Medicare Advantage

Before You Pick a 2026 Plan in Elk Grove: The Facts

People in Elk Grove can choose from 23 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 38 this year. 13 of this year's plans are gone, 7 are new to Sacramento County, and 14 that continue have changed something in their terms, 9 of them under a new name.

Medicare AdvantageElk Grove, CA

Elk Grove, Calif. — If you live in Elk Grove and you're sorting through Medicare Advantage options for 2027, the starting point is knowing which insurers show up on your doorstep and what kinds of plans they offer. Elk Grove is in Sacramento County, and Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level. For plan year 2027, CMS lists 23 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers offered in Sacramento County, and every one of them includes drug coverage.

The table below lists every plan by carrier, with its plan type and a note that drug coverage is included. This article walks through what's in that lineup so you can read the table with confidence.

What's on the Elk Grove menu for 2027

Across Sacramento County, the 2027 Medicare Advantage roster breaks down like this:

• HMO: 29 plans
• HMO-POS: 5 plans
• PPO: 4 plans
• Special Needs Plans (a subset of the above): 16 plans
• Plans with drug coverage: 38 out of 38

Ten carriers make up that list: Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Centene (WellCare), Central Health Medicare Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of California, SCAN Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare.

Carrier by carrier, at a glance

Here's how the 23 plans are split among the carriers offering coverage in Sacramento County for 2027. All plans listed include prescription drug coverage.

• Aetna (CVS Health): 5 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO)
• Alignment Health Plan: 11 plans (HMO, PPO; 6 Special Needs)
• Centene (WellCare): 1 plan (HMO; 1 Special Needs)
• Central Health Medicare Plan: 4 plans (HMO; 2 Special Needs)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 3 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; 1 Special Needs)
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc.: 3 plans (HMO; 1 Special Needs)
• Kaiser Permanente: 3 plans (HMO; 1 Special Needs)
• Molina Healthcare of California: 1 plan (HMO; 1 Special Needs)
• SCAN Health Plan: 5 plans (HMO; 2 Special Needs)
• UnitedHealthcare: 2 plans (HMO-POS; 1 Special Needs)

The specific plan names — for example, Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO), Alignment Health Honor+ Plan (HMO), Wellcare Health Net Dual Align (HMO D-SNP), Anthem Medicare Advantage (HMO-POS), Kaiser Permanente Sr Advantage Basic Sac., Sonoma (HMO), SCAN Classic (HMO), and AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-023P (HMO-POS) — are in the full table below.

What the plan types mean

The three plan types on the Elk Grove list work differently:

• HMO plans usually ask you to use in-network doctors and hospitals and to pick a primary care physician, who may refer you to specialists.
• HMO-POS (Point of Service) plans work like an HMO but let you go outside the network for certain services, often at a higher cost.
• PPO plans give you more flexibility to see out-of-network providers, though staying in-network typically costs less.

Every 2027 plan in the county roster is a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage — often called MA-PD.

Special Needs Plans in the mix

Of the 38 plans, 16 are Special Needs Plans. SNPs are limited to people who meet certain conditions:

• D-SNPs (Dual Eligible) are for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. In the Elk Grove area, plans like Wellcare Health Net Dual Align (HMO D-SNP), Anthem Full Dual Advantage Aligned (HMO D-SNP), Kaiser Permanente Dual Complete North P2 (HMO D-SNP), and Molina Medicare Complete Care Plus (HMO D-SNP) fall into this category.
• C-SNPs (Chronic Condition) are for people with specific chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart conditions. Examples on the local roster include the Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes plans, Central Health Embrace Care Plan (HMO C-SNP), Imperial Senior Value (HMO C-SNP), SCAN Balance (HMO C-SNP), and UHC Complete Care Support CA-8AP (HMO-POS C-SNP).

You can only enroll in an SNP if you meet its eligibility rules.

Drug coverage — and no stand-alone Part D in the county data

Every 2027 Medicare Advantage plan available in Sacramento County includes Part D drug coverage. The CMS landscape data used for this roundup shows zero stand-alone Part D plans listed for the county, so most Elk Grove residents who want drug coverage through Medicare Advantage will get it bundled with their medical plan.

A few program-level 2027 numbers worth keeping in mind as you compare drug coverage:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 for the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615.
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") is gone as of 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly payments if you choose.
• IRMAA (income-related) surcharges kick in above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. This is when most people can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the coming year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan).

How to read the table below

The table lists every 2027 Medicare Advantage plan available in Sacramento County (which includes Elk Grove), grouped alphabetically by carrier, with each plan's type and a note that it includes drug coverage. This roster comes from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. Specific premiums, deductibles, copays, provider networks, extra benefits and star ratings are not in this article — those details live in each plan's official documents and on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.