Medicare Advantage

Irvine's 2027 Medicare Advantage shake-up: two carriers out, one in, 28 new plans

Orange County has 111 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 21 plans are not coming back, 28 are new, and 51 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 19 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Irvine, not which plan to pick.

Irvine, Calif. — The 2027 Medicare Advantage map in Orange County looks different from the one Irvine residents shopped a year ago. Two carriers are pulling out of the county, one new carrier is coming in, and 28 brand-new plans are joining the shelf for the plan year that starts January 1, 2027. The Annual Enrollment Period that locks in those choices runs October 15 through December 7, 2026.

Irvine is in Orange County, and Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level, so the lineup below applies to every ZIP code in the city. The full roster — carrier by carrier, plan by plan — is in the table below. This piece walks through what is new, what is leaving, and what to do if your current plan is one of the ones not coming back.

What is changing in Irvine's Medicare Advantage lineup for 2027?

For 2027, Orange County — which includes Irvine — is losing 21 Medicare Advantage plans and gaining 28, while 64 plans continue and 19 are being renamed. CMS also lists 32 plans with some other kind of change (premium, deductible, plan type or name); the plan's own Annual Notice of Change spells out what moved.

The biggest story is at the carrier level. Central Health Medicare Plan, which offered seven plans here in 2026, is leaving the county, and so is Providence Medicare Advantage Plans. In their place, VillageHealth is entering Orange County for the first time with two Special Needs Plans built around dialysis care.

Which carriers will offer Medicare Advantage in Orange County in 2027?

Fifteen returning carriers plus one newcomer are expected to sell Medicare Advantage in Orange County for 2027. The returning names, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health), Align Senior Care, Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, CalOptima Health OneCare, Centene (WellCare), Champion Health Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, SCAN Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare. VillageHealth is the one new carrier.

Plan types in the county's lineup include HMO, HMO-POS and PPO plans, plus a sizeable group of Special Needs Plans — the Chronic Condition (C-SNP), Dual-Eligible (D-SNP) and Institutional (I-SNP) categories.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are new for 2027 in Irvine?

CMS lists 28 new Medicare Advantage plans for Orange County in 2027. They come from nine carriers already in the market and from VillageHealth, the newcomer.

The new plans, grouped by carrier, are:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP); Aetna Medicare Eagle (HMO).
• Alignment Health Plan: Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 044 (HMO C-SNP); Alignment Health Honor Plus 060 (HMO); Alignment Health Platinum Preferred 004 (HMO); Alignment Health Platinum Preferred+ 005 (HMO); Central Health Harmony 001 (HMO); Central Health Harmony Plus 002 (HMO C-SNP).
• Astiva Health: Astiva Health C-SNP Bloom (HMO C-SNP); Astiva Health C-SNP Fountain (HMO C-SNP).
• Blue Shield of California: Blue Shield Advantage (HMO).
• Champion Health Plan: Champion Anwell (HMO); Champion Compass (HMO C-SNP); Champion Home (HMO C-SNP); Champion Secure (HMO C-SNP).
• Clever Care Health Plan: Clever Care Breathe Select+ (HMO C-SNP); Clever Care Total Choice+ (HMO C-SNP).
• Humana: Humana Gold Plus H3767-002 (HMO).
• Imperial Health Plan of California: Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP).
• SCAN Health Plan: CareMore Health Plan by SCAN (HMO); SCAN Ansim Care (HMO C-SNP); SCAN Baekse (HMO); SCAN Costco Medicare Advantage (HMO); SCAN Inclusive (HMO); SCAN Select (HMO).
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-46 (HMO-POS).
• VillageHealth: SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care (HMO-POS C-SNP); SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care Complete (HMO-POS C-SNP).

A large share of the new entries are Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans, which are built for people living with conditions such as diabetes, chronic heart failure or chronic lung disease.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are leaving Orange County after 2026?

Twenty-one plans sold in Orange County in 2026 will not be offered in 2027. Seven of them belong to Central Health Medicare Plan, which is exiting the county entirely, and one belongs to Providence Medicare Advantage Plans, which is also leaving.

The full list of non-returning plans:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO); Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO); Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO).
• Alignment Health Plan: Alignment Health Advantage PPO (PPO); Alignment Health Honor+ Plan (HMO); Alignment Health My Choice Select (HMO); Alignment Health the ONE (HMO).
• Astiva Health: Astiva Health Premier Plan (HMO).
• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Giveback (HMO).
• Central Health Medicare Plan: Central Health Classic Care Plan I (HMO); Central Health Dual Access Plan (HMO D-SNP); Central Health Embrace Care Plan (HMO C-SNP); Central Health Embrace Choice Plan (HMO C-SNP); Central Health Medicare Plan (HMO); Central Health Part B Savings Plan (HMO); Central Health Valor Care Plan (HMO).
• Champion Health Plan: Champion Select (HMO-POS C-SNP).
• Kaiser Permanente: Kaiser Permanente Dual Complete South P1 (HMO D-SNP).
• Providence Medicare Advantage Plans: Providence Medicare Sycamore + Rx (HMO).
• SCAN Health Plan: SCAN Affirm partnered with Included LGBTQ+ Health (HMO); SCAN MyChoice (HMO).

If a plan is renamed rather than discontinued, it still counts as the same plan at CMS. Nineteen plans in the county are being renamed for 2027 — several from Alignment Health Plan, a couple of UnitedHealthcare's AARP plans, and others listed in the table below.

What should I do if my Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Irvine?

If your plan appears on the leaving list above, your insurer will send a non-renewal notice this fall. You have two protections built into Medicare's rules.

First, during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026), you can pick any Medicare Advantage plan still offered in Orange County for 2027, or move back to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan. A choice made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

Second, because your plan is being discontinued, CMS gives you a Special Enrollment Period that runs from December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027. During that window you can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and join a Part D plan, even after Annual Enrollment has closed.

If you do nothing and your plan is leaving, you will be returned to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027 without drug coverage — which is why acting during one of these windows matters.

What else is changing for Medicare in 2027?

A few program-level numbers are already set for 2027. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026). The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33 — that is a formula input, not what any specific plan will charge.

Two 2027 figures many readers ask about have not been released yet: the standard Part B premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets and surcharges. CMS usually publishes those in the fall, typically in November.