Medicare Advantage

Before you pick an MA plan in Huntington Beach, read this

People in Huntington Beach can choose from 111 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 104 this year. 21 of this year’s plans are gone, 28 are new to Orange County, and 51 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 19 of them under a new name.

Shopping for Medicare Advantage in Huntington Beach can feel like reading a menu in a language you almost understand. The letters after each plan name — HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, D-SNP, C-SNP, I-SNP — actually tell you a lot about how the plan works, who can join, and how you'll get care. Huntington Beach is in Orange County, where 17 carriers offer 104 Medicare Advantage plans for 2026, and every one of them includes prescription drug coverage. Before you sort through names and brochures, it helps to understand what each plan type is.

How the local lineup is laid out

The full table below lists every 2026 plan by carrier. In alphabetical order, those carriers are Aetna (CVS Health), Align Senior Care, Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, CalOptima Health OneCare, Centene (WellCare), Central Health Medicare Plan, Champion Heath Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, Providence Medicare Advantage Plans, SCAN Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare.

The number of plans each carrier offers ranges from a single option (CalOptima Health OneCare and Providence Medicare Advantage Plans each have one) to larger menus like Alignment Health Plan with 17 and Elevance Health (Anthem) with 12. A bigger menu isn't automatically better — it just means more variations to compare.

HMO plans: the largest group here

HMO stands for Health Maintenance Organization. In an HMO you generally choose a primary care doctor, use the plan's network of doctors and hospitals, and get referrals for specialists. Care outside the network usually isn't covered except in emergencies.

Of the 104 plans in Orange County, 75 are HMOs. That includes options like Blue Shield 65 Plus (HMO), Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage LA, Orange Co. (HMO), SCAN Classic (HMO), and Wellcare Simple (HMO), among many others.

HMO-POS: a small step outside the network

HMO-POS means "point of service." It works like an HMO, but with a limited ability to see certain providers outside the network — usually at a higher cost, and sometimes only for specific services. It's still built around a network and primary care doctor.

Twenty-one Orange County plans use this structure. Examples include Aetna Medicare Prime (HMO-POS), several AARP Medicare Advantage from UnitedHealthcare plans, and the Anthem CareMore plans that carry the HMO-POS label.

PPO: more flexibility, different tradeoffs

A PPO — Preferred Provider Organization — lets you see any Medicare-approved provider who agrees to treat you, without a referral. You typically pay less if you stay in-network, and more if you go out. There are eight PPO plans in the county, offered by Aetna, Alignment Health Plan and Humana. The exact plan names are in the table.

PFFS: not on the menu here

You may see "PFFS" — Private Fee-for-Service — mentioned in national Medicare guides. In a PFFS plan, the plan sets the payment terms and any Medicare-approved provider can choose whether to accept them. No PFFS plans are offered in Orange County for 2026, so this option isn't part of the Huntington Beach picture.

Special Needs Plans: only if you qualify

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are Medicare Advantage plans built for a specific group of people. There are three types:

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

Orange County has 40 SNPs across those three categories. Names include CalOptima Health OneCare Complete (HMO D-SNP), Wellcare Health Net Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP), several Alignment Health C-SNPs, Anthem CareMore Kidney Care and Lung Care plans, Anthem CareMore Home Care (HMO I-SNP), SCAN Embrace (HMO I-SNP), and UHC Complete Care CA-19P. You can only enroll in an SNP if you meet its eligibility rules.

Drug coverage is built in

Every one of the 104 Medicare Advantage plans in Orange County includes Part D prescription drug coverage. That matters because in 2026, Part D has a $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs, a maximum deductible of $615, and the old "donut hole" coverage gap has been eliminated — Part D now has three phases instead of four. There's also the optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying all at once at the pharmacy.

There are no stand-alone Part D plans listed separately in this local file, because MA-PD plans bundle the drug coverage in.

Dates to keep in mind

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: Medicare Annual Enrollment. 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 an MA plan, you can switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare once during this window.

Higher-income beneficiaries should also know that IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D premiums begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.