Medicare Advantage

Before AEP: how Orleans Parish MA plans are built

Orleans Parish has 67 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 10 plans are not coming back, 12 are new, and 28 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 11 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for New Orleans, not which plan to pick.

Medicare AdvantageNew Orleans, LA

New Orleans shoppers looking at Medicare Advantage for 2027 have a wide field to sort through — and the choice usually comes down to two questions: which insurance company do you want to work with, and what kind of plan structure fits how you like to get care?

New Orleans sits in Orleans Parish, where CMS lists 56 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 from nine carriers. Every one of those plans includes Part D drug coverage. Below, we walk through who the carriers are, how many plans each offers, and what the letters after each plan name — HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, D-SNP, C-SNP, I-SNP — actually mean for you.

The eight carriers offering Medicare Advantage in Orleans Parish

Listed alphabetically, here is who is on the 2027 lineup and how many plans each offers in the parish:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 13 plans (HMO, PPO; 5 are Special Needs Plans)
• American Health Advantage of Louisiana: 1 plan (HMO; 1 Special Needs Plan)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana: 7 plans (HMO-POS, PPO; 1 Special Needs Plan)
• Centene (WellCare): 7 plans (HMO-POS; 3 Special Needs Plans)
• Devoted Health: 6 plans (PPO; 4 Special Needs Plans)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 3 plans (HMO; 3 Special Needs Plans)
• Humana: 16 plans (HMO, PPO; 6 Special Needs Plans)
• UnitedHealthcare: 12 plans (HMO-POS, PPO; 7 Special Needs Plans)

The table below lists every plan by carrier so you can see the full slate. The number of plans a carrier offers is not a quality signal — it just tells you how much variety that company has in this market.

What HMO, HMO-POS and PPO mean

The plan type tells you how the plan handles networks and referrals.

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You generally use doctors and hospitals in the plan's network, and you often need a referral from a primary care provider to see a specialist. Out-of-network care is usually only covered in an emergency. In Orleans Parish, HMO plans include options from Aetna, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, and American Health Advantage of Louisiana.
• HMO-POS (Point of Service). This is an HMO that lets you go out of network for certain services, usually at a higher cost. Carriers offering HMO-POS plans in the parish include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Centene (WellCare), and UnitedHealthcare (Peoples Health plans are offered under UnitedHealthcare).
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). You can see any Medicare-approved provider, but you pay less when you use the plan's network. Referrals typically are not required. Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Devoted Health, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare all offer PPOs here.
• PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). These pay providers a set amount and let you see any provider who accepts the plan's terms. No PFFS plans are listed in Orleans Parish for 2027, but you may still see the term when comparing markets.

None of these types is automatically better than another. The right fit depends on the doctors you already see, whether you travel, and how much you value flexibility versus predictability.

Special Needs Plans: who they are for

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are Medicare Advantage plans built for a specific group. Of the 65 plans in Orleans Parish, 30 are SNPs. There are three flavors:

• D-SNP (Dual-Eligible). For people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Most of the SNPs in this market are D-SNPs, and every carrier except American Health Advantage of Louisiana offers at least one.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition). For people with a qualifying long-term condition, such as diabetes or certain heart conditions. Aetna, Devoted Health, and Humana (through Peoples Health as well) offer C-SNPs in the parish.
• I-SNP (Institutional). For people who live in or need the level of care given in a nursing home or similar facility. American Health Advantage of Louisiana offers an I-SNP here.

You can only enroll in an SNP if you meet its eligibility rules. If you do qualify, these plans tend to tailor benefits and drug coverage to that group.

Drug coverage and the 2027 Part D rules

All 56 Medicare Advantage plans in Orleans Parish include Part D drug coverage. There are no stand-alone Part D drug plans listed in the parish for 2027, so if you want an Advantage plan with drugs built in, you have plenty of options.

A few Part D program rules to know for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100. Once your covered drug spending hits that limit, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible any plan can charge is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

Higher-income enrollees also pay an IRMAA surcharge on Part B and Part D. For 2026, IRMAA starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

Dates to keep in mind

• Annual Enrollment Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Changes take effect Jan. 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to a different one or return to Original Medicare (and add a stand-alone Part D plan).