Medicare Advantage

San Jose's 2027 Medicare Advantage map: two carriers out, five plans in

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. The Medicare Advantage lineup for Santa Clara County, which covers San Jose, looks different for 2027. Two carriers are stepping out of the local market, five plans are brand-new, and more than a dozen others are being renamed or adjusted. If you have an Advantage plan today, the choices in front of you between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7, 2026 are not quite the same as last year's.

Here is a plain-English look at what is changing, what is staying, and how to think it through.

The 2027 lineup at a glance

San Jose is in Santa Clara County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. For 2027, the county's lineup includes plans from these carriers, listed alphabetically: Aetna (CVS Health), Align Senior Care, Alignment Health Plan, Astiva Health, Blue Shield of California, Elevance Health (Anthem), Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara Family Health Plan, and SCAN Health Plan.

You will see HMO plans, a smaller number of HMO-POS plans, and PPO plans in the mix, along with Special Needs Plans (SNPs) for people with certain chronic conditions, people who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal, or people living in a care facility. The full table below shows each plan by carrier and type.

What's new for 2027

Five plans are new to the county this year. In alphabetical order by carrier, they are:

• 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

Being new does not mean "better" or "worse" — it means you cannot compare it to a prior-year version. If one catches your eye, read its Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage carefully, and check the provider and pharmacy networks against the doctors and drugstores you actually use.

What's not returning

Fifteen plans available in Santa Clara County this year will not be offered for 2027. Two carriers — Central Health Medicare Plan and UnitedHealthcare — are leaving the local Advantage market entirely.

The plans leaving after 2026 include:

• Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO) and Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO) — Aetna (CVS Health)
• Advantage Care (HMO) — Align Senior Care
• Alignment Health Honor+ Plan (HMO) and Alignment Health the ONE (HMO) — Alignment Health 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), and Central Health Valor Care Plan (HMO) — Central Health Medicare Plan
• Anthem Medicare Advantage (HMO-POS) and 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

If you are in one of these plans, you should receive a non-renewal notice from your plan. That notice gives you a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February 2027, so you have more time than the regular Dec. 7 deadline to pick a new Advantage plan or move to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D drug plan. Doing nothing means you would be returned to Original Medicare on Jan. 1, 2027 with no drug coverage, so some action is important.

Renamed and adjusted plans

Thirteen plans are being renamed for 2027, mostly in the Aetna and Alignment Health Plan families (for example, Aetna Medicare Enhanced (HMO-POS) becomes Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO), and several Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes plans are picking up new numbered suffixes). A rename sometimes comes with a change in plan type or structure.

Beyond names, 18 plans have a change on premium, deductible, type, or name worth looking at, and 18 plans are continuing with the same shape as 2026. Your plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), mailed by the end of September, spells out exactly what is different for your plan next year. It is the single most useful document you can read right now.

How to decide this fall

A few quick anchors as you compare:

1. Start with your drugs and your doctors. The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter both and will show how plans compare on cost and coverage. 2. Know the 2027 Part D rules. The out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible rises to $700 (from $615 in 2026). The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan still lets you spread drug costs across the year in level monthly amounts. 3. Watch for the Part B update. CMS usually announces the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets, in the fall. Those are not yet published. 4. Mark the dates. The Annual Enrollment Period is Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026. Any change takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. If you pick an Advantage plan and change your mind, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31, 2027) lets you switch once.