Medicare Advantage

Riverside's 14 brand-new Medicare Advantage plans for 2027: how to check one against your doctors

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.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Fall 2026. Fourteen Medicare Advantage plans are new to Riverside County for 2027, meaning they were not sold here in 2026 and will show up for the first time when the Annual Enrollment Period opens Oct. 15. If one of them catches your eye on Medicare Plan Finder, the extra homework is simple: these plans have no local track record yet, so you have to check them against your own doctors and prescriptions before you choose.

Riverside is in Riverside County, where plan availability is set. Nine carriers are bringing something new to the county for 2027, from a single new plan at Aetna, Alignment, Humana, Imperial and VillageHealth, up to three at Champion Health Plan. Most of the newcomers are Special Needs Plans built around chronic conditions.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are new in Riverside County for 2027?

Fourteen Medicare Advantage plans are new in Riverside County for 2027, out of 88 total offered next year. In alphabetical order by carrier, they are:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP), with drug coverage
• Alignment Health Plan — Alignment Health Honor Plus 060 (HMO), with drug coverage
• Astiva Health — Astiva Health C-SNP Bloom (HMO C-SNP) and Astiva Health C-SNP Fountain (HMO C-SNP), both with drug coverage
• Champion Health Plan — Champion Compass (HMO C-SNP), Champion Home (HMO C-SNP) and Champion Secure (HMO C-SNP), all with drug coverage
• Clever Care Health Plan — Clever Care Breathe Select+ (HMO C-SNP) and Clever Care Total Choice+ (HMO C-SNP), both with drug coverage
• Humana — Humana Gold Plus H5619-191 (HMO), with drug coverage
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc. — Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP), with drug coverage
• SCAN Health Plan — SCAN Costco Medicare Advantage (HMO) and SCAN Inclusive (HMO), both with drug coverage
• VillageHealth — SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care (HMO-POS C-SNP), with drug coverage

The table below lists every 2027 plan in the county alongside these newcomers.

What plan types and Special Needs Plans are among the new 2027 plans?

Of the 14 new plans in Riverside County for 2027, 13 are HMOs and one is an HMO-POS; there are no new PPOs on this list. Most are Special Needs Plans — specifically Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs), which are designed for people living with conditions like diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung conditions or end-stage renal disease. A few are standard HMOs open to anyone with Medicare in the service area.

C-SNPs have an extra rule: to enroll, you generally need a provider to confirm you have the qualifying condition the plan is built around. If you do not, that plan is not an option for you no matter how it looks on paper.

Do the new 2027 plans include drug coverage?

Yes. All 14 of the new Medicare Advantage plans in Riverside County for 2027 include Part D prescription drug coverage. That matters, because if you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage, you generally cannot also carry a stand-alone Part D plan.

The Part D rules that apply to those drug benefits are set by Medicare for 2027: the out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge is $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available if you would rather spread drug costs across the year.

How is a new plan different from a renewing one?

A new plan is one the carrier is offering for the first time in Riverside County for 2027, so it has no local history. A renewing plan was sold in 2026 and is coming back in 2027, usually with changes the carrier spells out in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) mailed each fall.

Two practical differences for shoppers:

• Star Ratings. CMS uses the past year's data to assign Star Ratings, so a brand-new plan simply does not have one yet. That is a program mechanic, not a quality signal in either direction.
• No ANOC to compare. Renewing members get an ANOC that lists what is changing from this year to next. With a new plan, there is no "last year" to compare — only the 2027 Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage.

For context, CMS records show 17 plans not returning in the county for 2027, 14 new, and 20 renamed. A renamed plan is treated as a continuation; the ANOC covers it.

How do I check a new plan against my doctors and prescriptions before Dec. 7?

Use Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, which pulls directly from each plan's filings. Three checks matter most:

1. Your drugs. Enter every prescription, dose and quantity. Plan Finder will show which plans cover each drug, what tier it is on, and the estimated yearly cost at your pharmacy. 2. Your pharmacy. Set your preferred pharmacy in the tool. Costs can be very different between a plan's preferred and standard pharmacies. 3. Your doctors. Plan Finder lists network providers, but confirm with the plan's own online directory and, ideally, a quick call to your doctor's billing office to ask whether they will be in-network for that specific plan in 2027.

If you prefer to talk to someone, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048) is open 24/7.

What is the deadline, and what happens if I do nothing?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026. Any change you make takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

If you do nothing, you are not dropped from Medicare. If your current plan is being offered again next year, you stay in it under the terms described in your ANOC. If your plan is one of the 17 not returning in the county, you will get a non-renewal notice and a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else. If you are already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you also have the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31, 2027) to make one change.

CMS will publish the 2027 Part B standard premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets later in the fall, usually in November.