Medicare Advantage

Before you pick an LA Medicare Advantage plan, read this

People in Los Angeles can choose from 124 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 121 this year. 23 of this year’s plans are gone, 26 are new to Los Angeles County, and 61 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 23 of them under a new name.

Medicare AdvantageLos Angeles, CA

Los Angeles has one of the busiest Medicare Advantage markets in the country, and the alphabet soup on plan names — HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, D-SNP, C-SNP, I-SNP — can make picking one feel harder than it should. Before you compare premiums or benefits, it helps to understand what those letters actually mean and which types are sold here. Los Angeles is in Los Angeles County, where 20 carriers offer 101 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File.

What the Los Angeles County lineup looks like

The full table on this page lists every 2027 Medicare Advantage plan sold in Los Angeles County. Compared with 2026, 75 plans continue, 26 are new, 23 are not returning, and 23 are renamed; 38 of the continuing plans change something in their terms, and those details are in each plan's Annual Notice of Change. No stand-alone Part D plans appear in this data block because Medicare Advantage plans here already bundle drug coverage.

Carriers offering plans (alphabetically) include Aetna (CVS Health), AHF, Align Senior Care, Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Centene (WellCare), Central Health Medicare Plan, Champion Heath Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Elite Health Plan, Humana, Imperial Health Plan of California, Kaiser Permanente, L.A. Care Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of California, SCAN Health Plan, UCLA Health Medicare Advantage Plan, UnitedHealthcare, and VillageHealth.

The number of plans a carrier offers varies widely. For example, Alignment Health Plan lists 19 plans in the county and SCAN Health Plan lists 14, while L.A. Care Health Plan, AHF, and VillageHealth each list one. A bigger menu is not the same as a better fit — what matters is whether a plan's network, drug list and rules match your doctors and prescriptions.

HMO: the most common shape here

An HMO — Health Maintenance Organization — asks you to pick a primary care doctor and generally use in-network providers. Care outside the network usually isn't covered except in an emergency. You may also need a referral from your primary doctor before seeing a specialist.

HMOs dominate the Los Angeles County lineup. If your doctors and hospitals are already inside one of these networks and you don't travel often, an HMO can be a comfortable fit. If you split time between California and another state, or want to see specialists without referrals, the trade-offs matter more.

HMO-POS: a small side door

HMO-POS stands for HMO with a Point-of-Service option. It works like an HMO, but with a limited ability to go out of network for certain services — often at a higher cost share. Twenty-four plans in the county are HMO-POS.

Think of the POS piece as a side door, not a highway. If you occasionally need care from a provider outside the network, this structure can help, but it isn't a substitute for the broader freedom of a PPO.

PPO: more flexibility, different rules

A PPO — Preferred Provider Organization — lets you see any provider that accepts Medicare, in or out of network, usually without referrals. Out-of-network care typically costs more than in-network care. PPOs are part of the Los Angeles County lineup for 2027, though the mix leans much more heavily to HMOs.

PPOs can appeal to people who want fewer gatekeeping steps, travel within the U.S., or have specialists they want to keep seeing even if those providers aren't contracted. As always, check the plan's specific rules — "PPO" is a category, not a promise about any single plan.

PFFS: not offered here

Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans let members see any Medicare provider willing to accept the plan's payment terms. They were more common a decade ago and have thinned out nationwide. In Los Angeles County for 2027, no PFFS plans appear in the CMS Landscape file, so this is not a choice you'll need to compare locally.

Special Needs Plans: 47 of the 121

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are Medicare Advantage plans built for specific groups. They still work through an HMO or HMO-POS structure, but their benefits, drug lists and care management are shaped around who they serve. Los Angeles County has 47 SNPs across the three types:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible): For people who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid). Examples in the county include plans from Blue Shield of California, Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), Kaiser Permanente, L.A. Care Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of California, and SCAN Health Plan.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition): For people living with one or more qualifying chronic conditions, such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, or chronic lung disorders. Carriers offering C-SNPs here include AHF, Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Centene (WellCare), Central Health Medicare Plan, Champion Heath Plan, Clever Care Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Imperial Health Plan of California, SCAN Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare.
• I-SNP (Institutional): For people who live in, or are expected to live in, a nursing home or similar facility for 90 days or longer. Align Senior Care, Elevance Health (Anthem) and SCAN Health Plan list I-SNPs in the county.

SNPs aren't open to everyone — you have to meet the eligibility rule for that type. But if you qualify, the plan is built around your situation, which can be worth a close look.

How to narrow the field

With 121 options, the trick is filtering, not reading every brochure. A few practical filters:

1. Start with your doctors. Ask each one which Medicare Advantage networks they accept for 2027. 2. List your prescriptions. Every plan has a formulary; a plan is only workable if your drugs are on it. 3. Consider how you use care. Do you want referrals and a coordinated network (HMO), a little flexibility (HMO-POS), or broader out-of-network access (PPO)? 4. Check SNP eligibility. If you have Medi-Cal, a qualifying chronic condition, or live in a facility, an SNP may be designed for you. 5. Use the official tool. Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov compares every plan in your ZIP code side by side.

A few program-level 2026 facts worth knowing while you compare: the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100, the Part D maximum deductible is $615, the coverage gap is gone (Part D now has three phases), and there's an optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan that spreads drug costs across the year. IRMAA surcharges start above $109,000 in income for a single filer.