Medicare Advantage

Chicago's C-SNP options for 2027: Medicare Advantage plans built around a chronic diagnosis

For 2027, Chicago is looking at 67 Medicare Advantage plans: 6 new, 17 gone since 2026, and 30 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 9 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Cook County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

CHICAGO — For older adults in Chicago living with a long-term health condition like diabetes, heart disease or end-stage renal disease, there is a specific type of Medicare Advantage plan designed around that diagnosis: the Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan, or C-SNP. For 2027, Cook County — the county Chicago sits in — will have 12 C-SNPs available from five carriers, and the Annual Enrollment Period that runs October 15 through December 7, 2026 is when most people can sign up.

Here is what Chicago readers need to know about how C-SNPs work, who can join, and the enrollment windows that apply.

How a C-SNP works

A Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) that limits enrollment to people living with one or more qualifying chronic conditions defined by CMS. Examples named in the plans serving Cook County include diabetes, chronic heart failure and end-stage renal disease (dialysis).

Because every member has the same type of condition, C-SNPs are built around that care. They include Part A, Part B and Part D drug coverage in a single plan, and they typically coordinate care through a specific provider network. Specific benefits, drug lists, copays, networks and star ratings vary plan by plan — those details live in each plan's Evidence of Coverage and on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

Two things are true of every C-SNP: you must have the qualifying diagnosis to enroll, and the plan must verify that diagnosis with your provider. If the plan cannot confirm the condition within a set window, enrollment can be ended.

The C-SNPs offered in Cook County for 2027

For plan year 2027, Cook County has 12 C-SNPs from five carriers. In alphabetical order by carrier, those plans are:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Prime Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP)
• Devoted Health: DEVOTED C-SNP ENHANCED 005 IL (HMO C-SNP) — renamed from DEVOTED C-SNP PREMIUM 005 IL; DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 007 IL (HMO C-SNP) — new for 2027; DEVOTED C-SNP PLUS 006 IL (HMO C-SNP)
• Humana: Humana Community HMO Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare: UHC Complete Care Support IL-1A (PPO C-SNP); UHC Complete Care Support IL-7 (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• Zing Health: Zing Elite Diabetes & Heart IL (HMO C-SNP); Zing Elite Essentials Diabetes & Heart IL-IN (HMO C-SNP); Zing Select Diabetes & Heart Complete IL (HMO C-SNP); Zing Select Diabetes & Heart IL (HMO C-SNP) — renamed from Zing Essential Wellness Diabetes & Heart IL; Zing Select Dialysis IL (HMO C-SNP)

The table below lists every plan in detail. For specific premiums, drug lists, provider networks and star ratings, use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov or call 1‑800‑MEDICARE.

C-SNPs are only one slice of Chicago's Medicare Advantage market. Cook County's broader lineup for 2026 includes 78 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers, and for 2027, 17 plans are not returning, 6 are new and 9 have been renamed. If your current plan is one of those, the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mailed in September spells out the specifics.

Who qualifies, and how enrollment works

To enroll in a C-SNP, you need:

• Medicare Part A and Part B
• To live in the plan's service area (Cook County, for the plans above)
• A qualifying chronic condition, as defined by CMS

The condition has to be confirmed by a provider — usually through a signed form the plan sends to your doctor shortly after you apply. If your doctor cannot confirm it, the plan is required to end the enrollment.

A plan's name tells you which condition it serves only when it says so explicitly (for example, a plan named "Diabetes & Heart" is built for people with diabetes or chronic heart failure, and a plan named "Dialysis" is built for people with end-stage renal disease). For every plan, the full list of qualifying conditions is in the Evidence of Coverage.

Enrollment windows for 2027

Most people will use the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026. A choice made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan simply renews next year — assuming it is still offered — with any changes described in its ANOC.

People with a qualifying chronic condition also have a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for C-SNPs. If you are newly diagnosed with a qualifying condition, you generally get a one-time chance to enroll in a C-SNP outside the Annual Enrollment Period. The SEP ends once you make the enrollment, so it is a one-shot window, not an open month-long period you can keep returning to.

A few other windows that can apply:

• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31, 2027. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another MA plan or go back to Original Medicare once during this window.
• Initial Enrollment Period: The seven-month window around your 65th birthday when you first become eligible for Medicare.

What is changing for 2027 program-wide

A few CMS figures that apply across the country, not just Chicago, are worth knowing as you compare plans:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket drug spending hits that amount, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs for the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Many plans set a lower deductible than the maximum.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: The optional program that lets you spread your drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter continues to be available.

CMS announces the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, later in the fall — usually in November. We will update coverage when those figures are published.