Medicare Advantage

HMO, PPO, PFFS or SNP in Wichita: how the Medicare Advantage menu is built

People in Wichita can choose from 31 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 37 this year. Eleven of this year’s plans are gone, 5 are new to Sedgwick County, and 16 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 7 of them under a new name.

Wichita sits in Sedgwick County, and if you are shopping Medicare Advantage here, the first thing worth understanding is not how many plans there are — it's what kind of plans they are. Six carriers offer Medicare Advantage in the county for 2027, and between them they sell HMOs, HMO-POS plans, PPOs, a PFFS plan, and a group of Special Needs Plans. Those letters change how you see doctors, how you fill prescriptions, and who can even enroll.

Who sells Medicare Advantage in Wichita

Six carriers offer Medicare Advantage plans in Sedgwick County for the 2027 plan year. Compared with 2026, 19 plans continue, 5 are new, 11 are not returning and 7 have been renamed; 9 continuing plans change something in their terms, and the ANOC has the details. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is not offering plans in the county for 2027. The table below lists every plan by carrier and type.

Not every carrier sells every plan type. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas offers only PPOs in this county, for example, while Kansas Health Advantage offers only HMO Institutional Special Needs Plans. Humana is the only carrier here offering a PFFS plan.

HMO vs. HMO-POS: the network-first plans

An HMO — Health Maintenance Organization — usually asks you to pick a primary care doctor and stay inside the plan's network for routine care. Out-of-network visits generally aren't covered except in an emergency.

An HMO-POS ("point of service") is an HMO with a small door built into it. You can go outside the network for certain services, though usually at a higher cost share. Fifteen of the 37 plans in Sedgwick County are HMO-POS; four are straight HMOs.

PPO: more room to roam

A PPO — Preferred Provider Organization — lets you see any Medicare-accepting provider, in or out of network, without a referral. In-network care costs less, but out-of-network care is still covered. PPOs remain a major part of the Sedgwick County lineup for 2027, offered by carriers such as Aetna, Centene (WellCare), Humana and UnitedHealthcare.

If you split time between Wichita and somewhere else, or you travel often, PPOs are the plan type most people compare first for that reason.

PFFS: the least common type

A PFFS plan — Private Fee-For-Service — sets its own payment terms with providers. You can typically see any Medicare provider who agrees to the plan's terms on that visit, which is different from a network in the HMO or PPO sense. There is one PFFS plan available in Sedgwick County for 2027, offered by Humana.

Special Needs Plans: who they're for

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

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

Sedgwick County continues to have Special Needs Plans for 2027, offered by carriers such as Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Kansas Health Advantage and UnitedHealthcare. You can only enroll if you meet that plan's specific requirements — SNPs are not open to the general Medicare population.

Drug coverage and the Part D rules for 2027

All 24 Medicare Advantage plans in Sedgwick County for 2027 include prescription drug coverage, so there are no stand-alone Part D plans needed for people on these plans. A few Part D facts to keep in mind for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is optional and lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly amounts instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

Deadlines to keep on the calendar

The Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026 — that is when most people join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, 2027, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1–March 31) gives you one more chance to switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare.