Medicare Advantage

Tampa Medicare Advantage: 2027 plan menu

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, Fla. — If you're shopping for Medicare coverage in Tampa this fall, you have a lot to sort through. Tampa is in Hillsborough County, where 105 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2027, according to CMS plan data. That's a big menu for the roughly 229,000 residents age 65 and older who call the county home.

Having so many options is good news, but it can also feel overwhelming. This guide walks through what the numbers mean, when to enroll, and where to get free, unbiased help.

What 133 plans really means for Tampa

The 105 figure counts every Medicare Advantage plan a Hillsborough County resident could choose for 2027. Plan availability is set at the county level by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), so the same menu applies whether you live in downtown Tampa, Brandon, or Town 'N' Country.

Those 133 plans come from 18 different carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). That mix includes national insurers and regional companies, and many carriers offer several plan designs to serve different needs.

Stand-alone Part D in Hillsborough County

CMS data shows 0 stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans listed as available in the county for 2027 in the local landscape file. Most Tampa-area beneficiaries who want drug coverage get it bundled inside a Medicare Advantage plan (MA-PD). If you stay with Original Medicare and want drug coverage, it's worth calling 1-800-MEDICARE or checking medicare.gov's Plan Finder to see current stand-alone options for your ZIP code.

Star Ratings: what they are, and what they aren't

CMS publishes Star Ratings each year to measure plan quality on things like customer service and preventive care. For the current period, no contracts serving the Hillsborough County area carry a 4-star or higher rating in the data set used here. Ratings can change year to year, so treat them as one signal among many — not a shortcut to picking a plan.

Key dates to circle

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7: Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Changes take effect Jan. 1.
• Jan. 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another one or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan).

Missing these windows usually means waiting a full year unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.

2027 program facts worth knowing

A few Medicare-wide rules apply no matter which plan you pick:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 for 2027. Once you hit that ceiling on covered drugs, you pay nothing more for the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 for 2027.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone. Since 2025, Part D has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments.
• IRMAA: higher-income surcharges on Part B and Part D begin above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

How to narrow 105 plans down to one

With this many choices, a step-by-step approach helps:

1. List your doctors and pharmacies. Then check each plan's network. 2. List your prescriptions. Plan Finder on medicare.gov lets you enter drugs and see estimated yearly costs. 3. Think about how you use care. Do you travel often? Need specialists? Prefer predictable copays? 4. Get free help. Florida's SHINE program (part of the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or SHIP) offers unbiased counseling at no cost.