Medicare Advantage

Picking a 2027 Medicare Advantage plan in Port St. Lucie? Work through these six checks first

For 2027, Port St. Lucie is looking at 81 Medicare Advantage plans: 16 new, 26 gone since 2026, and 39 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 15 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in St. Lucie County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It is fall 2026, the Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 Medicare Advantage coverage is open through December 7, 2026, and the plan lineup St. Lucie County residents can choose from has shifted again. Before you renew by default or jump to something new, there is a short, orderly way to compare what is actually on the shelf for January 1, 2027.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Port St. Lucie for 2027?

Port St. Lucie is in St. Lucie County, where 81 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers are offered for 2027. By type, that breaks down to 44 HMO plans, 13 HMO-POS plans and 24 PPO plans. Of those, 73 include Part D drug coverage, and 46 are Special Needs Plans — 25 D-SNPs for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, 17 C-SNPs for specific chronic conditions, and 4 I-SNPs for people living in an institution such as a nursing home.

Compared with 2026, 16 plans are new for 2027 and 26 are not returning. The carriers offering plans in the county for 2027 are Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Florida Blue, Florida Blue HMO, Florida Complete Care, Gold Kidney Health Plan, Humana, Longevity Health Plan, Ultimate Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan.

What is new for 2027 in St. Lucie County?

The biggest practical change is that 26 plans available in 2026 are not being offered in 2027, and 16 plans are entering the market. If your current plan is one of the ones leaving, your carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice and you get a Special Enrollment Period to pick a replacement. If your plan is renewing, the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your carrier mailed in September spells out exactly what is different for 2027 — premium, drug tiers, copays, provider network, extra benefits.

Two program-level changes also take effect January 1, 2027. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (from $615 in 2026). CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible or the 2027 IRMAA income brackets; those are published later in the fall.

What is the deadline to change my Medicare Advantage plan for 2027?

December 7, 2026 is the deadline. A change made during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, nothing happens to you — your current plan simply renews for 2027 with whatever changes the ANOC describes.

If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 and change your mind, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31, 2027) lets you switch to a different Advantage plan once, or go back to Original Medicare.

How do I compare Medicare Advantage plans in Port St. Lucie step by step?

Work through these six checks in order. Do them for every plan on your short list, not just the one with the most eye-catching extras.

1. Read the Annual Notice of Change from your current plan. It is the first thing to open. Look at any change to the monthly premium, the drug deductible, your regular doctors' copays, your drugs' tiers and whether your pharmacy is still preferred. If none of it bothers you, staying put is a legitimate choice.

2. Decide which plan type fits. An HMO usually asks you to use in-network providers and often requires referrals. An HMO-POS lets you go out of network for some services at a higher cost. A PPO lets you see out-of-network providers, usually at a higher cost. In St. Lucie County for 2027 you have 44 HMOs, 13 HMO-POS plans and 24 PPOs to choose from.

3. Check your doctors and hospitals. On medicare.gov, open the Medicare Plan Finder, enter your ZIP code, and for each plan click through to the provider directory — or call the plan directly. Confirm your primary care doctor, any specialists you see, and the hospital you prefer are in network for 2027. Networks can change year to year even if you stay with the same carrier.

4. Enter your prescriptions. The Plan Finder lets you type in every drug you take, the dose and how often you fill it. It will then show each plan's estimated yearly drug cost for your specific list — this is the single most useful number for comparing plans, because it factors in tier, deductible and the new $2,400 cap for 2027.

5. Pick your pharmacy. Add the pharmacies you actually use. "Preferred" pharmacies usually cost less than "standard" in-network ones, and mail order may be cheaper for 90-day fills. The Plan Finder recalculates once you set this.

6. Decide whether you qualify for a Special Needs Plan. If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, a chronic condition such as diabetes, heart disease, COPD or end-stage renal disease, or you live in a nursing home, a D-SNP, C-SNP or I-SNP may be a better fit than a general plan. St. Lucie County has 25 D-SNPs, 17 C-SNPs and 4 I-SNPs for 2027.

What if the plan I want is not on the Plan Finder?

Every Medicare Advantage plan available in your ZIP code should appear on medicare.gov's Plan Finder. If you cannot find one, call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also call the plan directly and ask for the Summary of Benefits and the Evidence of Coverage for 2027 — those two documents, together with the provider and pharmacy directories, are the authoritative source for what the plan actually covers.