Medicare Advantage

Illinois Medicare Advantage Plans for Chronic Conditions in 2027: 23 C-SNPs

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois residents who manage a long-term health condition will have 23 Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs) to consider for 2027, out of 139 Medicare Advantage plans available statewide, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for CY2027. C-SNPs are a specialized type of Medicare Advantage plan built around people with specific qualifying conditions, and they sit alongside 4 Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) and 3 Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) in the state.

What a C-SNP is and who qualifies

A Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan is a Medicare Advantage plan designed for people living with a specific chronic illness. To enroll, you need Medicare Part A and Part B, you must live in the plan's service area, and you must have the qualifying chronic condition that the plan is built for. That condition has to be verified by a provider — the plan will typically ask your doctor to confirm the diagnosis so the enrollment can be completed.

Every C-SNP listed for Illinois in 2027 includes prescription drug coverage. Beyond that, specific benefits, cost-sharing, provider networks, and drug formularies vary by plan and are not covered here; those details come from the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, from 1-800-MEDICARE, or from each plan's Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories.

The statewide count and the carriers offering them

For 2027, 23 of Illinois's 139 Medicare Advantage plans are C-SNPs. Five carriers offer them statewide:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 2 plans
• Devoted Health — 10 plans
• Humana — 2 plans
• UnitedHealthcare — 4 plans
• Zing Health — 5 plans

The full plan-by-plan list, including plan type (HMO, HMO-POS, or PPO) and the number of Illinois counties where each plan is offered, is rendered as a table elsewhere on this page. County counts in that table range widely — some C-SNPs are offered in only a handful of counties, while others are offered in dozens — which is why it is important to confirm availability for your own address rather than rely on a statewide total.

A few year-over-year notes from the CMS files are worth flagging. Devoted Health has renamed several of its "Premium" plans to "Enhanced" (for example, DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE ENHANCED 011 IL, 013 IL, and 014 IL, and DEVOTED C-SNP ENHANCED 005 IL), and has added new "Giveback Extras" plans for 2027 (DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 015 IL, 016 IL, and 017 IL, and DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 007 IL). Humana is introducing Humana Gold Plus - Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP) for 2027. UnitedHealthcare is adding UHC Complete Care IA-5 (HMO-POS C-SNP). Zing Health has renamed one plan to Zing Select Diabetes & Heart IL (HMO C-SNP), which was previously Zing Essential Wellness Diabetes & Heart IL. These renames and new filings are reflected in the CMS Landscape Source Files for the current and coming plan year.

The conditions named in plan names, only as named

Medicare's C-SNP rules allow plans to serve a range of chronic conditions, but this article will name a condition only when the plan's own name states it. Based on the 2027 Illinois C-SNP names:

• Humana Community HMO Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP) and Humana Gold Plus - Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP) name diabetes and heart conditions.
• Zing Elite Diabetes & Heart IL, Zing Elite Essentials Diabetes & Heart IL-IN, Zing Select Diabetes & Heart Complete IL, and Zing Select Diabetes & Heart IL (all HMO C-SNPs) name diabetes and heart conditions.
• Zing Select Dialysis IL (HMO C-SNP) names dialysis in its plan name.

The other C-SNPs on the Illinois list — from Aetna (CVS Health), Devoted Health, and UnitedHealthcare — do not state the qualifying condition in the plan name. For those, confirm which condition the plan is built for by looking at the plan materials on medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

The Special Enrollment Period for people with a qualifying condition

Most people make Medicare Advantage choices during the Annual Enrollment Period, which runs October 15 through December 7, 2026 for 2027 coverage, with the plan starting January 1, 2027.

People with a qualifying chronic condition have an additional option: a Special Enrollment Period that allows them to enroll in a C-SNP outside the Annual Enrollment Period once their condition is verified. If you later lose the qualifying condition, there is also a window to switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare. The current rules on enrollment periods are posted on medicare.gov under Medicare enrollment periods.

Checking a plan in your county

A plan counted at the statewide level is not necessarily sold in every Illinois county. Each C-SNP in the table on this page shows how many counties it is offered in — some are available in only a few, others across most of the state — but the only reliable way to see what is actually available at your address is to run your ZIP code through the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, or to call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That is also where you can review the specifics each plan files — cost-sharing, provider network, pharmacy network, and drug formulary — none of which this article compares.

Free help

You do not have to sort through this alone. The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your ZIP code, your prescriptions, and any pharmacies or providers you want to keep, and will show the C-SNPs and other Medicare Advantage plans available where you live. 1-800-MEDICARE can walk you through enrollment questions, confirm whether a plan is offered in your county, and explain the Special Enrollment Period rules for people with a qualifying chronic condition. Both services are free.