Medicare Advantage

Anthem's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup in San Diego: 4 plans, 1 new, 1 not returning

San Diego, fall 2026 — If you have an Anthem Medicare Advantage plan in San Diego, or you're thinking about one for next year, here is a plain look at what the carrier is putting on the shelf for 2027. Anthem — which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) groups under its parent company Elevance Health — is offering four Medicare Advantage plans in San Diego County for the coming plan year, with one plan new and one not returning from this year's lineup.

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent news and education site. We are not Anthem, not Medicare, and not selling anything. We're walking through what CMS has published so you can match it against your own doctors and prescriptions before the Annual Enrollment Period closes on December 7, 2026.

What Anthem is offering in San Diego County for 2027

San Diego is in San Diego County, and Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level. For the 2027 plan year, Anthem's four plans here break down this way:

• 3 HMO-POS plans: Anthem Medicare Advantage (HMO-POS), Anthem Prime (HMO-POS), and Anthem Select (HMO-POS)
• 1 PPO plan: Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP)
• Special Needs Plans: 1 (a C-SNP — a plan built for people with a specific chronic condition)
• With drug coverage (MAPD): all 4

The table below lists every Anthem plan available in the county for 2027. Anthem is one of 15 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in San Diego County for 2027; across all carriers, there are 85 plans in the county next year, so there is more on the shelf than any single company's lineup.

What's new, and what's not returning

Year over year, Anthem's San Diego County roster has two changes worth flagging:

• New for 2027: Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP) — a Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan.
• Not returning for 2027: 1 plan from Anthem's 2026 San Diego lineup is going away. If you're in a plan that isn't being offered again, Anthem is required to send you a notice; you'll need to pick a new plan during AEP, or you can use the special enrollment period that applies when a plan leaves.

The rest of Anthem's HMO-POS plans — Anthem Medicare Advantage, Anthem Prime, and Anthem Select — are returning for 2027, but "returning" does not mean "unchanged." Every plan sends an Annual Notice of Change each fall. Read it.

HMO-POS, PPO and C-SNP: what those labels mean

The letters next to each plan name tell you how it works, not how good it is.

• HMO-POS (Health Maintenance Organization with a Point-of-Service option): you generally use the plan's network, with a limited ability to go out of network for certain services.
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): more flexibility to see out-of-network providers, usually at a higher cost share.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan): limited to people with a qualifying chronic condition. Anthem Kidney Care, as the name suggests, is built around a specific condition; eligibility rules apply.

Which structure fits you is personal — it depends on which doctors and hospitals you want to keep using, and how you prefer to get referrals.

How to check a plan against your doctors and prescriptions

Before December 7, do these four things for any plan you're considering — Anthem's or anyone else's:

1. Pull up your Annual Notice of Change. If you're already in a plan, this document (mailed in September) lists exactly what's changing for 2027: premium, deductible, copays, drug tiers and network notes. 2. Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code and your current prescriptions. The tool shows the plans available in San Diego County and estimates your yearly drug costs plan by plan. 3. Check the provider directory. Networks change every year. Confirm your primary care doctor, your specialists, and the hospital you'd want to use are in-network for the specific plan you're looking at — not just "Anthem" in general. 4. Check the formulary. A plan's drug list (and the tier each drug sits on) can change between plan years. Look up every prescription by name and dose.

If you'd rather talk to a person, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7.

2027 program figures worth knowing

A few program-level numbers CMS has already published for 2027:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket drug spending hits that cap, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs for the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Plans can set a lower deductible or none at all.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: still available — an optional way to spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets for higher earners, had not been announced as of September 2026. CMS typically releases those figures later in the fall.

If you do nothing

Nothing happens on December 7 to someone who makes no change. If your current plan is offered again in 2027, you stay in it automatically, with whatever changes are described in your ANOC. If your plan is one of the ones not returning, you'll get a notice and will need to choose something else — either during AEP or using the special enrollment period that opens when a plan is discontinued.

There is also a second window: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 – March 31, 2027. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan at the start of the year, you can switch to another MA plan or go back to Original Medicare once during that window.