Medicare Advantage

Counting Medicare Advantage plans available in Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If you're sorting through Medicare coverage for 2027, here's a snapshot of what the landscape looks like close to home. Gainesville is in Alachua County, where 51 Medicare Advantage plans were available for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Plan Finder and Landscape data. The 2027 lineup is detailed in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

That's a lot of choices — and knowing how the numbers break down can make the shopping season feel a little less overwhelming.

What the 2026 numbers looked like in Alachua County

Here's the county-level picture, straight from CMS data:

• 51 Medicare Advantage plans available in Alachua County
• 8 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans that include drug coverage (MA-PD)
• 10 stand-alone Part D drug plans offered statewide in Florida for 2026
• 43,645 residents age 65 and older

Plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level, so every eligible person with a Gainesville ZIP code inside Alachua County sees the same menu of Advantage plans.

Why 51 is a big number — and why that's not the whole story

Fifty-one plans sounds like a lot because it is. But "51 plans" doesn't mean 51 wildly different options. Many carriers offer several versions of a plan — for example, an HMO and a PPO, or plans tailored to people who also qualify for Medicaid.

With eight carriers in the MA-PD space, most of that variety comes from how each company slices its offerings. That's why comparing plans one-on-one at Medicare.gov tends to be more useful than trying to eyeball the whole list at once.

What about stand-alone drug plans?

Florida has 10 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide. That means Gainesville residents can get drug coverage — stand-alone PDPs are sold on a regional basis in Florida, so plans available statewide will show up when you enter your ZIP code in Plan Finder. If you have Original Medicare and want drug coverage, that's where to look.

Star Ratings: helpful context, not a scoreboard

CMS gives Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts a Star Rating from 1 to 5, based on things like customer service, member complaints, and how well plans manage chronic conditions. Under CMS's 2026 Star Ratings, 8 of the Medicare Advantage contracts offering plans in Alachua County are rated 4 stars or higher — a reminder that ratings shift year to year and are only one piece of the picture. Costs, provider networks, and covered drugs usually matter just as much for real-life fit.

Program facts worth knowing for 2027

A few Medicare rules that apply everywhere — not just Gainesville — are worth keeping in mind while you compare:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026. Once you hit it, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D deductible can be no higher than $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027).
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs out in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums — kicks in above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. This is when you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the following year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.