Medicare Advantage

St. Petersburg Medicare Advantage for 2027: a six-step way to compare before Dec. 7

Pinellas County has 118 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 29 plans are not coming back, 18 are new, and 47 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 17 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for St. Petersburg, not which plan to pick.

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Fall 2026. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in St. Petersburg, this is the stretch of the year when it pays to slow down and read your mail. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make now takes effect January 1, 2027. St. Petersburg is in Pinellas County, where the 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup is set, some plans are new, some are not returning, and the plan you have today may look a little different next year.

Here is a plain, step-by-step way to compare what is on offer — without guessing, and without being rushed.

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

St. Petersburg is in Pinellas County, where 118 Medicare Advantage plans from 17 carriers are offered for 2027, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. By plan type, that breaks down to 76 HMO plans, 17 HMO-POS plans and 25 PPO plans. Of those, 107 include prescription drug coverage.

For comparison, the county has 129 Medicare Advantage plans from 18 carriers in 2026. The table below lists every 2027 plan by carrier so you can see what is available before you narrow things down.

What is new in Pinellas County's Medicare Advantage lineup for 2027?

For 2027, 18 Medicare Advantage plans are new in Pinellas County and 29 plans from 2026 are not returning. A handful of plans are also being renamed, which can be confusing when you flip through the mail.

If your current plan is not returning, your carrier will send a non-renewal notice and you will have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan. If your plan is simply changing, those changes land in your Annual Notice of Change. Either way, nothing happens to you automatically that you cannot see in writing first.

Two program-level numbers are also changing in 2027 and apply across all Part D plans:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (it is $615 in 2026).

The 2027 Part B standard premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those in the fall, usually November.

What Special Needs Plans are available in St. Petersburg for 2027?

Pinellas County has 68 Special Needs Plans for 2027: 32 Dual-Eligible (D-SNP), 27 Chronic Condition (C-SNP) and 9 Institutional (I-SNP). SNPs are limited to people who meet specific eligibility rules — for example, having both Medicare and Medicaid (D-SNP), living with a qualifying chronic condition such as diabetes or heart disease (C-SNP), or living in a nursing home or needing a nursing-home level of care (I-SNP).

If you are not eligible for a particular SNP, you cannot enroll in it, so the first question is always whether you qualify.

What are the carriers offering Medicare Advantage in Pinellas County in 2027?

For 2027, the 17 carriers offering Medicare Advantage in Pinellas County are, in alphabetical order:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 9 plans
• Align Senior Care: 2 plans
• BayCare Health Plans: 2 plans
• Centene (WellCare): 5 plans
• Devoted Health: 11 plans
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 14 plans
• Florida Blue: 4 plans
• Florida Blue HMO: 2 plans
• Florida Complete Care: 3 plans
• Gold Kidney Health Plan: 6 plans
• HealthSpring: 3 plans
• Humana: 28 plans
• Longevity Health Plan: 1 plan
• SECUR Health Plan: 4 plans
• Solis Health Plans: 4 plans
• Ultimate Health Plans: 5 plans
• UnitedHealthcare: 15 plans

The number of plans a carrier offers does not tell you whether a plan is a good fit — that comes from the comparison steps below.

How do I compare 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in St. Petersburg step by step?

Here is a straightforward way to work through the choice without getting lost.

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) first. Your current plan mailed this in September. It spells out what is changing for 2027 — premium, deductible, copays, drug tiers, network, extra benefits. If you do nothing and your plan is returning, this is the plan you will have on January 1, 2027.

2. List what matters to you. Write down your doctors (primary care and specialists), your preferred hospital, every prescription you take with its dose, and the pharmacy you use. This is your checklist for every plan you consider.

3. Open the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code, add your drugs, and pick your pharmacy. The Plan Finder will show every Medicare Advantage plan available in Pinellas County, with each plan's estimated yearly cost based on your drug list.

4. Check the provider directory for each plan you shortlist. Do not rely on the Plan Finder alone for networks. Go to the plan's own website, look up each doctor and your hospital by name, and confirm they are in-network for 2027. If you cannot tell, call the plan and ask them to confirm in writing.

5. Check the drug list (formulary) and the pharmacy tier. The same drug can be on a different tier at a different plan, and your pharmacy may be "preferred" at one plan and "standard" at another, which changes what you pay. The Plan Finder shows this; the plan's Evidence of Coverage has the full detail.

6. Compare plan types honestly. An HMO usually requires you to stay in-network and get referrals. An HMO-POS lets you go out-of-network for some services at a higher cost. A PPO gives you more out-of-network flexibility. None is "better" — it depends on how you use care.

If you want help, call 1-800-MEDICARE (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) and a representative can walk the Plan Finder with you.

What happens if I do not make a change by December 7?

If you do nothing by December 7, 2026, and your current Medicare Advantage plan is being offered again in Pinellas County next year, you stay in it. It renews on January 1, 2027 with the changes listed in your Annual Notice of Change.

If your plan is not returning, your carrier will notify you and you will have a Special Enrollment Period to choose another plan or return to Original Medicare. And if you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 and change your mind, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31, 2027 lets you switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare one time.