Medicare Advantage

Before You Pick a 2027 Medicare Advantage Plan in Riverside

Riverside County has 88 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 17 plans are not coming back, 14 are new, and 52 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 20 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Riverside, not which plan to pick.

If you live in Riverside and you're weighing a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027, the first thing to know is that you have a lot of company at the drawing board — and a lot of choices to sort through. Riverside is in Riverside County, where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists 68 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, offered by 18 different carriers. Before you compare any single plan, it helps to understand who is selling coverage in the area and what the different plan types actually mean.

Who sells Medicare Advantage in Riverside for 2027

CMS lists 18 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in Riverside County for 2027. Compared with 2026, 14 plans are new to the county, 17 are not returning, 20 have been renamed, and 54 continue from last year — of those, 32 change something in their terms, which the plan's Annual Notice of Change spells out. Central Health Medicare Plan, which offered plans in the county in 2026, is not offering plans here in 2027.

The table below lists every plan by carrier, so you can see the full lineup at a glance. What matters for shopping is not which carrier has the most plans — it is which plan fits your doctors, your medications and your budget. Those details live inside each plan, and you can compare them at medicare.gov/plan-compare.

HMO, HMO-POS and PPO: how the plan types differ

Every Medicare Advantage plan in Riverside County uses one of three structures for 2027. Here is what those labels mean at the program level.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You choose doctors and hospitals from the plan's network. You usually need a primary care doctor and referrals to see specialists. Care outside the network is generally not covered except for emergencies. Riverside County has 72 HMO plans available.

HMO-POS (HMO with a Point-of-Service option). Same network-based structure as an HMO, but the plan allows some out-of-network services, usually at a higher cost. The rules vary by plan. Riverside County has 15 HMO-POS plans.

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). You can see any doctor who accepts the plan, in or out of network, though in-network care costs less. Referrals are generally not required. Riverside County has 4 PPO plans.

PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). You may have heard of this fourth type. PFFS plans set their own payment terms and let you see any provider who agrees to those terms. No PFFS plans are offered in Riverside County for 2027, so this type is not part of your local choice.

Special Needs Plans: who they're for

Of the 91 plans in Riverside County, 35 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs). These are Medicare Advantage plans limited to people who meet specific eligibility rules. There are three kinds:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible). For people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition). For people with certain chronic conditions, such as diabetes, chronic heart failure or a lung disorder. Each C-SNP names the condition it serves.
• I-SNP (Institutional). For people who live in a nursing home or need a similar level of care at home.

Not everyone qualifies for a Special Needs Plan. If you do, it's worth a look, because these plans are built around the specific needs of the group they serve. If you're not sure whether you qualify, a Medicare counselor at your local SHIP can help you check.

Drug coverage is built in — but check the details

All 68 Medicare Advantage plans in Riverside County for 2027 include prescription drug coverage (that's the "MA-PD" designation). CMS does not list any stand-alone Part D plans separately in the area's Medicare Advantage lineup for 2027 in this file, because most people who choose Medicare Advantage here get their drug coverage through their plan.

A few program-level facts to keep in mind as you compare drug coverage:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026. Once you hit it, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027) (plans can charge less).
• The old coverage gap, or "donut hole," was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. It's optional and free to join.
• IRMAA surcharges (higher Part B and Part D premiums) begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Dates to circle

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: Medicare Annual Enrollment. You can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan; coverage starts Jan. 1.
• Jan. 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another one or return to Original Medicare (with or without a Part D plan) once during this window.