Medicare Advantage

If your San Jose Medicare Advantage plan ends in 2027, here's what to do

People in San Jose can choose from 36 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 46 this year. 15 of this year’s plans are gone, 5 are new to Santa Clara County, and 31 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 13 of them under a new name.

San Jose, Calif. — Fall 2026. As the Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage opens, 15 Medicare Advantage plans sold in Santa Clara County this year are not on the 2027 list from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). If you are enrolled in one of them, your insurer is required to mail you a non-renewal notice this fall. You still have time, and more than one path forward, before coverage changes on January 1.

San Jose sits in Santa Clara County, and Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level. For 2026, the county had 46 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers. For 2027, CMS's county file shows 36 plans from 10 carriers, with 15 plans not returning, 5 new, and 13 renamed.

The San Jose plans not returning for 2027

These Santa Clara County plans appear in CMS's 2026 Medicare Advantage Landscape file but not in the 2027 file. They are listed alphabetically by carrier.

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO); Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO)
• Align Senior Care: Advantage Care (HMO)
• Alignment Health Plan: Alignment Health Honor+ Plan (HMO); Alignment Health the ONE (HMO)
• Central Health Medicare Plan: Central Health Classic Care Plan III (HMO); Central Health Dual Access Plan (HMO D-SNP); Central Health Embrace Care Plan (HMO C-SNP); Central Health Embrace Choice Plan (HMO C-SNP); Central Health Valor Care Plan (HMO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Anthem Medicare Advantage (HMO-POS); Anthem Prime (HMO-POS)
• Kaiser Permanente: Kaiser Permanente Dual Complete North P2 (HMO D-SNP)
• SCAN Health Plan: SCAN MyChoice (HMO)
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-10 (HMO-POS)

The table below lists every 2026 plan sold in the county. If your plan is not on the non-renewing list above, it is scheduled to continue for 2027 — though it may be renamed or have different benefits. Either way, read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) for the details.

How to tell if your plan is ending

Plans that will not continue into the next year are required to send members a written non-renewal notice (sometimes called a plan termination notice) by early October. It will say plainly that the plan will not be offered in 2027 and that your coverage under it ends December 31, 2026.

A few things to look for in the envelope from your insurer:

• A letter that uses the words "non-renewal," "terminating," or "will not be offered" for the plan year 2027.
• Information about a Special Enrollment Period for people whose plan is leaving.
• Contact numbers for the plan and for Medicare.

If you are not sure what you received, call your plan using the member services number on your ID card, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What happens if you do nothing

If your current Medicare Advantage plan is on the non-renewing list and you make no other choice, you will automatically go back to Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) on January 1, 2027. You will still be covered for hospital and medical services under Original Medicare, but:

• You will not have Medicare Advantage benefits anymore.
• You will not have Part D prescription drug coverage unless you join a stand-alone Part D plan.
• You will not have a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy unless you buy one.

That is a workable outcome for some people, but it is a real change, so it is worth deciding on purpose rather than by default.

Your choices before and after January 1

You have more than one way to act, and more than one window of time.

During the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026). You can pick any Medicare Advantage plan available in Santa Clara County for 2027, with or without drug coverage, or you can choose a stand-alone Part D plan if you plan to use Original Medicare. Changes made in this window take effect January 1, 2027.

During the Special Enrollment Period for a non-renewed plan. Because your plan is leaving, Medicare gives you a Special Enrollment Period that runs from December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027. During this window you can:

• Join a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage), or
• Return to Original Medicare and join a stand-alone Part D plan.

A Medigap guaranteed-issue right. When your Medicare Advantage plan ends through no choice of your own, federal rules generally give you a guaranteed-issue right to buy certain Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policies without medical underwriting, within a limited time. California has its own Medigap rules on top of the federal ones; for state-specific questions, contact the California Department of Insurance.

What to know about 2027 costs at the program level

A few program-wide figures are already set for 2027:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027 (this is a formula number, not what any particular plan charges).

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS usually publishes them later in the fall. We will update as those come out.

Plan-specific costs — premiums, copays, deductibles, drug tiers, provider networks — vary by plan and are not something we quote here. Use the official Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE to look up a specific plan for your ZIP code and medications.

A simple way to decide

If you got a non-renewal letter, try working through it in this order:

1. Read the letter and your current plan's ANOC, so you know exactly what is changing. 2. Make a short list of what matters to you: your doctors, your hospital, your prescriptions, and your budget. 3. Compare 2027 plans in Santa Clara County on the Medicare Plan Finder (medicare.gov), or call 1-800-MEDICARE. 4. Decide whether you want to stay in Medicare Advantage, or move to Original Medicare plus a Part D plan — and, if so, whether to add a Medigap policy within your guaranteed-issue window. 5. Enroll by December 7, 2026 for a clean January 1 start, or use your Special Enrollment Period through the end of February 2027 if you need more time.