Medicare Advantage

Before You Compare: 68 Medicare Plans Serve Indio

For 2027, Indio is looking at 88 Medicare Advantage plans: 14 new, 17 gone since 2026, and 52 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 20 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Riverside County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

How Many Medicare Plans Can Indio Shoppers Actually…

INDIO, Calif. — If you've ever opened a Medicare mailer and wondered just how many choices are really on the table around here, you're not alone. The short answer for the Coachella Valley: it's a lot. Indio sits in Riverside County, where 68 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2027, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Plan Finder and the annual MA/Part D Landscape data.

That number matters because it tells you the size of the shopping aisle — not which item to pick. Here's what the 2027 count looks like for our area, and how to think about it without feeling overwhelmed.

What the 2027 numbers look like around Indio

Indio is in Riverside County, where the 2027 Medicare landscape includes:

• 91 Medicare Advantage plans available countywide.
• 18 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans that include prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). Central Health Medicare Plan is not offering plans in the county for 2027.
• 0 stand-alone Part D plans listed in the county-level Landscape file for this area. (Stand-alone Part D plans are generally sold on a broader regional basis — more on that below.)
• 382,888 residents age 65 and older across Riverside County — one of the larger 65+ populations in California.

A quick note on Star Ratings: CMS rates Medicare contracts on a 1-to-5 scale to reflect quality and member experience. Star Ratings are one input among many; they're not a recommendation, and they can change year to year.

Why "county" matters more than "city"

Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are approved and sold by county (or by a multi-state region, for stand-alone Part D). That means an Indio ZIP code, a Coachella ZIP code, and a Riverside ZIP code all pull from the same Riverside County menu.

So when you see "91 plans," that's the countywide count — not a claim that every plan is tailored to Indio specifically. Your exact options on medicare.gov will still be filtered by ZIP code, because provider networks and pharmacy networks can vary within a county.

What about stand-alone Part D?

If you stick with Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and want drug coverage, you'd normally add a stand-alone Part D plan. Those plans are sold by CMS region rather than county, so even though the county-level file shows 0 for Riverside County, Californians still have Part D options available through the state's Part D region on Medicare Plan Finder. Use your ZIP code on medicare.gov to see the full list that applies to you.

The 2027 program facts worth knowing

Regardless of which plan you land on, several Medicare rules are set nationally. Here are the figures confirmed for 2027:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your covered drug spending hits that amount, you pay nothing for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027 (plans can charge less).
• No more "donut hole": As of 2025, Part D has three phases instead of four. The coverage gap is gone.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: An optional program that lets you spread your yearly drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA: Higher-income beneficiaries pay income-related surcharges on Part B and Part D. In 2026, IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Dates to keep on the fridge

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

How to sort through 68 options without a headache

You don't have to read every plan brochure. A calmer approach:

1. Make a short list of what you use. Your doctors, your regular pharmacy, and any prescriptions you take — with doses. 2. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare. Enter your ZIP code and your drug list. The tool narrows the field fast. 3. Call in reinforcements. 1-800-MEDICARE is open 24/7. In California, HICAP (the state's official SHIP) offers free, unbiased Medicare counseling — no sales pitch.