Medicare Advantage

If your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Chula Vista in 2027, here's your move

For 2027, Chula Vista is looking at 65 Medicare Advantage plans from 15 carriers: 18 new, 26 gone since 2026, and 28 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.

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan here, this fall's mail is worth opening carefully. When the 2027 plan year begins, 26 Medicare Advantage plans currently sold in San Diego County will not be back, 18 new ones will launch, and 20 more are keeping the same coverage but changing names. Two carriers — Central Health Medicare Plan and Sharp Health Plan — will not offer Medicare Advantage plans in the county at all next year.

Chula Vista sits in San Diego County, and Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level, so those countywide changes are the ones that shape your options at home.

The first thing to do: read your ANOC

By late September, your plan sends an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). It spells out exactly what is changing for your specific plan in 2027 — premium, deductible, plan type, name, benefits, drug list and network.

CMS files show 28 plans in San Diego County are changing on premium, deductible, type or name for 2027. We can tell you a change exists; only your ANOC tells you what changed and by how much. If you cannot find yours, call the number on your member ID card and ask them to resend it.

Plans not returning to San Diego County in 2027

If you are enrolled in one of these plans, you will get a non-renewal letter from your carrier. The plan will end December 31, 2026, and you will need to choose new coverage.

Plans leaving after 2026 include:

• Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO), Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO), Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO), Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO), Aetna Medicare Signature Extra (HMO)
• Alignment Health Advantage PPO, Alignment Health Freedom (PPO), Alignment Health Honor+ Plan (HMO), Alignment Health the ONE (HMO)
• Astiva Health Premier Plan (HMO)
• All five Central Health Medicare Plan offerings: Classic Care Plan I, Embrace Care Plan, Embrace Choice Plan, Part B Savings Plan, and Valor Care Plan
• Champion Select (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP) — note: a plan with this name is also on the new-for-2027 list, which usually signals a contract or structural change; check your ANOC
• Humana Gold Plus H5619-148 (HMO), HumanaChoice H5525-077 (PPO)
• Molina Medicare Choice Care (HMO)
• SCAN Affirm partnered with Included LGBTQ+ Health (HMO), SCAN MyChoice (HMO)
• All four Sharp Direct Advantage plans: Gold, Platinum, VIP and VIP Plus

The table below lists every plan available in the county for 2026 side by side with the 65 plans offered in 2027.

New plans joining the county for 2027

Eighteen new Medicare Advantage plans will be available in San Diego County next year, from carriers already active here. They include new options from Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Champion Health Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California and SCAN Health Plan.

Several are Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs), which are designed for people with specific long-term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or chronic lung disease. C-SNPs require documentation of the condition to enroll.

Renamed — but not the same as unchanged

Twenty plans are keeping the same underlying coverage but showing up under a new name in 2027. If you cannot find your plan on next year's list, it might just be renamed. Examples: Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO) is becoming Aetna Medicare Signature Legacy (HMO); several Alignment Health plans are getting new numbered names; Blue Shield TotalDual Plan becomes Blue Shield Medicare + Medi-Cal Plan; Wellcare Dual Liberty becomes Wellcare Health Net Dual Liberty; and three UnitedHealthcare plans that partner with Sharp are being rebranded under the "UHC Sharp" name.

A renamed plan still counts as a continuation, so you will typically stay enrolled unless you change plans. Even so, read the ANOC — a rename often comes alongside other adjustments.

If your plan is not being renewed, you have extra time

When CMS confirms a plan is non-renewed, members get a Special Enrollment Period that runs from December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027. During that window you can:

• Join a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage), or
• Go back to Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

You can also make changes during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) for coverage that starts January 1, and during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan and want to switch once.

(heading) A few program facts worth knowing before you compare

These apply program-wide, not to any one plan:

• Part D has an out-of-pocket cap of $2,100 for 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027).
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs over the year in monthly amounts, at no extra charge. You have to opt in.
• IRMAA (higher Part B and Part D premiums for higher-income enrollees) begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

How to decide, step by step

1. Read the ANOC and any non-renewal letter as soon as it arrives. 2. Make a short list: your doctors, hospitals, and every prescription with dose and pharmacy. 3. Use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov to check which 2027 plans in San Diego County cover your drugs and include your providers. 4. If you take Medi-Cal or qualify for Extra Help, look at Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs). 5. If you have a chronic condition, ask whether a C-SNP fits your situation. 6. For unbiased help, call California's SHIP — known here as HICAP — at 1-800-434-0222. It is free.