Medicare Advantage

San Jose Medicare Advantage 2027: 15 plans leaving, 5 new, and what members should do

People in San Jose can choose from 23 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 18 that continue have changed something in their terms, 13 of them under a new name.

Medicare AdvantageSan Jose, CA

SAN JOSE — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in San Jose, this fall's mail is worth opening. Based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Landscape Source Files, 15 Medicare Advantage plans offered in Santa Clara County in 2026 will not be sold here in 2027, five new plans are entering the market, and 13 continuing plans are being renamed. Two carriers — Central Health Medicare Plan and UnitedHealthcare — will not offer Medicare Advantage in the county next year.

San Jose is in Santa Clara County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. That means these changes apply to everyone shopping locally, whether you live in Willow Glen, Evergreen or downtown.

What is actually changing in Santa Clara County

CMS's year-over-year file comparison for 2026 versus 2027 shows four kinds of movement in the local Medicare Advantage market:

• 15 plans leaving after 2026.
• 5 new plans launching for 2027.
• 13 plans renamed (same plan, new label).
• 18 plans changing on premium, deductible, plan type or name — the specifics are in each plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).
• 18 plans continuing with no change flagged in the file.

The table below lists every 2026 plan sold in the county. Here's how those change categories break down by name.

The 15 plans leaving after 2026

If you're currently enrolled in one of these, you will need to choose a new plan or return to Original Medicare:

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

Central Health Medicare Plan and UnitedHealthcare are exiting the county entirely.

The 5 new plans for 2027

These plans will be available in Santa Clara County for the first time next year:

• Aetna Medicare Eagle (HMO) — Aetna (CVS Health)
• Alignment Health Honor Plus 060 (HMO) — Alignment Health Plan
• Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP) — Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc.
• SCAN Costco Medicare Advantage (HMO) — SCAN Health Plan
• Sutter Senior Advantage, a SCAN Medicare Plan (HMO) — SCAN Health Plan

The 13 plans being renamed

Same plan, new name. If your card says the old name today, it will say the new name in January:

• Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO) — was Aetna Medicare Enhanced (HMO-POS)
• Aetna Medicare Signature Extra (HMO) — was Aetna Medicare Enhanced Extra (HMO-POS)
• Alignment Health Advantage 002 (PPO) — was Alignment Health Advantage PPO (PPO)
• Alignment Health BreathEasy Plus 041 (HMO C-SNP) — was Alignment Health BreathEasy (HMO C-SNP)
• Alignment Health Clarity Plus 042 (HMO C-SNP) — was Alignment Health Clarity (HMO C-SNP)
• Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 010 (HMO C-SNP) — was Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes (HMO C-SNP)
• Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 048 (HMO C-SNP) — was Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Care (HMO C-SNP)
• Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 051 (HMO C-SNP) — was Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Choice (HMO C-SNP)
• Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 039 (HMO C-SNP) — was Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes CalPlus (HMO C-SNP)
• Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 045 (HMO C-SNP) — was Alignment Health Silicon (HMO C-SNP)
• Alignment Health My Choice 050 (HMO) — was Alignment Health My Choice CalCare (HMO)
• Alignment Health Smart 040 (HMO) — was Alignment Health smartHMO (HMO)
• Central Health Harmony 031 (HMO) — was Alignment Health Harmony (HMO)

A rename doesn't automatically mean anything about the plan is different. But 18 plans in the county are flagged as changing on premium, deductible, type or name — so read your ANOC, which arrives by late September, for the exact details.

What to do if your plan is leaving

Members whose plans are not renewed for 2027 get a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February 2027. During that window, you can:

• Join a different Medicare Advantage plan, or
• Return to Original Medicare and, if you want, add a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

You don't have to wait for that SEP. You can also make a change during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 through December 7, with your new coverage starting January 1. And if you're already enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 through March 31) gives you one more chance to switch to another MA plan or drop back to Original Medicare.

Before choosing, check three things: whether your doctors and hospitals are in the plan's network, whether your prescriptions are on its formulary, and what the plan's total cost picture (premium, deductible, copays) looks like for someone like you.

A few program facts worth knowing

Even if your plan isn't leaving, some Medicare-wide rules are changing:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 for 2026 and $2,400 for 2027. Once you spend that on covered drugs, you pay nothing for the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA (the higher-income surcharge on Parts B and D) begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.