Medicare Advantage

Wellcare's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in Tucson: four leaving, one new, and how to double-check yours

TUCSON — If you have a Wellcare Medicare Advantage plan in the Tucson area, your 2027 lineup looks different from this year's. Wellcare is offering three Medicare Advantage plans in Pima County for 2027, down from six in 2026, with one new plan joining and four of this year's plans not returning, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for 2026 and 2027.

That matters right now because the Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice you make takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing and your current plan is still being offered, it renews automatically — with the changes spelled out in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mailed you in late September.

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent consumer site. We are not Wellcare, and Wellcare is one of 15 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in Pima County for 2027 (88 plans in all).

What Wellcare Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Tucson for 2027?

Tucson is in Pima County, where Wellcare is offering three Medicare Advantage plans for the 2027 plan year. All three are HMOs and all three include Part D prescription drug coverage. Two are Special Needs Plans: one Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid, and one Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan (C-SNP) for people with a qualifying condition.

The table below lists every Wellcare plan available in the county for 2027. In alphabetical order, they are: Wellcare Arizona Complete Health Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Simple (HMO); and Wellcare Specialty Simple (HMO C-SNP).

What is new or not returning from Wellcare in Pima County for 2027?

One Wellcare plan is new for 2027: Wellcare Arizona Complete Health Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP). Four plans Wellcare offered in Pima County in 2026 are not being offered again in 2027. If you are enrolled in a plan that is not returning, Wellcare was required to send you a non-renewal notice; you will need to pick a new plan during the Annual Enrollment Period, or you will fall back to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027.

Even if your plan is returning, read the Annual Notice of Change. It is where the plan lists every change for next year — the premium, the deductible, the copays, the drug list, and the provider network. Those details are not in this article by design: CMS treats this kind of educational writing as "communications," not marketing, and specific costs and benefits have to come from the plan itself.

Who can enroll in Wellcare's Special Needs Plans in Tucson?

Two of Wellcare's three 2027 plans in Pima County are Special Needs Plans, and they are not open to everyone. A D-SNP (Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan) is for people enrolled in both Medicare and Arizona Medicaid (AHCCCS). A C-SNP (Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan) is for people with a specific qualifying chronic condition — the plan documents list which conditions qualify.

If you are not sure whether you qualify, call 1-800-MEDICARE or check the plan details on Medicare.gov. The third 2027 Wellcare plan, Wellcare Simple (HMO), is a standard HMO open to anyone with Medicare Parts A and B who lives in the service area.

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

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov — it is the one tool that pulls your drug list and ZIP code against every plan's current formulary and pharmacy network. Create or sign in to your account, enter each prescription with its dose and how often you fill it, choose your preferred pharmacies, and the tool will show the estimated yearly drug cost for each plan.

For doctors and hospitals, do not rely on the Plan Finder alone. Call each provider's office and ask whether they are in-network for the specific Wellcare plan you are considering in 2027 — plan names matter, because a doctor can be in one Wellcare plan's network and not another. You can also call Wellcare directly using the number on the plan's summary, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What Part D changes should I know for 2027?

Two Part D numbers are already confirmed for 2027. The out-of-pocket cap on covered Part D drugs rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). The maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge rises to $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The coverage gap — the old "donut hole" — remains eliminated; Part D now has three phases (deductible, initial coverage, catastrophic).

If spreading drug costs across the year would help, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available in 2027. It is optional and free to opt into; you pay $0 at the pharmacy and the plan bills you monthly.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes them in the fall, usually in November. Any figure you see claiming to be the "2027 Part B premium" before that is a projection, not official.

What is the deadline, and what happens if I do nothing?

The Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage is October 15, 2026 through December 7, 2026. A change made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing and your current plan is still being offered next year, it renews automatically with the changes listed in the ANOC. If your plan is one of the four Wellcare plans not returning in Pima County, doing nothing means you will be in Original Medicare on January 1 — with no Medicare Advantage plan and no Part D drug coverage unless you pick one.

There is also a second window specifically for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 through March 31, 2027. During that period you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan once, or go back to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D plan.