Medicare Advantage

Does a Brand-New Medicare Advantage Plan Fit Your Care?

Fayette County has 66 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 11 plans are not coming back, 12 are new, and 23 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 9 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Lexington, not which plan to pick.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — As the Annual Enrollment Period runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, Fayette County residents choosing a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 will see 12 plans on the shelf that weren't there this year. Five carriers — Aetna (CVS Health), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana and UnitedHealthcare — are launching the new options, and because they're brand new, they come without the local track record a renewing plan has built up.

That doesn't make a new plan a bad fit or a good one. It just means your usual check — Are my doctors in? Are my drugs covered? — matters even more before you decide.

What Medicare Advantage plans are new in Lexington for 2027?

Lexington is in Fayette County, where CMS lists 12 Medicare Advantage plans as new for the 2027 plan year — meaning they weren't offered in 2026. All 12 include prescription drug coverage.

Here's the full list, in alphabetical order by carrier, as named by CMS:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP)
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 008 KY (PPO C-SNP); DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 011 KY (PPO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — Anthem Chronic Care Advantage (HMO C-SNP); Anthem Medicare Advantage 2 (HMO-POS)
• Humana — Humana Dual QMB Only (HMO D-SNP); Humana Gold Plus H5619-188 (HMO); Humana Senior Living Plan (PPO I-SNP); Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare — AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx KY-MA2 (HMO-POS); UHC Dual Complete KY-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete KY-S4 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

The table on this page lists every 2027 plan available in the county, new and returning.

Which of the new plans are Special Needs Plans?

Most of Fayette County's 12 new 2027 plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which only accept members who fit a specific category. There are three SNP types in the new lineup:

• C-SNP (Chronic Condition SNP) — for people with a qualifying chronic condition. The new C-SNPs are Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP), DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 008 KY (PPO C-SNP) and Anthem Chronic Care Advantage (HMO C-SNP).
• D-SNP (Dual Eligible SNP) — for people with both Medicare and Medicaid. New D-SNPs include Humana Dual QMB Only (HMO D-SNP), UHC Dual Complete KY-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP) and UHC Dual Complete KY-S4 (HMO-POS D-SNP).
• I-SNP (Institutional SNP) — for people who live in a nursing facility or need that level of care at home. The new I-SNPs are Humana Senior Living Plan (PPO I-SNP) and Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP).

If you don't fit the eligibility rules for an SNP, you can't join it, even if it's in your area.

How is a new plan different from one that's renewing?

The biggest practical difference is history. A plan that's been around a few years has a Star Rating from CMS — a 1-to-5 score based on member experience, care quality and customer service. A brand-new plan hasn't been measured yet, so no rating appears next to it. That's a program fact, not a strike against it.

A few things to keep in mind when you're looking at a new plan:

• No prior Annual Notice of Change. Returning members of a renewing plan get an ANOC each September listing what's changing. A new plan has no "before" to compare — you're looking at a fresh Summary of Benefits.
• Networks and formularies are set from day one. Both are published; you just can't check them against what the plan "used to" cover.
• Enrollment protections are the same. New plans follow the same CMS rules on enrollment, appeals and the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (Jan. 1 – March 31, 2027), when you can make one change if the plan isn't a fit.

How do I check a new plan against my doctors and prescriptions before Dec. 7?

The fastest way is the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Here's a short checklist that works for any new (or renewing) 2027 plan:

1. Make a list first. Write down every doctor, specialist, hospital and pharmacy you want to keep, plus every prescription with its exact dose and how often you take it. 2. Search by ZIP code. Enter your Lexington ZIP, choose Medicare Advantage, and add your drugs. The Plan Finder will show total estimated yearly drug cost for each plan. 3. Check the provider directory on the plan's own site. Medicare.gov links out to each carrier's directory. Search each of your doctors by name — and call the office to confirm they'll be in-network for the 2027 plan year, not just the 2026 one. 4. Check the pharmacy network. Your usual pharmacy may be "preferred," "standard" or out-of-network, and that affects what you pay. 5. Read the Summary of Benefits. For a plan with no track record, this is your main source of detail on cost-sharing and extras. 6. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (24/7, TTY 1-877-486-2048) if you want to talk through options with someone, or call the plan directly with specific questions.

If you don't want to switch, you don't have to do anything. Your current plan — if it's being offered again in 2027 — will renew automatically with the changes described in the ANOC it sent you.

What else is changing in Medicare for 2027?

A couple of program-wide numbers are already set:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket drug spending hits that cap, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs for 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 — the option to spread your drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter — continues in 2027.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, are typically announced by CMS in the fall. We'll update coverage when those numbers are published.