Medicare Advantage

Bakersfield's 11 new Medicare Advantage plans for 2027: how to check one before you switch

For 2027, Bakersfield is looking at 42 Medicare Advantage plans: 11 new, 8 gone since 2026, and 14 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 4 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Kern County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Five insurers are putting 11 brand-new Medicare Advantage plans on the shelf in Kern County for 2027, and because none of them has a track record here yet, the only way to know if one fits is to run your own doctors and prescriptions through it before the December 7 deadline.

The new names come from Alignment Health Plan, Champion Heath Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, and Imperial Health Plan of California. They join plans that are already here and renewing. If you do nothing, your current plan stays as-is for 2027 with the changes spelled out in its Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). This article walks through what is new, carrier by carrier, and how to vet a first-year plan the same way you would vet any other.

What "new for 2027" means in Kern County

Bakersfield is in Kern County, where Medicare Advantage plan availability is set at the county level. For 2027, CMS's Landscape file shows 11 plans that were not offered in Kern County for 2026. They are additions to the lineup — separate from plans that are renewing, plans that are being renamed, and plans that are not returning.

A new plan is not a worse or better plan by default. It is simply a plan without a local performance record. Star Ratings, which CMS publishes once a plan has enough enrollment and data, do not yet exist for a plan in its first year in a market. That is a program fact, not a reason to pick or skip one.

The new plans, carrier by carrier

Here is who is adding what for 2027 in Kern County. All 11 include Part D drug coverage. The table on this page shows every plan with its exact type.

• Alignment Health Plan (5): Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 048 (HMO C-SNP); Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 039 (HMO C-SNP); Alignment Health Honor Plus 060 (HMO); Alignment Health My Choice 061 (HMO); Alignment Health Platinum 057 (HMO).
• Champion Heath Plan (3): Champion Compass (HMO C-SNP); Champion Home (HMO C-SNP); Champion Secure (HMO C-SNP).
• Elevance Health (Anthem) (1): Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP).
• Humana (1): Humana Gold Plus H5619-191 (HMO).
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc. (1): Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP).

Special Needs Plans in the new batch

Most of the new plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which are built for people with specific situations:

• C-SNP (Chronic Condition SNP) — for people with certain long-term conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions or kidney disease. You generally need a doctor's confirmation of the condition to enroll.
• D-SNP (Dual Eligible SNP) — for people who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal.

Of the 11 new plans, most are C-SNPs. If you are not eligible for the condition a C-SNP covers, that plan is not an option for you — which narrows the real list quickly.

How a new plan is different from a renewing one

A renewing plan comes with history. You, your neighbors or your pharmacist may already know how it handles prior authorizations, how its pharmacy network behaves locally, and what its Star Rating has looked like. A new plan has none of that in this county yet. You are reading its 2027 documents cold.

That is not a reason to avoid new plans — carriers often launch them to reach specific groups of people. It just means the comparison has to come from the documents and the Plan Finder, not from word of mouth.

How to vet a new plan before December 7

Do these checks before switching into any 2027 plan — new or renewing:

1. Pull the plan's Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage. Both documents are posted on the carrier's site and linked from medicare.gov. They are the source of truth for what the plan covers in 2027. 2. Run your doctors through the plan's 2027 provider directory. For HMO plans, out-of-network care is generally not covered except in emergencies. Call the office to confirm — directories can lag. 3. Run every prescription through the plan's 2027 formulary on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Check the tier, the pharmacy, and whether there is a prior authorization or step therapy requirement. 4. Check the pharmacy network. The pharmacy you use today may or may not be a preferred pharmacy on a plan that is new to this area. 5. If you take a specialty drug or expect high drug costs, note the 2027 Part D out-of-pocket cap of $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026) and the 2027 Part D maximum deductible of $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year. 6. Read the ANOC for your current plan. If you are happy with it and it is renewing, you may not need to switch at all.

The dates to keep in mind

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. A change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing and your current plan is being offered again for 2027, you stay in it under its new terms. If your plan is one of the ones not returning for 2027, you will get a non-renewal notice from the carrier with instructions and a Special Enrollment Period.

CMS has not yet published the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible or the 2027 IRMAA income brackets. Those are typically released in the fall, usually in November.