Medicare Advantage

Did Your Baton Rouge Advantage Plan Just Disappear?

People in Baton Rouge can choose from 54 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 65 this year. Twelve of this year's plans are gone, 12 are new to East Baton Rouge Parish, and continuing plans may change their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 11 of them under a new name.

Medicare AdvantageBaton Rouge, LA

BATON ROUGE — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in the Baton Rouge area, this fall's mail could look different from last year's. According to CMS Landscape files comparing 2026 with 2027, 12 Medicare Advantage plans offered in East Baton Rouge Parish will not return next year, 12 new plans are entering, and 11 plans are keeping their coverage but changing their name. Another 14 continuing plans have at least one change on premium, deductible, plan type or name that the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) will spell out.

That means a lot of people in Baton Rouge need to read the letter their plan mailed in late September — not just file it.

What is changing in East Baton Rouge Parish for 2027

Medicare Advantage plans are set at the county level, so the numbers below apply to East Baton Rouge Parish (which includes Baton Rouge):

• 12 plans leaving after 2026. These include Aetna Medicare Dual Care (PPO D-SNP); Blue adVantage Giveback (HMO-POS); three Wellcare plans — Wellcare Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP), Wellcare Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP), and Wellcare Simple (HMO-POS); Healthy Blue Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) from Elevance Health; Humana Gold Plus H1951-058 (HMO); and five Peoples Health plans offered by UnitedHealthcare — Peoples Health Choices (PPO), Peoples Health Dual Complete LA-S5 (HMO-POS D-SNP), Peoples Health Patriot (PPO), Peoples Health Secure Complete (HMO-POS D-SNP), and Peoples Health Secure Health (HMO-POS D-SNP).
• 12 plans new for 2027. New entries include American Health Advantage of Louisiana Choice (HMO I-SNP); two new Centene plans — Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP) and Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP); a returning Wellcare Simple (HMO-POS); three Devoted Health plans; a new Humana Value Plus H7617-081 (PPO); and four Peoples Health plans through UnitedHealthcare, including Peoples Health Complete Care Support (HMO-POS C-SNP).
• 11 plans renamed. Notable examples: Aetna's dual-eligible plans have been re-labeled (for instance, Aetna Medicare Dual Care (HMO D-SNP) becomes Aetna Medicare Partial Dual Care (HMO D-SNP)); Wellcare Dual Reserve becomes Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Reserve; and UHC Dual Complete LA-S001 becomes UHC Dual Complete LA-Q1. The coverage may be similar, but the plan letter and ID can look different.
• 14 continuing plans have a change on premium, deductible, type or name. CMS's file only flags that a change exists — your ANOC has the details.
• 42 plans continue without one of those flagged changes.

The table on this page lists every 2026 plan available in East Baton Rouge Parish so you can find yours by name.

If your plan is leaving after 2026

When a Medicare Advantage plan does not renew, CMS gives affected members a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that begins December 8 and runs through the end of February. During that SEP you can:

• Enroll in a different Medicare Advantage plan, or
• Go back to Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan. In many states you may also apply for a Medigap policy under certain guaranteed-issue rules — call your Louisiana SHIIP counselor to confirm which rights apply to your situation.

Your current plan will send a non-renewal notice by early October. Keep that letter. It is the proof you may need to use the SEP.

If you do nothing, you will not automatically be moved to a similar plan. You will return to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027 — which pays hospital and medical bills but not prescription drugs.

If your plan is being renamed

A rename is not the same as a benefit change on its own. But CMS flags several of the renamed plans as also changing on premium, deductible or type. That is where the ANOC matters. Read the section titled "Changes to your plan for next year" and compare it to how you actually use care — the doctors you see, the drugs you take, and the pharmacies you use.

If your plan is continuing

Even continuing plans can adjust cost-sharing or drug tiers each year. Do a quick check for 2027:

1. Confirm your primary care doctor and specialists are still in the plan's 2027 network. 2. Run your prescription list through the plan's 2027 formulary. 3. Look at the 2027 out-of-pocket maximum, the Part D deductible (up to the federal max of $700 in 2027), and any changes to extras like dental or transportation.

Remember, Part D also has a new $2,100 out-of-pocket cap in 2026 and a slightly higher cap in 2027, and the old "donut hole" is gone — drug coverage now has three phases. If your drug costs hit hard early in the year, ask about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads Part D costs across the year in monthly amounts.

Key dates to circle

• October 15 – December 7, 2026: Annual Enrollment Period. Anyone with Medicare can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Coverage starts January 1.
• January 1 – March 31, 2027: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you may make one change — to a different Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare with a Part D plan.
• Through February 28, 2027: Special Enrollment Period for members of a plan that is not renewing.

How to compare plans without getting overwhelmed

• Use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov — it lets you enter your ZIP code (Baton Rouge ZIPs include 70801–70898), your drug list and preferred pharmacy, and see every plan side by side.
• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), open 24/7.
• Call the Louisiana Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) at 1-800-259-5300. SHIIP counselors are free, unbiased, and trained to walk through the ANOC with you.

Star Ratings, published each fall on Medicare.gov, can help you gauge member experience and plan performance — but they are one tool among several, not a shortcut for checking that your doctors and drugs are covered.