuming it is still offered.

There is also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, 2027. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1 and want to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or drop back to Original Medicare, you get one change during that window.

What Part D figures are confirmed for 2027?

CMS has published a few Part D numbers for 2027 that apply to every drug plan, including the ones built into Medicare Advantage plans:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33 — a formula used in Part D math, not the price any one plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those in the fall, usually in November. We'll update our coverage when the numbers are released; don't rely on estimates or projections in the meantime.

The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan — the option to spread your drug costs across the calendar year in level monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter — is also still available for 2027.