Medicare Advantage

How Oakland's 2026 Medicare Advantage lineup breaks down

For 2027, Oakland is looking at 32 Medicare Advantage plans: 5 new, 10 gone since 2026, and 27 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 10 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Alameda County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Medicare AdvantageOakland, CA

Shopping for a Medicare Advantage plan in Oakland for 2027? Here is the full picture, organized the way it actually works — by the company that sells the plan, the type of plan it is, and whether it includes prescription drug coverage.

Oakland is in Alameda County, and Medicare Advantage plan availability is set at the county level. That means every plan listed here is available to Medicare-eligible residents of Oakland, along with the rest of Alameda County. The roster comes from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for plan year 2027.

What's in the Alameda County lineup for 2027

Ten carriers are selling Medicare Advantage in the county for 2027: Aetna (CVS Health), Alameda Alliance for Health, Align Senior Care, Alignment Health Plan, Blue Shield of California, CCHP (Chinese Community Health Plan), Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, SCAN Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare. Central Health Medicare Plan and Elevance Health (Anthem) are not offering plans in the county for 2027.

Every plan in the county for 2027 is an MA-PD, meaning it bundles medical coverage with Part D prescription drug coverage. There are no stand-alone Part D plans in the county roster for the year, so if you enroll in one of these Medicare Advantage plans, your drug coverage is built in.

The table below lists every plan by carrier, with its plan type and drug coverage status.

How the plan types differ

Most of what you'll see in Oakland are HMOs — 29 of the 37 plans. HMO plans generally ask you to use an in-network provider and, in many cases, get referrals to see specialists.

Five plans are HMO-POS ("point of service") plans, which behave like HMOs but with a limited option to go out of network for some services. Three plans are PPOs, which usually offer more flexibility to see out-of-network providers, often at a higher cost share.

For specifics on networks, referrals, and cost sharing, check each plan's Summary of Benefits or use the Medicare Plan Finder.

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) in the county

Fifteen of the 37 plans are Special Needs Plans, which are Medicare Advantage plans limited to people who meet specific criteria:

• D-SNPs are for people with both Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California).
• C-SNPs are for people with certain chronic conditions, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
• I-SNPs are for people living in a long-term care setting or who need that level of care at home.

In the Alameda County roster, you'll find D-SNPs from Alameda Alliance for Health, Central Health Medicare Plan, and Kaiser Permanente; C-SNPs from Alignment Health Plan, Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc., SCAN Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare; and I-SNPs from Align Senior Care. Eligibility rules are strict, so a plan on this list will not accept you unless you meet its category.

Carrier-by-carrier snapshot

Here is how the 37 plans distribute across the 12 carriers, in alphabetical order:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 5 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO)
• Alameda Alliance for Health: 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Align Senior Care: 3 plans (HMO; 2 SNPs)
• Alignment Health Plan: 9 plans (HMO; 6 SNPs)
• Blue Shield of California: 1 plan (HMO)
• CCHP (Chinese Community Health Plan): 2 plans (HMO)
• Central Health Medicare Plan: 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 2 plans (HMO-POS)
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc.: 3 plans (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Kaiser Permanente: 3 plans (HMO; 1 SNP)
• SCAN Health Plan: 5 plans (HMO; 2 SNPs)
• UnitedHealthcare: 2 plans (HMO-POS; 1 SNP)

Individual plan names — from Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO) to UHC Complete Care Support CA-8AP (HMO-POS C-SNP) — appear in the table below.

Program-level facts worth knowing for 2027

A few Part D rules apply no matter which Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage you choose:

• The annual out-of-pocket cap for Part D covered drugs is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027.
• The maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025; Part D now has three phases (deductible, initial coverage, catastrophic).
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs across the calendar year in monthly amounts, at no extra cost. You have to opt in.
• Higher-income enrollees may pay IRMAA surcharges on top of their premiums; for 2026, IRMAA starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Key dates

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. This is when you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the next year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan) once during this window.