Medicare Advantage

Tampa Medicare Advantage Plans for 2027

Hillsborough County has 124 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 29 plans are not coming back, 20 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 Tampa, not which plan to pick.

Tampa's 2027 Medicare Advantage menu is wide, and the biggest question for most shoppers isn't just which company to pick — it's what kind of plan fits their life. Tampa sits in Hillsborough County, where 18 carriers are offering 105 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, and those plans come in a handful of very different shapes. Understanding the shapes first makes the rest of the decision a lot easier.

How the Tampa-area menu is put together

Medicare Advantage plans are approved county by county, so when you shop in Tampa you're really shopping the Hillsborough County list. For 2027 that list has 105 plans from 18 carriers, all of them bundling Medicare Part D drug coverage.

The carriers offering MA-PD plans in the county, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health), Align Senior Care, American Health Advantage of Florida, BayCare Health Plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Doctors HealthCare Plans, Elevance Health (Anthem), Florida Blue, Florida Blue HMO, Florida Complete Care, Gold Kidney Health Plan, Humana, Longevity Health Plan, SECUR Health Plan, Solis Health Plans, Ultimate Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare.

The number of plans each carrier offers varies widely — some, like American Health Advantage of Florida and Longevity Health Plan, are running a single plan in the county, while others are running two or three dozen. The table below lists every plan by carrier so you can see the full picture.

What HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and PFFS actually mean

The plan "type" tells you how the network works — who you can see, whether you need referrals, and what happens if you go outside the network.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You pick a primary care doctor from the plan's network, and most specialist visits go through a referral. Care outside the network usually isn't covered except for emergencies. HMOs remain the most common shape on the Hillsborough County menu for 2027.

HMO-POS (HMO with a Point-of-Service option). Same core idea as an HMO, but the plan allows some services outside the network, typically at a higher cost. There are 15 HMO-POS plans available in the county.

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). You can see any provider that accepts Medicare and the plan's terms, in or out of network, without a referral. Out-of-network care is generally allowed but costs more. PPOs, including regional PPOs that cover a wider service area, are again part of the county menu for 2027.

PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). These plans set their own payment terms, and any Medicare-approved provider can choose whether to accept them visit by visit. No PFFS plans are being offered in Hillsborough County for 2027.

Special Needs Plans: a big share of the local list

Of the 133 plans in the county, 75 are Special Needs Plans. SNPs are Medicare Advantage plans limited to people who fit a specific category, and they come in three flavors:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible). For people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Benefits are designed to work with Medicaid coverage.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition). For people with a qualifying chronic condition, such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, chronic lung disorders, or end-stage renal disease. Each C-SNP names the conditions it serves.
• I-SNP (Institutional). For people who live in a nursing home or need a nursing-home level of care at home for 90 days or more.

You can only join an SNP if you qualify for the category, and if you lose eligibility (for example, you're no longer on Medicaid), you'll need to switch to a different plan. Carriers running SNPs in Hillsborough County span the full alphabet — for 2027, American Health Advantage of Florida is not offering plans in the county, while Aetna, Align Senior Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Doctors HealthCare Plans, Elevance Health (Anthem), Florida Complete Care, Gold Kidney Health Plan, Humana, Longevity Health Plan, SECUR Health Plan, Solis Health Plans, Ultimate Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare continue to appear on the local SNP list.

How to narrow the list without getting overwhelmed

Instead of comparing all 133 plans at once, most people find it easier to work in this order:

1. Confirm eligibility for an SNP first. If you're on Medicaid, have a listed chronic condition, or need institutional-level care, an SNP may be built specifically for your situation. 2. Pick a plan shape. If keeping a specific doctor matters most, that often points toward a PPO or an HMO where that doctor is in-network. If you're comfortable coordinating care through a primary care doctor, an HMO or HMO-POS may work. 3. Then compare individual plans on Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov, using your prescriptions and preferred providers.

A few program facts to keep in mind as you compare drug coverage inside these plans: the Part D annual out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027, and the Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") has been gone since 2025 — Part D now has three phases. You can also opt into the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan to spread your drug costs across the year in level monthly amounts.

Key dates for 2027 coverage

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, effective Jan. 1.
• Jan. 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan).
• Anytime you qualify: People eligible for an SNP category may have a Special Enrollment Period to join or switch.