Medicare Advantage

San Francisco's 2027 C-SNP lineup: 13 Medicare plans built around a chronic diagnosis

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, Calif. — People on Medicare in San Francisco who live with a serious long-term illness have a specific type of Medicare Advantage plan built around them: the Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan, or C-SNP. For 2027, San Francisco County will have 13 C-SNPs from six carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape for the coming plan year. Shopping runs during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026, with new coverage starting January 1, 2027.

What a C-SNP is, in plain terms

A C-SNP is one kind of Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan. It is designed for people living with a specific severe or disabling chronic condition — such as diabetes, heart failure, or chronic lung disease. All C-SNPs include Part D drug coverage, and the plan's provider network, drug list and extra benefits are built around the condition the plan serves.

Because a C-SNP is still a Medicare Advantage plan, it replaces Original Medicare while you are enrolled. You get your Part A, Part B and Part D benefits through the plan, and you generally use the plan's network of doctors and hospitals.

Who can enroll

Enrollment in a C-SNP requires a qualifying chronic condition that is confirmed by a physician or other qualified provider. The plan will ask for that confirmation — usually through a short form your doctor signs — within a set window after you apply. If the condition cannot be verified, the plan cannot keep you enrolled.

Each C-SNP picks the condition (or group of conditions) it serves, so your diagnosis has to match the plan you are joining. The plan name sometimes tells you what it covers; if it does not, check with the plan directly before applying.

The Special Enrollment Period for a chronic condition

Most people change Medicare Advantage plans during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) or the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31). People with a qualifying chronic condition have an additional option: a Special Enrollment Period that lets you join a C-SNP you qualify for outside those windows. Once you are enrolled in a C-SNP, that particular SEP ends — further changes generally wait for the regular enrollment windows.

The 2027 C-SNP lineup in San Francisco County

San Francisco is in San Francisco County, where Medicare Advantage plan availability is set. For 2027, CMS lists 13 C-SNPs in the county from six carriers. The full table below shows every C-SNP by carrier; in alphabetical order, the carriers are:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 1 C-SNP: Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP), new for 2027
• Alignment Health Plan — 6 C-SNPs: Alignment Health BreathEasy Plus 041 (HMO C-SNP), Alignment Health Clarity Plus 042 (HMO C-SNP), Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 010 (HMO C-SNP), Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 048 (HMO C-SNP), Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 051 (HMO C-SNP), and Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 039 (HMO C-SNP) — each is a rename of a 2026 plan
• Centene (WellCare) — 1 C-SNP: Wellcare Specialty Simple Focus (HMO C-SNP)
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc. — 2 C-SNPs: Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP), new for 2027, and Imperial Senior Value (HMO C-SNP)
• SCAN Health Plan — 2 C-SNPs: SCAN Balance (HMO C-SNP) and SCAN Strive (HMO C-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare — 1 C-SNP: UHC Complete Care Support CA-8AP (HMO-POS C-SNP)

For context, San Francisco County also has 6 Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for people who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal, and 2 Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) for people living in a long-term care setting. Those are separate from C-SNPs.

What is changing for 2027

Several of the Alignment Health Plan C-SNPs have new names on the 2027 landscape, and two carriers — Aetna (CVS Health) and Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc. — are adding new C-SNPs in San Francisco County. If you are already in a C-SNP, your plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) spells out what is different about your 2027 coverage, including any renamed plan, cost changes and drug list updates. Doing nothing is a choice: your plan renews for 2027 on those terms if it is still offered.

A few program-level numbers that affect every Part D plan, C-SNPs included: for 2027, the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026) and the Part D maximum deductible is $700 (up from $615 in 2026). CMS publishes the 2027 Part B premium and deductible and the 2027 IRMAA brackets later in the fall.

How to compare C-SNPs before you commit

Before you join a C-SNP, confirm three things with the plan itself or on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov:

1. The plan serves your specific chronic condition. 2. The doctors and hospitals you want to use are in the plan's network for 2027. 3. The medications you take are on the plan's 2027 drug list, at a cost you can plan for.

A plan's Evidence of Coverage, Summary of Benefits, provider directory and formulary are the official sources for those details.