Medicare Advantage

Five HMO Plans: Blue Shield's Chula Vista 2027 Slate

Fall 2026 — If you live in Chula Vista and you are on, or thinking about, a Blue Shield of California Medicare Advantage plan, the 2027 lineup is set. Blue Shield will offer five Medicare Advantage plans in San Diego County next year: two are new, one has been renamed, and none of its current plans are leaving. You have until December 7, 2026 to compare, switch or stay.

Who is this article about, and is it from Blue Shield?

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent consumer news site. We are not Blue Shield of California, and this article is not sold or endorsed by them. We are walking through one carrier's 2027 lineup in one city because readers in Chula Vista keep asking the same question: what is Blue Shield offering next year, and what changed?

Blue Shield of California is one of 15 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in San Diego County for 2027. Together, those carriers offer 85 Medicare Advantage plans countywide. This piece focuses only on Blue Shield's five.

What Blue Shield of California Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Chula Vista for 2027?

Chula Vista is in San Diego County, where Blue Shield of California will offer five Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. All five are HMOs, and all five include Part D prescription drug coverage. One of the five is a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP), designed for people who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal.

In alphabetical order, Blue Shield's 2027 plans in the county are:

• Blue Shield 65 Plus (HMO) — HMO with drug coverage
• Blue Shield Advantage (HMO) — HMO with drug coverage; new for 2027
• Blue Shield AdvantageOptimum Plan 1 (HMO) — HMO with drug coverage
• Blue Shield Medicare + Medi-Cal Plan (HMO D-SNP) — HMO D-SNP with drug coverage; renamed (was Blue Shield TotalDual Plan (HMO D-SNP))
• Blue Shield Value Advantage Plan (HMO) — HMO with drug coverage; new for 2027

The table on this page lists each plan in full.

What is new, renamed or leaving for 2027?

Two Blue Shield plans are new in San Diego County for 2027: Blue Shield Advantage (HMO) and Blue Shield Value Advantage Plan (HMO). One plan was renamed — the Blue Shield TotalDual Plan (HMO D-SNP) is now called the Blue Shield Medicare + Medi-Cal Plan (HMO D-SNP). No Blue Shield of California plan is leaving the county for 2027.

If you are already on a Blue Shield plan, the most important document in your mailbox this fall is the Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC. It spells out what is changing on your specific plan — premium, deductible, copays, drug list, network — for January 1, 2027. We cannot publish those details here, but the ANOC can, and so can Medicare's Plan Finder.

What is a D-SNP, and who is it for?

A Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) is a Medicare Advantage plan built for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid (in California, that's Medi-Cal). Blue Shield's one D-SNP in the county for 2027 is the Blue Shield Medicare + Medi-Cal Plan (HMO D-SNP), which was previously named the Blue Shield TotalDual Plan (HMO D-SNP).

You generally need to be enrolled in Medi-Cal to join a D-SNP. If you are not sure whether you qualify, Medi-Cal eligibility is handled by the county, not by the plan.

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

The only reliable way is to run your own list through Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can enter your ZIP code, your medications (with dosages and pharmacies) and the plans you are weighing, and see how each one treats what you actually use.

A simple checklist before you decide:

• Make a list of your current doctors and specialists, and confirm each one is in-network for the specific plan — HMOs generally require you to stay in-network except for emergencies.
• Enter every prescription, with dose and quantity, into Plan Finder to see which tier it falls on and whether there are restrictions like prior authorization.
• Check which pharmacies the plan treats as preferred.
• If you take a lot of medications, note the 2027 Part D out-of-pocket cap of $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026) and the Part D maximum deductible of $700 for 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Those are program-wide ceilings; individual plans can set lower deductibles.
• Ask about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, an optional program that lets you spread drug costs across the year.

What are the key dates for 2027 coverage?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews for 2027 — with whatever changes are in its ANOC — as long as it is still offered.

There is a second window just for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 through March 31, 2027. During that window you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan once, or drop back to Original Medicare.

A few 2027 figures CMS has not yet published, so be careful with numbers you see online: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges. CMS typically announces those in the fall, usually in November.