Medicare Advantage

Thinking about a brand-new Medicare Advantage plan in Irvine? Here's how to vet one for 2027

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. — Fall 2026. When the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15, Orange County shoppers will see 28 Medicare Advantage plans that did not exist here last year. That is a lot of fresh options for Irvine residents to sort through — and because none of them have a 2026 track record in this market, they take a little extra homework before December 7.

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

Irvine is in Orange County, where 28 of the 111 Medicare Advantage plans offered for 2027 are new — meaning they were not sold here in 2026. Eleven carriers are adding them: Aetna (CVS Health) with 2, Alignment Health Plan with 6, Astiva Health with 2, Blue Shield of California with 1, Champion Heath Plan with 4, Clever Care Health Plan with 2, Humana with 1, Imperial Health Plan of California with 1, SCAN Health Plan with 6, UnitedHealthcare with 1, and VillageHealth with 2.

Most are HMOs, a few are HMO-POS, and nearly all include Part D drug coverage. The table below lists every new plan with its carrier, plan type and whether it includes drugs.

Which new 2027 plans are Special Needs Plans?

A large share of the newcomers are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which only accept members who meet specific rules. Among the 28 new plans in Orange County for 2027, the SNPs include Aetna Medicare Chronic Care, Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 044, Central Health Harmony Plus 002, Astiva Health C-SNP Bloom, Astiva Health C-SNP Fountain, Champion Compass, Champion Home, Champion Secure, Clever Care Breathe Select+, Clever Care Total Choice+, Imperial Flex, SCAN Ansim Care, SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care, and SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care Complete.

C-SNPs serve people living with certain chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease or end-stage renal disease. D-SNPs serve people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. I-SNPs serve people living in a nursing home or needing nursing-home level care at home. You generally need proof of the qualifying condition or status to enroll.

How is a brand-new plan different from one that is renewing?

A renewing plan has history: a provider network you can look up, a drug formulary that has been in use, and a Star Rating that reflects how members fared last year. A new plan has none of that performance history yet. CMS does not assign a Star Rating to a plan until it has enough claims and member experience data to measure — usually after a full plan year.

That does not make a new plan better or worse. It just means your judgment has to lean more on the Evidence of Coverage, the Summary of Benefits, the drug formulary and the provider directory the plan itself publishes, rather than on past ratings or neighbor reviews. If a plan uses a brand-new network under a familiar carrier name, "I've heard of them" is not the same as "my doctor takes it."

How do I check a new Irvine plan against my doctors and prescriptions before December 7?

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code, add every prescription you take with the exact dose and quantity, and add your preferred pharmacy. Plan Finder will show your projected yearly drug cost under each plan and flag drugs that are not on the formulary or that need prior authorization.

For doctors and hospitals, do not stop at the plan's online directory — those are often out of date. Call each provider's office, give them the exact plan name as it appears on medicare.gov (for example, the plan name plus "HMO" or "HMO-POS"), and ask whether they are contracted for 2027. If you cannot get a clear answer, call the plan's member services line and 1-800-MEDICARE. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

What else is changing for 2027?

Two Part D figures are already set by CMS for 2027: the out-of-pocket cap on covered prescriptions rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet — CMS usually publishes those in the fall.

Orange County is also seeing 21 plans not return for 2027 and 19 that are being renamed. If your current plan is affected, your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), mailed in September, spells out exactly what is different. Doing nothing is a valid choice if your plan is renewing and still fits — it will roll into 2027 automatically.