Medicare Advantage

How HMO, PPO and SNP choices differ in Chula Vista

For 2027, Chula Vista is looking at 85 Medicare Advantage plans: 18 new, 26 gone since 2026, and 48 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 20 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in San Diego County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Medicare AdvantageChula Vista, CA

Chula Vista sits in San Diego County, and if you're weighing Medicare Advantage for 2027, the first thing worth understanding isn't a specific plan — it's the shape of the market. Which companies are selling coverage here? What kinds of plans do they offer? And what do letters like HMO, PPO and D-SNP actually mean when you see them on a plan card?

This guide walks through those pieces so you can look at any lineup — including the full table below — and know what you're looking at.

Who's selling Medicare Advantage in the county

San Diego County has 15 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. In alphabetical order, they are Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Centene (WellCare), Champion Health Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Community Health Group, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of California, SCAN Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare.

Some of these are national names you'd recognize anywhere in the country; others focus on California or Southern California specifically. The number of plans each one offers varies quite a bit — from two on the low end to 16 on the high — and the full breakdown is in the table below. A bigger lineup from one carrier isn't automatically better or worse than a smaller one; it just means more variations to compare.

What the plan-type letters mean

Every Medicare Advantage plan is built on a "network model," and the letters after the plan name tell you which one. Here's a plain-English version:

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You pick a primary care doctor and generally use doctors and hospitals inside the plan's network. Care outside the network usually isn't covered except in emergencies. Referrals are often needed to see a specialist. In San Diego County, 68 of the 93 available plans are HMOs.

HMO-POS (HMO with a Point-of-Service option). Same basic structure as an HMO, but with a limited ability to see certain out-of-network providers for specific services, usually at a higher cost. The county has 16 HMO-POS plans.

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). More flexibility to see out-of-network providers, though you'll typically pay more when you do. Referrals are usually not required. There are 9 PPO plans available locally.

PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). A plan where the insurer sets the payment terms and providers decide, visit by visit, whether to accept them. No PFFS plans are offered in San Diego County for 2027, but you may still see the term when reading general Medicare materials.

Special Needs Plans, explained

A Special Needs Plan (SNP) is a Medicare Advantage plan limited to people who share a specific situation. There are three types:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible): for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California).
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition): for people living with a qualifying chronic condition, such as diabetes, chronic heart failure or certain lung conditions.
• I-SNP (Institutional): for people who live in a nursing facility or need that level of care at home.

Of the 65 Medicare Advantage plans available in San Diego County for 2027, many are Special Needs Plans. You'll see SNPs from a number of the carriers listed above — Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Centene (WellCare), Champion Health Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Community Health Group, Elevance Health (Anthem), Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of California, SCAN Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare offer at least one. You have to meet the eligibility criteria to enroll.

Drug coverage is built in

All 93 Medicare Advantage plans available in the county include Part D prescription drug coverage. That matters because there are no stand-alone Part D plans in the local landscape data for this area — so if you go with Medicare Advantage here, drug coverage typically travels with it.

A few program-level Part D facts to keep in mind for 2027:

• The out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs is $2,100 for the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible any plan can charge is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") no longer exists — Part D now has three phases.
• If your drug costs are lumpy, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread them across the calendar year in level monthly amounts.

How to actually compare choices

With this many carriers and plan types on the table, the useful move is to narrow before you compare:

1. Start with your doctors and hospitals. If you want to keep specific providers, check whether they're in-network before anything else. That step alone often thins out the list. 2. Then look at your prescriptions. Each plan has its own drug list (formulary) and pharmacy network. 3. Then decide how much flexibility you want. HMO, HMO-POS and PPO each trade freedom for structure differently. 4. Check whether you qualify for an SNP. If you have Medi-Cal or a qualifying chronic condition, you may have plan options built specifically for you.

The full table on this page lists every 2027 Medicare Advantage plan offered in San Diego County, grouped by carrier, so you can see the shape of each lineup at a glance.

Dates worth circling

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the following year.
• Jan. 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another one or return to Original Medicare (with a Part D plan).
• Special Enrollment Periods may apply if you move, lose other coverage or qualify for Medicaid.