Medicare Advantage

Anthem's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup in Bakersfield: one plan added, one gone

Bakersfield, Calif. — As the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026, Anthem's slate of Medicare Advantage plans for Kern County residents is coming into focus for the 2027 plan year. According to CMS Landscape files, Anthem — which CMS groups under Elevance Health (Anthem) — will offer four Medicare Advantage plans in the county next year, including one that is new and one that will not return from 2026.

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent consumer news site. We are not Anthem, and Anthem is one of 11 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in Kern County for 2027 (42 plans in total across all carriers). This article walks through just Anthem's lineup so you can see where it sits before December 7.

What Anthem is offering in Kern County for 2027

Bakersfield is in Kern County, and Medicare Advantage plans are approved at the county level. For 2027, Anthem's Kern County lineup includes four plans across three plan types:

• 1 HMO
• 2 HMO-POS
• 1 PPO

All four plans include Part D prescription drug coverage. The table below lists every Anthem plan by name and type.

The four plans, listed in the order CMS publishes them, are:

• Anthem Full Dual Advantage Aligned (HMO D-SNP)
• Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP)
• Anthem Medicare Advantage (HMO-POS)
• Anthem Prime (HMO-POS)

The Special Needs Plans in Anthem's lineup

Two of Anthem's four Kern County plans for 2027 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which are built for people who meet specific eligibility rules:

• A D-SNP is a Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plan — for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program). Anthem's D-SNP in Kern County is Anthem Full Dual Advantage Aligned.
• A C-SNP is a Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan — for people with a qualifying chronic health condition. Anthem's C-SNP in Kern County is Anthem Kidney Care.

Anthem does not offer an Institutional SNP (I-SNP) in Kern County for 2027. If you are not eligible for a SNP, the two HMO-POS plans and the general PPO option are the ones to compare.

What is new and what is not returning

Between 2026 and 2027, Anthem's Kern County roster has two changes to flag:

• New for 2027: Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP). This is a chronic-condition plan tied to a specific qualifying condition, so eligibility rules apply.
• Not returning for 2027: One Anthem plan available in 2026 will not be offered in Kern County next year. If you are enrolled in a plan that is being discontinued, Anthem is required to send you a non-renewal notice, and you have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan.

Every current enrollee should also receive an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) by late September. The ANOC spells out what, if anything, is changing in your specific plan for January 1, 2027 — premium, drug tiers, provider network, extra benefits, and the like. If you did not get one, call the number on the back of your plan card.

How to check a plan against your doctors and drugs

Before December 7, it is worth doing three quick checks for any plan you are considering — Anthem's or anyone else's:

1. Your doctors and hospitals. Use the plan's online provider directory, or call the plan directly, to confirm the specific providers you see are in-network for 2027. For HMO and HMO-POS plans, in-network matters a lot; for PPOs, out-of-network is usually allowed at a higher cost. 2. Your prescriptions. Enter every drug you take into the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see how each plan covers it in 2027 — the tier, any restrictions like prior authorization, and the pharmacies where it is cheapest. 3. Your pharmacy. Plans have preferred and standard pharmacies, and the difference can matter. Check that your usual pharmacy is in the plan's preferred network.

For personalized help, Medicare's own line — 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), open 24/7 — can walk you through plan comparisons without steering you to a particular carrier.

The 2027 numbers CMS has already set

A few program-level figures for 2027 are now official and apply across all Part D and Medicare Advantage drug plans:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. Once you hit that cap on covered drugs, you pay $0 for the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026. Plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan — the option to spread drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter — continues in 2027.

CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, or the 2027 IRMAA income brackets; those usually come out in the fall, so watch medicare.gov for the update.