Medicare Advantage

Your Orlando plan not renewed? You have until end of February

People in Orlando can choose from 90 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 123 in 2026. 33 of this year's plans are gone, 16 are new to Orange County, and 30 that continue have a change on file for 2027, and 16 plans have been renamed.

Medicare AdvantageOrlando, FL

ORLANDO — As the Annual Enrollment Period runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, some Medicare Advantage members in the Orlando area will get a letter that is easy to miss but important to open: a notice that their current plan will not be offered in 2027. Orlando is in Orange County, and according to CMS's Medicare Advantage Landscape files, 33 plans available here in 2026 will not return next year, 16 plans are new for 2027, and 16 have been renamed.

If your plan is one of the ones leaving, you have options — and a little extra time — but only if you know where to look.

What "leaving," "new," and "renamed" actually mean

Every year, CMS releases the Medicare Advantage Landscape files that show which plans insurers will sell in each county. Comparing the 2026 and 2027 files for Orange County shows real movement:

• Leaving after 2026 (33 plans): These will not be offered in the county in 2027. Members will be automatically disenrolled at the end of the year unless they choose a new plan.
• New for 2027 (16 plans): These are plans a carrier is adding for the coming year. They may be brand new or a replacement for a plan being retired.
• Renamed (16 plans): These are essentially continuing plans with a new name. You are not being kicked off — but the paperwork will look different.
• Continuing with a change on file (30 plans): CMS lists a difference in premium, deductible, plan type, or name compared with 2026. The specifics live in your Annual Notice of Change; we cannot spell them out here.
• Continuing with no change flagged (74 plans): Still, read your ANOC — benefits and networks can shift within a plan year to year.

The full list of every 2027 plan sold in Orange County is in the table on this page.

Carriers entering and exiting Orange County

One carrier is leaving Orange County entirely for 2027: Health First Health Plans, Inc. Members in the plans it currently offers here — including Health First Complete Care, Health First Emerald Plus, and Health First Premier Access — will need to choose a new plan.

One carrier is new to the county for 2027: AmeriHealth Caritas VIP Care (HMO-D-SNP), which is a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan for people with both Medicare and Medicaid.

Big carriers are also reshuffling their lineups. Humana, Elevance Health (Anthem), Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), UnitedHealthcare, Doctors HealthCare Plans, Align Senior Care, and Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC) all have at least one plan leaving. Devoted Health, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Centene, Doctors HealthCare Plans, Elevance Health, Align Senior Care, and AmeriHealth Caritas VIP Care all have at least one plan entering. Some plan names in the "new" column — like Align Senior Care's Premier Care and Senior Care — match names in the "leaving" column, which usually reflects a contract or ID change rather than a truly new offering.

What to do if your plan is not being renewed

If your 2026 plan is on the "leaving after 2026" list, Medicare gives you a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February. During that window you can:

• Join a different Medicare Advantage plan available in Orange County, or
• Return to Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and, separately, enroll in a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

You can also make the change earlier during the Annual Enrollment Period, which ends Dec. 7. And if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 through March 31 lets you switch to a different Advantage plan or drop back to Original Medicare once.

If you do nothing, and your plan is not renewed, your Medicare Advantage coverage ends Dec. 31, 2026. You would still have Original Medicare, but you would not have Part D drug coverage unless you sign up for it.

If your plan was renamed — or just "changed"

A renamed plan is not a canceled plan. For example, CMS shows Aetna Medicare Dual Select (HMO D-SNP) becoming Aetna Medicare Partial Dual Select (HMO D-SNP), and several Humana "Gold Plus SNP-DE" plans becoming "Humana Dual Select" plans. Same plan, new label.

For the 30 continuing plans CMS flags as changing on premium, deductible, plan type, or name, the details are in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your insurer must mail by late September. Read it. Even a small change in the drug formulary or provider network can matter more than a change to the monthly premium.

Program-level facts that apply everywhere for 2027

Some rules are the same no matter which plan you pick:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old 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 calendar year in monthly installments at no extra cost.
• IRMAA income-related surcharges on Parts B and D begin above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

How to compare plans without getting overwhelmed

A few practical steps for the weeks before Dec. 7:

1. Gather your prescriptions, your doctors, and any hospitals or specialists you use. 2. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code and drugs, and let the tool sort plans available in Orange County. 3. Check that your doctors are in-network for any Advantage plan you're considering. 4. Compare drug coverage — the same medication can be in a different tier from plan to plan. 5. If you qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, look specifically at Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs).

Free, unbiased help is available through Florida SHINE, the state's Medicare counseling program, and through 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day.