Medicare Advantage

New Name on Your Medicare Card? What It Means

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 — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in New Orleans, this fall's mail is worth opening carefully. For the 2027 plan year, some plans sold in Orleans Parish are being discontinued, some are getting new names, and a handful of brand-new plans — including one from a carrier that has not sold here before — are joining the market.

Here is what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Landscape files show for Orleans Parish, and what a current member should do about it before the Dec. 7 deadline.

What's changing in Orleans Parish for 2027

New Orleans sits in Orleans Parish, and Medicare Advantage availability is set at the parish (county) level. According to CMS's 2026 and 2027 Landscape Source Files for the parish:

• 10 plans are leaving after 2026.
• 12 plans are new for 2027.
• 11 plans are being renamed (same plan, new name).
• 17 more plans continuing into 2027 have a change on file — meaning a difference in premium, deductible, plan type or name. CMS's file flags that a change exists; the specifics belong in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).
• 44 plans are continuing without one of those flagged changes.

The full plan-by-plan table appears below this article.

Plans that will not be offered in 2027

If you are enrolled in one of these Orleans Parish plans, your carrier should have mailed you a non-renewal notice. The plans leaving after 2026 are:

• Aetna Medicare Dual Care (PPO D-SNP) — Aetna (CVS Health)
• Blue adVantage Giveback (HMO-POS) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
• Wellcare Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP) — Centene (WellCare)
• Wellcare Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP) — Centene (WellCare)
• Healthy Blue Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — Elevance Health (Anthem)
• Peoples Health Choices (PPO) — UnitedHealthcare
• Peoples Health Dual Complete LA-S5 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — UnitedHealthcare
• Peoples Health Patriot (PPO) — UnitedHealthcare
• Peoples Health Secure Complete (HMO-POS D-SNP) — UnitedHealthcare
• Peoples Health Secure Health (HMO-POS D-SNP) — UnitedHealthcare

If you do nothing, you will not automatically stay in Original Medicare with the same drug coverage — some carriers "crosswalk" members to another plan, and others do not. Read the letter carefully.

Plans new for 2027

Twelve plans are showing up in the parish for the first time next year. One carrier, Lagniappe Advantage, is new to Orleans Parish. The new plans are:

• American Health Advantage of Louisiana Choice (HMO I-SNP)
• Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 020 LA (PPO C-SNP)
• DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 028 LA (PPO)
• DEVOTED DUAL CHOICE QMB 025 LA (PPO D-SNP)
• Humana Value Plus H7617-081 (PPO)
• Lagniappe Advantage (PPO I-SNP)
• Peoples Health Complete Care Support (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• Peoples Health Dual Complete LA-S5 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• Peoples Health Secure Complete (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• Peoples Health Secure Health (HMO-POS D-SNP)

A few Peoples Health names appear on both the "leaving" and "new" lists. That usually reflects a filing change at CMS — a new contract or plan ID with a familiar name. Treat those as new plans and compare their ANOC or Summary of Benefits.

Plans that were renamed

Same plan, different name on the card. In Orleans Parish these are:

• Aetna Medicare Partial Dual Care (HMO D-SNP) — was Aetna Medicare Dual Care (HMO D-SNP)
• Aetna Medicare QMB Only Care (HMO D-SNP) — was Aetna Medicare Dual Extra Care (HMO D-SNP)
• Aetna Medicare Signature Extra Care (HMO) — was Aetna Medicare Signature Care (HMO)
• Aetna Medicare Signature Extra Plus (PPO) — was Aetna Medicare Signature Plus (PPO)
• Wellcare Louisiana Connections Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was Wellcare Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE ENHANCED 013 LA (PPO C-SNP) — was DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE PREMIUM 013 LA (PPO C-SNP)
• Healthy Blue Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — was Healthy Blue Dual Advantage 2 (HMO D-SNP)
• Humana Dual QMB Only (HMO D-SNP) — was Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H1951-032 (HMO D-SNP)
• Humana Full Access (Regional PPO) — was Humana Full Access R0110-003 (Regional PPO)
• UHC Dual Complete LA-Q1 (PPO D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete LA-S001 (PPO D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete LA-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete LA-S003 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

A rename by itself doesn't change your coverage. But even a renamed plan can still have a benefit or cost change on file for 2027, so check the ANOC.

What to do — and by when

Two enrollment windows matter here:

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. Anyone with Medicare can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Changes take effect Jan. 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you get one chance during this window to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a stand-alone Part D plan).
• Special Enrollment Period for a non-renewed plan. If your plan is on the "leaving" list above, you qualify for an SEP that runs from Dec. 8 through the end of February to pick a new Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.

A practical checklist:

1. Read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) that arrived in September. 2. Check that your doctors, hospitals and regular prescriptions are still covered under the plan you'd have next year. 3. If you take costly drugs, remember the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for 2026, the maximum Part D deductible is $615, and the coverage gap is gone (three phases). The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments if that helps your budget. 4. Higher-income filers should keep IRMAA in mind — surcharges begin above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026. 5. Compare plans at medicare.gov/plan-compare using your ZIP code and drug list.