Medicare Advantage

San Francisco Medicare: 51 Plans, 13 Carriers for 2027

For 2027, San Francisco is looking at 46 Medicare Advantage plans: 7 new, 12 gone since 2026, and 35 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 13 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in San Francisco County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

San Francisco, fall 2026 — Annual Notices of Change are landing in mailboxes across the city right now, and they are the single most important piece of paper a Medicare Advantage or Part D member will read this fall. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews for next year with whatever changes the ANOC describes.

That makes the next few weeks about one thing: comparing the plan you have today against the plan it will be in 2027 — and against the other options sold in San Francisco County.

Start with the Annual Notice of Change

If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan, your insurer was required to send you an ANOC by the end of September. It is usually bound with the Evidence of Coverage (EOC), which is the longer rulebook.

Flip to the comparison pages and look for changes in:

• The monthly premium and the plan deductible.
• Primary care, specialist, urgent care, and emergency room costs.
• The Part D drug deductible and the tiers your medications sit on.
• Extra benefits — dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter, fitness, transportation.
• The provider and pharmacy network.

Nothing in the ANOC is a surprise if you read it. Everything in it is a surprise if you don't.

Check your doctors and hospitals for 2027

San Francisco patients often build care around a specific system — UCSF, Sutter/CPMC, Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, the Chinese Hospital, or the San Francisco Health Network. Networks can shift year to year, so confirm two things for 2027:

1. Your primary care doctor and any specialists you see are listed in next year's provider directory. 2. The hospital you would want to use is in-network under the 2027 contract.

Call the plan's member services number (on the back of your card) and ask them to confirm in writing, or check the plan's online directory with the 2027 effective date selected. If you use an HMO, remember you generally need a referral; a PPO or HMO-POS gives more out-of-network flexibility but usually at a higher cost.

Price your prescriptions against next year's formulary

Drug coverage is where plan year changes bite hardest. Pull your current medication list — name, dose, and how often you take it — and run it through the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare. The tool shows each plan's 2027 formulary, tier placement, preferred pharmacies and estimated yearly cost.

A few 2027 program-level facts to keep in mind:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $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 the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. It's optional, and you can opt in through your Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan.

Know what's on the shelf in San Francisco County

San Francisco is in San Francisco County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level. For 2027, CMS lists 51 Medicare Advantage plans from 13 carriers serving the county: 40 HMOs, 6 HMO-POS plans, and 5 PPOs. 22 are Special Needs Plans (for people with Medicare and Medi-Cal, certain chronic conditions, or who live in an institution), and all 51 include drug coverage.

The carriers offering plans in the county for 2027 are, in alphabetical order:

• Aetna (CVS Health)
• Align Senior Care
• Alignment Health Plan
• CCHP (Chinese Community Health Plan)
• Centene (WellCare)
• Central Health Medicare Plan
• Elevance Health (Anthem)
• Humana
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc.
• Kaiser Permanente
• San Francisco Health Plan
• SCAN Health Plan
• UnitedHealthcare

The table on this page lists every plan by carrier so you can see your options at a glance.

What CMS hasn't announced yet

A few 2027 numbers are still pending. CMS typically publishes the standard Part B premium and deductible and the IRMAA income brackets in the fall, usually in November. If a mailer or a caller quotes you a specific 2027 Part B figure right now, treat it with caution — the official numbers come from CMS.

A short checklist before December 7

• Read your ANOC cover to cover.
• List your doctors, hospitals, and medications on one page.
• Confirm each is covered under your plan's 2027 rules — not this year's.
• Compare at least one other plan on medicare.gov/plan-compare.
• If you want to switch, enroll by December 7, 2026.
• If you want to stay, you do not have to do anything.

Already in Medicare Advantage and want a do-over? The Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 – March 31, 2027, and lets you switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare once.