Medicare Advantage

9 Medicare Advantage plans are new to Atlanta for 2027: how to vet one before Dec. 7

For 2027, Atlanta is looking at 90 Medicare Advantage plans: 9 new, 16 gone since 2026, and 29 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 9 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Fulton County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

ATLANTA — When the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15, 2026, shoppers in Fulton County will see nine Medicare Advantage plans that were not sold here a year ago. They sit alongside returning plans in the 2027 lineup, and because they are brand new, they come without the track record longtime enrollees are used to checking.

Here is what is actually new, which carriers are bringing them, and how to compare a first-year plan against your own doctors and prescriptions before the December 7, 2026 deadline.

What "new for 2027" actually means

CMS compares the plans a carrier offered in a county this year to the plans it will offer next year. A plan counts as new if it was not sold in Fulton County in 2026 but will be in 2027. That is different from a renewing plan — the same contract carrying forward, with any updates spelled out in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your current plan mails each fall.

A renewing plan has a history: Star Ratings, past formularies, network changes you may have lived through. A new plan does not. It can still cover your doctors and drugs, but you cannot look up how it performed last year, because last year it did not exist in your area.

The 9 new Medicare Advantage plans in Atlanta for 2027

In Fulton County, five carriers are introducing new plans for 2027. All include drug coverage. Listed alphabetically by carrier:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — Aetna Medicare Prime Care (HMO)
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 019 GA (PPO C-SNP); DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 022 GA (PPO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — Anthem Medicare Advantage 2 (HMO-POS)
• Humana — Humana Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP); Humana Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP); Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP); HumanaChoice H7617-114 (PPO)
• UnitedHealthcare — AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC GA-10 (HMO-POS)

The table below lists every 2027 plan in the county, new and returning.

Plan types and Special Needs Plans in the new lineup

Three plan types appear among the new plans: HMO, HMO-POS and PPO. HMO plans generally keep care inside a network and ask you to choose a primary doctor. HMO-POS adds a limited "point of service" option to go out of network for certain services. PPO plans give you more flexibility to see out-of-network providers, usually at a higher cost share.

Several of the new plans are Special Needs Plans. A C-SNP serves people with a specific chronic condition — for example, the two Humana Kidney Care plans and the Devoted C-SNP are tailored to qualifying conditions. An I-SNP, like Humana Together in Health, is designed for people who live in an institution such as a nursing home or who need that level of care at home. SNPs have eligibility rules, so not every shopper can join one.

How to check a new plan against your doctors and medications

Because a brand-new plan has no prior-year data to lean on, the comparison you do yourself matters more. Three steps work for any plan, new or returning:

1. Pull up the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code and your prescriptions exactly as you take them, including dosage. 2. Check the provider directory for each plan you are considering. Search by your doctor's name and confirm the office location and specialty. Networks can be different even within the same carrier. 3. Confirm the formulary. Make sure every medication is covered, note the tier, and check for prior authorization or step therapy requirements.

If the online tools feel overwhelming, 1-800-MEDICARE is available 24 hours a day. You can also request a plan's Evidence of Coverage directly from the carrier.

Star Ratings and first-year plans

Medicare's Star Ratings score plans on quality and member experience. They are based on past performance, so a plan in its first year does not get one. That is a program rule, not a reason to pick or skip any particular plan. If you are weighing a new plan, lean on the plan documents and your own fit — doctors, drugs, how you like to get care — rather than looking for a rating that is not there yet.

Key dates for 2027 coverage

• October 15 – December 7, 2026: Annual Enrollment Period. Changes made in this window take effect January 1, 2027.
• January 1 – March 31, 2027: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan and want to switch once.
• Do nothing and your current plan renews if it is offered for 2027. The ANOC your plan sends will spell out what is changing.

A couple of 2027 numbers worth knowing as you shop: the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (from $615 in 2026). CMS usually announces the 2027 Part B premium and the IRMAA income brackets later in the fall.