Medicare Advantage

Wellcare's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in Chicago: what's new, what's gone, how to check yours

Chicago — October 2026. Wellcare's Medicare Advantage lineup in Chicago is shifting for 2027, and the window to compare it against your doctors and prescriptions runs through December 7, 2026. In Cook County, where Chicago sits, Wellcare will offer six Medicare Advantage plans next year — one is new, one has been renamed, and three plans it sold in 2026 are not coming back. If you are enrolled in one of the plans leaving, this is the season to look closely; if you are in one that is renewing, your Annual Notice of Change explains what is different for 2027.

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent consumer news site. We are not Wellcare, and Wellcare is one of 12 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in Cook County next year (67 plans altogether).

What Wellcare is offering in Cook County for 2027

For plan year 2027, Wellcare (which CMS lists under its parent, Centene) has six Medicare Advantage plans available in Cook County. By type, that is four HMO plans and two HMO-POS plans. All six include Part D prescription drug coverage, and one is a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) built for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Wellcare is not offering a Chronic Condition SNP (C-SNP) or Institutional SNP (I-SNP) in the county next year.

In alphabetical order, the 2027 plans are:

• Wellcare Giveback (HMO) — HMO, with drug coverage
• Wellcare Meridian Dual Align (HMO D-SNP) — HMO D-SNP, with drug coverage
• Wellcare Simple (HMO-POS) — HMO-POS, with drug coverage
• Wellcare Simple Essential (HMO) — HMO, with drug coverage; renamed (was Wellcare Simple Essential Value (HMO))
• Wellcare Simple Exclusive (HMO) — HMO, with drug coverage
• Wellcare Simple Exclusive Value (HMO-POS) — HMO-POS, with drug coverage; new for 2027

The table below lists every plan with its type and drug coverage. For costs, networks, drug formularies and star ratings, use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov — those details change each year and are plan-specific.

What's new, what's renamed, what's not returning

New for 2027: Wellcare Simple Exclusive Value (HMO-POS) is being added to the Cook County lineup.

Renamed: Wellcare Simple Essential (HMO) was called Wellcare Simple Essential Value (HMO) in 2026. A name change does not automatically mean the plan works the same way — the ANOC will spell out any 2027 changes to premium, cost-sharing, drug list and provider network.

Not returning in 2027: three of Wellcare's 2026 Cook County plans will not be offered next year. If you are in one of those plans, Wellcare will send a non-renewal notice. You can enroll in another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a stand-alone Part D plan) through December 7, 2026, with coverage starting January 1, 2027.

HMO, HMO-POS and D-SNP — what the plan types mean

Every Wellcare plan on offer in Cook County next year is either an HMO, an HMO-POS, or a D-SNP. The short version:

• HMO plans use an in-network set of doctors and hospitals and usually ask you to pick a primary care doctor. Out-of-network care is generally not covered except in emergencies.
• HMO-POS adds a point-of-service option, meaning some out-of-network services may be covered — typically at a higher cost. The specifics vary by plan.
• D-SNP (Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan) is for people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. These plans coordinate benefits across the two programs. Wellcare Meridian Dual Align (HMO D-SNP) is the one D-SNP on this list.

Whether a given plan actually works for you depends on which doctors and hospitals are in its network and which drugs are on its formulary — not on the plan type alone.

How to check a plan against your doctors and prescriptions

Before December 7, do three things:

1. Read your ANOC. If you are already in a Wellcare plan, the Annual Notice of Change arrived in September and shows what is changing for 2027 — premium, deductible, copays, drug tiers, and provider or pharmacy network changes. 2. Run the Plan Finder. At medicare.gov, enter your ZIP code, your prescriptions and your preferred pharmacy. The tool shows each plan's 2027 costs, drug coverage and star rating, and lets you check whether your doctors are listed in-network. 3. Call to confirm. Networks and formularies can shift during the year. Call the plan directly — or 1-800-MEDICARE — to confirm that a specific doctor, hospital or drug is covered under the 2027 version of the plan.

2027 program figures to keep in mind

A few Medicare numbers for 2027 are already set by CMS and worth knowing as you compare:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches that amount, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan continues — an optional way to spread your drug costs across the year in monthly installments.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, had not been announced at the time of writing. CMS typically releases those in the fall, usually in November.

If you do nothing

If your current plan is offered again in 2027, it renews automatically on January 1 — with the 2027 ANOC changes applied. If your plan is one of the three Wellcare plans not returning, you need to pick a new plan during Annual Enrollment (October 15 – December 7, 2026) to have Medicare Advantage coverage on January 1. Otherwise you default back to Original Medicare without a Part D plan, which can mean a late-enrollment penalty later.

There is also a second window: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 – March 31, 2027, and lets people already in a Medicare Advantage plan switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare once.