Medicare Advantage

Wellcare Medicare Advantage in Illinois for 2027: 7 Plans, County by County

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — For the 2027 plan year, Wellcare — which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services groups under Centene (WellCare) — is offering seven Medicare Advantage plans in Illinois, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for CY2027. Because Medicare Advantage plans are offered county by county, any individual plan listed here may or may not be available where you live. This explainer, from an independent Medicare education site that is not the government and not affiliated with any insurance carrier, walks through what the public CMS data shows for Illinois, and how to check a plan against your own county, doctors, and prescriptions.

2027 plan lineupIllinois

What Wellcare offers statewide in Illinois for 2027

Across Illinois, Wellcare's 2027 Medicare Advantage footprint breaks down this way in the CMS Landscape file:

• 7 plans total
• 4 HMO plans and 3 HMO-POS plans
• 1 D-SNP (for people with both Medicare and Medicaid); 0 C-SNP and 0 I-SNP
• 7 plans with drug coverage (every plan Wellcare lists in Illinois includes Part D)

For context, 12 other carriers are offering Medicare Advantage plans in Illinois for 2027, and the state's total across all carriers is 139 plans. The seven Wellcare plans sit inside that broader marketplace, and Wellcare is one piece of what Illinois shoppers will see when they open the Medicare Plan Finder.

A full table of Wellcare's 2027 Illinois plans — with plan type, drug coverage, and county reach — is rendered elsewhere on this page from the CMS data.

The Wellcare plans with the widest county reach

Wellcare's 2027 plans in Illinois vary widely in how many of the state's counties they're offered in. From the CMS Landscape file, the county reach for each plan is:

• Wellcare Meridian Dual Align (HMO D-SNP) — offered in 102 counties
• Wellcare Giveback (HMO) — offered in 101 counties
• Wellcare Simple Essential (HMO) — offered in 101 counties
• Wellcare Simple Value (HMO-POS) — offered in 90 counties
• Wellcare Simple (HMO-POS) — offered in 6 counties
• Wellcare Simple Exclusive (HMO) — offered in 3 counties
• Wellcare Simple Exclusive Value (HMO-POS) — offered in 3 counties

A statewide county count is a measure of availability, not of quality, cost, or fit. A plan available in 100-plus counties might not be offered in yours, and a plan offered in only a handful of counties might be the one you can actually enroll in. The county-level availability on Medicare.gov is what controls.

What's new and what isn't returning

Compared with Wellcare's 2026 lineup, the CMS Landscape files show the following year-over-year changes for Illinois:

• 2 plans are new for 2027: Wellcare Simple Value (HMO-POS) and Wellcare Simple Exclusive Value (HMO-POS).
• 3 plans Wellcare offered in 2026 are not returning for 2027.
• 1 plan has been renamed: Wellcare Simple Essential (HMO) was previously called Wellcare Simple Essential Value (HMO).

If you're currently enrolled in a Wellcare plan, a rename or a non-renewal is the kind of change that's worth looking at closely during the Annual Enrollment Period. Your plan's own Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) and Evidence of Coverage are the definitive sources for what is changing in your specific plan.

Checking whether a plan is offered in your county — and covers your doctors and prescriptions

Three things determine whether a plan on this statewide list actually works for you:

1. Is it offered in your county? Enter your ZIP code at Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. The site will only show you the plans available where you live. 2. Does it cover your doctors, hospitals and other providers? Check the plan's own provider directory, or call the plan directly. Networks differ between HMO and HMO-POS plans, and between plans from the same carrier. 3. Does it cover your prescriptions at a pharmacy you use? Each plan has its own drug list (formulary) and preferred pharmacies. Enter your medications in the Plan Finder to see how each plan handles them, or ask the plan for its 2027 formulary.

Because this article intentionally does not list premiums, deductibles, copays, benefits, networks or star ratings, those details should come from the Plan Finder at Medicare.gov, from 1-800-MEDICARE, or from the plan's own Evidence of Coverage and directories.

What to do before December 7

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7, 2026. A choice you make during that window takes effect January 1, 2027. A short checklist:

• Read the ANOC your current plan mailed you, if you're already enrolled in Medicare Advantage or a Part D plan.
• Make a list of your doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions, including dosages.
• Run that list through Medicare.gov's Plan Finder for your ZIP code.
• Compare more than one plan and more than one carrier before you decide.
• If you want to make a change for January 1, 2027, submit it by December 7, 2026.

If you do nothing, you generally stay in your current plan if it is still being offered in 2027. If your plan is not returning, you'll receive a notice from the plan explaining your options.

Where to get free help

• Medicare.gov — the official Plan Finder, with plan-by-plan details for your ZIP code.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including help in multiple languages.