Medicare Advantage

Before you pick an HMO in Overland Park: how Medicare Advantage plan types differ

For 2027, Overland Park is looking at 43 Medicare Advantage plans: 6 new, 16 gone since 2026, and 30 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 14 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Johnson County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Medicare AdvantageOverland Park, KS

Shopping for a Medicare Advantage plan in Overland Park can feel like standing in the cereal aisle — a lot of boxes, and the labels use letters you may not know. HMO. PPO. HMO-POS. PFFS. D-SNP. The good news is that these labels describe just a handful of ideas about how a plan works, and once you know what each one means, the shelf gets a lot easier to read.

Overland Park is in Johnson County, where the CMS 2027 Medicare Advantage Landscape shows 29 Medicare Advantage plans offered by 7 carriers. Every one of those plans includes drug coverage. Before you compare any single plan, it helps to know what type of plan you are actually looking at.

What the Overland Park lineup looks like

The 53 plans available in Johnson County come from eight carriers, listed here in alphabetical order: Aetna (CVS Health) with 7 plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC) with 3, Centene (WellCare) with 6, Devoted Health with 4, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 1, Humana with 13, Kansas Health Advantage with 2, and UnitedHealthcare with 17. The table below lists every plan by carrier.

Some carriers concentrate on one plan type, others spread across several. What that means for you as a shopper: two plans from the same carrier can work very differently, because they may be built on different network rules. The plan type is the first thing to check.

HMO and HMO-POS: network-first plans

An HMO — Health Maintenance Organization — asks you to use doctors, hospitals and other providers in the plan's network, except for emergencies. You usually pick a primary care doctor, and referrals may be needed to see specialists. Care outside the network typically is not covered.

HMO-POS adds a "point of service" option. That means the plan is still built around a network, but it allows some out-of-network care under specific rules the plan sets. Of the 53 plans in Johnson County, 9 are HMOs and 24 are HMO-POS plans — the largest single group.

HMO-style plans tend to appeal to people who already use doctors in a local system and are comfortable staying in-network in exchange for a simpler structure.

PPO: more flexibility with out-of-network care

A PPO — Preferred Provider Organization — also has a network, but it will pay for care you get from out-of-network providers who accept Medicare, usually at a higher cost share. You generally do not need a referral to see a specialist.

Johnson County's roster includes 19 PPO plans. PPOs often make sense for people who split time between locations, travel often, or want the freedom to see specialists without a referral. Just remember: the cost difference between in-network and out-of-network can be meaningful, so it pays to check the plan's rules before you use it.

PFFS: a less common structure

PFFS stands for Private Fee-for-Service. In a PFFS plan, the plan — not Medicare — decides how much it will pay providers and how much you pay. Any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare can choose whether to accept the plan's terms visit by visit, so it is important to confirm each provider will treat you under the plan.

The PFFS category is a smaller slice of the county market, but a real option worth understanding rather than skipping past.

Special Needs Plans: built for specific situations

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are Medicare Advantage plans limited to people who meet certain criteria. There are three kinds:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible): for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition): for people with certain qualifying chronic conditions, such as diabetes or heart conditions.
• I-SNP (Institutional): for people who live in, or need the level of care provided in, a nursing facility or similar setting.

Because they are targeted, SNPs coordinate benefits and drug coverage around the group they serve. Of the 53 plans in Johnson County, 17 are Special Needs Plans. You have to qualify to enroll in one, so even though they show up on the county list, they are not open to everyone.

How to use the plan-type label when you shop

The plan type tells you how you'll use the plan day to day — whether you need a referral, whether out-of-network care is covered, and whether you have to meet special eligibility. Once you know which types fit your life, you can narrow the 53 plans to a shorter list before comparing details like premium, drug formulary, extra benefits and provider network.

A few program-level facts worth keeping in mind while you compare drug coverage for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your yearly drug costs across monthly payments if you opt in.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.