Medicare Advantage

Before AEP: what's shifting for Santa Ana in 2027

Orange County has 111 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 21 plans are not coming back, 28 are new, and 51 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 19 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Santa Ana, not which plan to pick.

SANTA ANA, Calif. — The 2027 Medicare Advantage map in Orange County is shifting. Two carriers that sell here today will not offer plans in the county next year, one new carrier is joining, and more than two dozen plans are new for 2027. If you live in Santa Ana and have an Advantage plan, the lineup you choose from during this fall's Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) looks noticeably different from last year's.

Santa Ana is in Orange County, where Medicare plan availability is set. The county counts and plan names below come from CMS's Medicare Advantage Landscape files and apply across Orange County.

What is changing in Santa Ana's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup?

For 2027, Orange County will see 28 new Medicare Advantage plans join the market and 21 plans leave. Another 19 plans are keeping the same contract but changing names, and 32 are changing on something like premium, deductible, type or name (the specifics are in each plan's Annual Notice of Change).

For comparison, Orange County's 2026 lineup included 104 Medicare Advantage plans from 17 carriers — 75 HMOs, 21 HMO-POS plans and 8 PPOs, with 40 Special Needs Plans and 98 plans that include drug coverage. The full roster of currently offered plans is shown in the table below.

Which carriers are leaving or new in Orange County for 2027?

Two carriers that sell in Orange County in 2026 will not offer Medicare Advantage plans in the county in 2027: Central Health Medicare Plan and Providence Medicare Advantage Plans. One carrier is new to the county for 2027: VillageHealth, which is entering with two HMO-POS Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care and SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care Complete).

Everyone enrolled in a Central Health or Providence plan this year will get a non-renewal notice from their plan and will need to make a choice during AEP or use the Special Enrollment Period described below.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are leaving Orange County after 2026?

These plans are listed by CMS as not returning for 2027 (alphabetical by carrier):

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO); Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO); Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO)
• Alignment Health Plan: Alignment Health Advantage PPO (PPO); Alignment Health Honor+ Plan (HMO); Alignment Health My Choice Select (HMO); Alignment Health the ONE (HMO)
• Astiva Health: Astiva Health Premier Plan (HMO)
• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Giveback (HMO)
• Central Health Medicare Plan: Central Health Classic Care Plan I (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 Medicare Plan (HMO); Central Health Part B Savings Plan (HMO); Central Health Valor Care Plan (HMO)
• Champion Heath Plan: Champion Select (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• Kaiser Permanente: Kaiser Permanente Dual Complete South P1 (HMO D-SNP)
• Providence Medicare Advantage Plans: Providence Medicare Sycamore + Rx (HMO)
• SCAN Health Plan: SCAN Affirm partnered with Included LGBTQ+ Health (HMO); SCAN MyChoice (HMO)

If you are in one of these plans, your coverage ends December 31, 2026. You will get a plan non-renewal notice; keep it, because it documents your right to a Special Enrollment Period.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are new for 2027 in Orange County?

These 28 plans are listed in CMS's 2027 Landscape file as new in the county (alphabetical by carrier):

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP); Aetna Medicare Eagle (HMO)
• Alignment Health Plan: Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 044 (HMO C-SNP); Alignment Health Honor Plus 060 (HMO); Alignment Health Platinum Preferred 004 (HMO); Alignment Health Platinum Preferred+ 005 (HMO); Central Health Harmony 001 (HMO); Central Health Harmony Plus 002 (HMO C-SNP)
• Astiva Health: Astiva Health C-SNP Bloom (HMO C-SNP); Astiva Health C-SNP Fountain (HMO C-SNP)
• Blue Shield of California: Blue Shield Advantage (HMO)
• Champion Heath Plan: Champion Anwell (HMO); Champion Compass (HMO C-SNP); Champion Home (HMO C-SNP); Champion Secure (HMO C-SNP)
• Clever Care Health Plan: Clever Care Breathe Select+ (HMO C-SNP); Clever Care Total Choice+ (HMO C-SNP)
• Humana: Humana Gold Plus H3767-002 (HMO)
• Imperial Health Plan of California, Inc.: Imperial Flex (HMO C-SNP)
• SCAN Health Plan: CareMore Health Plan by SCAN (HMO); SCAN Ansim Care (HMO C-SNP); SCAN Baekse (HMO); SCAN Costco Medicare Advantage (HMO); SCAN Inclusive (HMO); SCAN Select (HMO)
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC CA-46 (HMO-POS)
• VillageHealth: SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care (HMO-POS C-SNP); SCAN DaVita Dialysis Care Complete (HMO-POS C-SNP)

A note on names: 19 continuing plans are being renamed for 2027 (for example, Alignment Health My Choice (HMO) becomes Alignment Health My Choice 001 (HMO), and Wellcare Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP) becomes Wellcare Health Net Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP)). A new name does not necessarily mean a new plan — check your Annual Notice of Change to see what, if anything, is actually changing.

What happens if my Santa Ana plan is leaving in 2027?

If your Medicare Advantage plan is not being offered in Orange County in 2027, Medicare gives you a Special Enrollment Period that runs from December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027. During that window you can:

• Join a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage), or
• Return to Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and, separately, enroll in a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

If you do nothing, you will return to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027, without drug coverage. The simplest path is still to choose a new plan during AEP (by December 7, 2026) so your coverage starts cleanly on January 1.

What else should Santa Ana readers keep in mind for 2027?

A few program-level numbers are worth knowing as you compare plans:

• 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).
• The Part D coverage gap ("donut hole") has been gone since 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments at no extra charge.
• The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced; CMS publishes those later in the fall, typically in November.

If you keep your current plan, read the Annual Notice of Change your plan sends in September. That document shows what is different in 2027 — premium, deductible, drug formulary, provider network and extra benefits.