Medicare Advantage

San Diego Medicare Advantage for 2027: 18 new plans, 26 leaving, two carriers out

People in San Diego can choose from 85 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 93 this year. 26 of this year’s plans are gone, 18 are new to San Diego County, and 48 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 20 of them under a new name.

San Diego, fall 2026 — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in San Diego County, this is the season to open the envelope. The 2027 lineup looks different from 2026: two carriers are not coming back, 26 plans are leaving the county, and 18 plans are new. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

San Diego is in San Diego County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. For 2027, 17 carriers plan to offer 93 Medicare Advantage plans in the county — 68 HMOs, 16 HMO-POS plans and 9 PPOs, with 33 of them Special Needs Plans and all 93 including drug coverage. The full lineup is in the table below.

Two carriers are leaving the county

Central Health Medicare Plan and Sharp Health Plan will not offer Medicare Advantage plans in San Diego County for 2027. That means every plan these two insurers sold here in 2026 is on the "leaving" list — including Central Health Classic Care Plan I, Central Health Embrace Care Plan, Central Health Embrace Choice Plan, Central Health Part B Savings Plan and Central Health Valor Care Plan, plus Sharp Direct Advantage Gold, Sharp Direct Advantage Platinum, Sharp Direct Advantage VIP and Sharp Direct Advantage VIP Plus.

If you are in one of these plans, your coverage will end December 31, 2026. You will receive a non-renewal notice from your insurer, and you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (more on that below).

Other plans not returning for 2027

A handful of plans from carriers that are staying in the county are also ending. From Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO), Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO), Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO), Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO) and Aetna Medicare Signature Extra (HMO). From Alignment Health Plan: Alignment Health Advantage PPO, Alignment Health Freedom (PPO), Alignment Health Honor+ Plan (HMO) and Alignment Health the ONE (HMO). Also leaving: Astiva Health Premier Plan (HMO), Champion Select (HMO-POS C-SNP), Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP), Humana Gold Plus H5619-148 (HMO), HumanaChoice H5525-077 (PPO), Molina Medicare Choice Care (HMO), SCAN Affirm partnered with Included LGBTQ+ Health (HMO) and SCAN MyChoice (HMO).

In total, 26 plans sold in San Diego County in 2026 will not be offered in 2027.

18 plans are new for 2027

New plans entering the county include Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP) and Aetna Medicare Eagle (HMO) from Aetna (CVS Health); Alignment Health Advantage 005 (PPO), Alignment Health Balance Plus 004 (PPO) and Alignment Health Honor Plus 060 (HMO) from Alignment Health Plan; Astiva Health C-SNP Bloom and Astiva Health C-SNP Fountain from Astiva Health; Blue Shield Advantage (HMO) and Blue Shield Value Advantage Plan (HMO) from Blue Shield of California; Champion Compass, Champion Home and Champion Secure (all HMO C-SNP) from Champion Heath Plan; Clever Care Breathe Select+ and Clever Care Total Choice+ (both HMO C-SNP) from Clever Care Health Plan; Anthem Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP) from Elevance Health (Anthem); Humana Gold Plus H3767-001 (HMO); Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP) from Imperial Health Plan of California; and SCAN Costco Medicare Advantage (HMO) from SCAN Health Plan.

Many of the new plans are Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs), designed for people with specific long-term conditions.

Renames and changes you may notice

Twenty continuing plans have been renamed between 2026 and 2027. Examples include Aetna Medicare Prime, which moves from HMO-POS to HMO; Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO) becoming Aetna Medicare Signature Legacy (HMO); several Alignment Health plans adding plan ID numbers (for example, Alignment Health BreathEasy becomes Alignment Health BreathEasy Plus 041); Blue Shield TotalDual Plan becoming Blue Shield Medicare + Medi-Cal Plan; Wellcare Dual Liberty becoming Wellcare Health Net Dual Liberty; and UHC Complete Care CA-15P becoming UHC Sharp Complete Care CA-15P.

Separately, 28 plans have a change on premium, deductible, type or name for 2027. The specifics for your plan — what the premium or deductible is, what the network looks like, what drugs are on the formulary — are in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your insurer mails each September. Read it before December 7.

What happens if your plan is leaving

Doing nothing is fine only if your plan is coming back. If your plan is on the "leaving" list, you need to act. Here are your choices:

• Pick a different Medicare Advantage plan during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) for coverage starting January 1, 2027.
• Use the Special Enrollment Period for a non-renewed plan: it runs December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027 and lets you switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D plan.
• Compare plans at medicare.gov using the Plan Finder, or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

If you move from Medicare Advantage back to Original Medicare, you may also want to look at a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy. In California, Medigap rules are different from most states, so review your options carefully.

A few 2027 numbers to keep in mind

Two Part D figures are already confirmed for 2027: the out-of-pocket cap for drug costs rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet; CMS typically publishes them in November.