Medicare Advantage

Living with a chronic condition in Los Angeles? Here's how C-SNPs work for 2027

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.

Los Angeles, fall 2026 — For people on Medicare who manage a serious ongoing illness like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease or a lung condition, a specific kind of Medicare Advantage plan is built around that reality. They are called Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans, or C-SNPs. In Los Angeles County, 41 of the 124 Medicare Advantage plans available for 2027 are C-SNPs, offered by 12 carriers. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7, 2026, and changes made in that window start January 1, 2027.

What a C-SNP is, in plain terms

A Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan designed for people living with a specific long-term illness. Instead of a plan built for the general Medicare population, a C-SNP shapes its provider network, drug list and care supports around one condition — or a cluster of related conditions, like diabetes and heart disease together.

Every C-SNP in Los Angeles County includes Part D prescription drug coverage, so your medical and drug coverage come through the same plan. Beyond that, specifics like premiums, copays, drug lists and provider networks vary a lot plan to plan. The official place to compare those details is the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or each plan's own Evidence of Coverage.

Who can enroll, and how it gets confirmed

To join a C-SNP, you must have the chronic condition the plan is built for. Medicare keeps a defined list of qualifying conditions — things such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, cardiovascular disorders, chronic lung disorders and end-stage renal disease, among others.

A diagnosis alone, on paper, is not enough. The plan has to verify your condition with your provider, usually through a short form your doctor signs. If the plan cannot verify the diagnosis within a set window after you enroll, your coverage in that plan can end. This verification step is the main thing that makes a C-SNP different from a regular Medicare Advantage plan.

The Special Enrollment Period for people with a qualifying condition

Most people can only change Medicare Advantage plans during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31). People with a qualifying chronic condition have an extra option: a Special Enrollment Period that lets them join a C-SNP outside those windows.

In practice, that means you do not have to wait until next fall if a C-SNP fits your situation now. Once you are enrolled in a C-SNP, standard Medicare rules apply if you later want to switch.

The C-SNP lineup in Los Angeles County for 2027

For 2027, Los Angeles County has 41 C-SNPs from 12 carriers. The other Special Needs Plan types in the county — 8 Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medi-Cal, and 5 Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) — are separate categories with their own eligibility rules.

Carriers offering C-SNPs in the county for 2027, in alphabetical order, and how many each offers:

• 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

The table on this page lists every C-SNP by name, carrier and plan type. Several plans are new for 2027 — 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. Several Alignment Health Plan C-SNPs have been renamed for 2027; the plan itself continues, but the name on the Plan Finder has changed.

A note on what a plan name means: when a C-SNP's name mentions a condition (for example, kidney, lung, or heart and diabetes), that tells you the group it is built for. When the name does not call out a condition, you cannot tell from the name alone which qualifying condition it covers — the plan's own materials spell that out.

What to do this fall

Los Angeles is in Los Angeles County, where the full 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup is 124 plans from 21 carriers, with the 41 C-SNPs described above. A few steps make the window easier:

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). If you are already in a Medicare Advantage or C-SNP plan, your carrier mailed an ANOC in September. It spells out what is changing for 2027. 2. Talk with your provider. If you think a C-SNP might fit, ask whether your diagnosis is one of the qualifying conditions and whether your doctor can complete the verification form. 3. Compare on medicare.gov. The Plan Finder shows every plan available at your ZIP code, with premiums, drug lists and networks. 4. Note the key 2027 figures CMS has already published. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (from $615). The 2027 Part B premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced; CMS typically releases them later in the fall.

Doing nothing is a valid choice: your current plan simply renews for 2027 if it is still offered, with the updates described in its ANOC.