Medicare Advantage

Bakersfield's 2027 Medicare Advantage choices: who's in, who's out, who's new

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 — The Medicare Advantage lineup Kern County residents will choose from this fall looks different than the one they saw a year ago. One carrier is leaving the county, a new one is arriving, and several familiar plans are being renamed, retired or added. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

Here is a plain-language walk through Bakersfield's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup, carrier by carrier.

What Bakersfield's 2027 lineup looks like

Bakersfield is in Kern County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level. For 2027, CMS's Landscape file shows 39 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers serving the county. By plan type, that is 29 HMOs, 9 HMO-POS plans and 1 PPO. Nineteen of the 39 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), designed for people with specific conditions, dual Medicare-Medi-Cal eligibility, or who live in institutional settings. All 39 include Part D drug coverage.

The full roster — every plan, listed alphabetically by carrier — is in the table below.

Who the carriers are for 2027

The 11 carriers offering Medicare Advantage in Kern County for 2027 are, in alphabetical order:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 4 plans (HMO, HMO-POS)
• Alignment Health Plan — new to the county for 2027
• Blue Shield of California — 1 plan (HMO)
• Centene (WellCare) — 2 plans (HMO; both Special Needs)
• Champion Health Plan — 7 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; mostly Special Needs)
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 4 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; includes Special Needs)
• Humana — 5 plans (HMO; includes one Special Needs)
• Imperial Health Plan of California — 3 plans (HMO; includes one Special Needs)
• Kaiser Permanente — 3 plans (HMO; includes one Special Needs)
• Kern Family Health Care Medicare (D-SNP) — 1 plan (HMO D-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare — 4 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; includes Special Needs)

Central Health Medicare Plan, which had five plans in Kern County this year, is not offering coverage in the county for 2027.

What's new for 2027

Eleven plans are new to Kern County for 2027. Alignment Health Plan is entering the county with five plans: Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 048, Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 039, Alignment Health Honor Plus 060, Alignment Health My Choice 061 and Alignment Health Platinum 057.

Champion Health Plan is adding three Special Needs HMOs: Champion Compass, Champion Home and Champion Secure. Elevance Health (Anthem) is bringing back Anthem Kidney Care as a PPO C-SNP. Humana is adding Humana Gold Plus H5619-191 (HMO). And Imperial Health Plan of California is adding Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP).

What's not returning

Eight plans are leaving the county after 2026. Five of them belong to Central Health Medicare Plan, which is exiting Kern County: Central Health Classic Care Plan I, Central Health Dual Access Plan, Central Health Embrace Care Plan, Central Health Embrace Choice Plan and Central Health Valor Care Plan.

Also not returning for 2027: Champion Select (HMO-POS C-SNP), the current version of Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP) (Anthem is replacing it with a new plan under the same name), and Humana Gold Plus H5619-148 (HMO).

If one of these is your plan, you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. Medicare gives people whose plans are discontinued a two-month window — typically December 8 through the end of February — to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D plan. You will also get a letter from your plan explaining your options.

Plans that are being renamed or changed

Four plans are showing up under new names on the 2027 landscape, so you may see your familiar plan listed slightly differently:

• Aetna Medicare Prime Value Plus (HMO) — was Aetna Medicare Prime Value Plus (HMO-POS)
• Aetna Medicare Signature Legacy (HMO) — was Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO)
• Wellcare Health Net Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP) — was Wellcare Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP)
• AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx CA-MA1P (HMO-POS) — was AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx CA-MA01 (HMO-POS)

A total of 10 continuing plans have some change for 2027 — on premium, deductible, type or name. Twenty-seven plans continue with no listed structural change. Specifics for your plan are in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your insurer mailed you in September.

What else to know for 2027

A few program-wide numbers help put plan choices in context. For 2027, CMS has confirmed that the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026) and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, had not been announced as of September 2026; CMS typically publishes them in the fall.

You do not have to do anything to keep your current plan if it is returning. It will simply renew on January 1 with the changes described in your ANOC. If you want to switch, compare or shop, do it between October 15 and December 7, 2026.