Medicare Advantage

Do You Have a Qualifying Diagnosis? C-SNPs in Long Beach

For 2027, Long Beach is looking at 124 Medicare Advantage plans: 26 new, 23 gone since 2026, and 61 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 23 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Los Angeles County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Long Beach, Calif. — As the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period opens Oct. 15, 2026, people in Long Beach who live with a long-term health condition have a specific kind of Medicare Advantage plan to consider: a Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan, or C-SNP. For 2027, Los Angeles County — which includes Long Beach — has 41 C-SNPs from 12 carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. That is a wider slate than many counties see, and several are new or renamed for next year.

What a C-SNP is

A Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan built around one group of people: those living with a specific long-term health condition, such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, chronic lung disease or end-stage renal disease. CMS defines the condition list, and each plan picks which condition (or small group of conditions) it serves.

Because the membership is narrower, a C-SNP's drug list, care team and extra benefits are shaped around that condition. Every C-SNP includes Part D prescription drug coverage, so you do not buy a separate drug plan.

C-SNPs are one of three kinds of Special Needs Plans. For 2027, Los Angeles County also has 8 D-SNPs (for people with both Medicare and Medi-Cal) and 5 I-SNPs (for people living in a nursing home or needing that level of care). This article is about the C-SNPs.

Who can join, and how enrollment works

To enroll in a C-SNP, you need to have the chronic condition the plan serves, and a provider has to confirm it. In practice, the plan sends your doctor a short form after you apply; if the doctor does not verify the diagnosis within the required window, the plan cannot keep you enrolled.

You also need to have Medicare Part A and Part B, and live in the plan's service area.

Here is the part many people miss: a qualifying chronic condition gives you a Special Enrollment Period. You can join a C-SNP outside the usual Oct. 15–Dec. 7 Annual Enrollment Period. You can also switch from one C-SNP to another once per calendar quarter during the first nine months of the year under the SNP SEP. If you join between periods, coverage usually starts the first day of the next month.

If you prefer to decide during AEP, changes made by Dec. 7, 2026 take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Doing nothing means your current plan renews — if it is offered next year — with whatever changes are described in its Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).

The 41 C-SNPs in Los Angeles County for 2027

The table on this page lists every C-SNP available in Los Angeles County, by carrier. The counts by carrier for 2027 are:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 1
• AHF: 1
• Alignment Health Plan: 9
• Astiva Health: 4
• Centene (WellCare): 1
• Champion Heath Plan: 8
• Clever Care Health Plan: 4
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 5
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc.: 2
• SCAN Health Plan: 3
• UnitedHealthcare: 2
• VillageHealth: 1

Some plan names tell you the condition the plan serves. For example, Anthem I CareMore Kidney Care and Anthem I CareMore Lung Care are C-SNPs whose names point to the condition group. Others, like Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 010 or Clever Care Breathe+, do the same. When a name does not state the condition — for instance, Wellcare Specialty Simple or SCAN Strive — call the plan or check the Evidence of Coverage to see which diagnosis qualifies.

What is new or renamed for 2027

Several C-SNPs are new in Los Angeles County for next year, including Aetna Medicare Chronic Care, 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 and SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care Complete.

A number of Alignment Health Plan C-SNPs were renamed for 2027 — same plan, new label. Examples include Alignment Health Balance 033 (previously Alignment Health Balance), Alignment Health BreathEasy Plus 041 (previously Alignment Health BreathEasy) and Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 010 (previously Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes). If you are already in one of these, your ANOC will show the new name and any 2027 changes.

How to compare without the sales pitch

C-SNPs vary in network, drug list, cost sharing and extra benefits. Nothing in this article tells you which plan is right for you — that depends on your condition, your doctors, your medications and your budget. Two reliable places to compare:

• The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your ZIP code, your drugs and your pharmacies, and shows every plan's costs side by side.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) is open 24/7 for personalized questions.

You can also ask the plan directly for its Summary of Benefits and provider directory before you enroll.

Program figures to keep in mind for 2027

A few program-level numbers from CMS apply to any Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, including C-SNPs:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") remains eliminated; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs over the calendar year.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, are published by CMS later in the fall — usually November.