Medicare Advantage

New Orleans's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup: who's in, who's out, who's new

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.

NEW ORLEANS — The 2027 Medicare Advantage picture for Orleans Parish is set, and it looks a little different than it did this year. One new carrier is coming in, ten plans will not be back, and a dozen plans are brand new for January. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, so the next few weeks are the time to look.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in New Orleans for 2027?

New Orleans is in Orleans Parish, where Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level. For plan year 2026, the parish had 65 Medicare Advantage plans from 8 carriers, split roughly between HMO, HMO-POS and PPO designs, with 30 of those plans built as Special Needs Plans for people with specific needs (dual eligibility, certain chronic conditions, or institutional care). All 65 included drug coverage.

For 2027, the carrier count rises by one as Lagniappe Advantage enters the parish. The eight returning carriers are Aetna (CVS Health), American Health Advantage of Louisiana, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan in the parish by carrier.

Which carriers are offering Medicare Advantage in Orleans Parish?

Every national name that was in New Orleans this year is coming back for 2027, and one new carrier is being added to the lineup. Here they are in alphabetical order, with the 2026 plan counts for context:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 13 plans (HMO and PPO, including 5 Special Needs Plans)
• American Health Advantage of Louisiana: 1 plan (an HMO Institutional SNP)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana: 7 plans (HMO-POS and PPO, including 1 SNP)
• Centene (WellCare): 7 plans (HMO-POS, including 3 SNPs)
• Devoted Health: 6 plans (PPO, including 4 SNPs)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 3 plans (HMO, all SNPs)
• Humana: 16 plans (HMO and PPO, including 6 SNPs)
• UnitedHealthcare: 12 plans (HMO-POS and PPO, including 7 SNPs), sold locally under the Peoples Health and UHC Dual Complete brand names
• Lagniappe Advantage: new to the parish in 2027

Which Medicare Advantage plans are new in New Orleans for 2027?

Twelve plans are new to Orleans Parish for 2027. In alphabetical order by carrier, they are:

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

A lot of these are Special Needs Plans — intended for people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, who have certain chronic conditions, or who live in an institutional setting. If you are not in one of those categories, a Special Needs Plan is not an option for you.

What happens if my Medicare Advantage plan is leaving New Orleans in 2027?

Ten Medicare Advantage plans will not be offered in Orleans Parish next year. If you are in one of them, your carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice, and you get a Special Enrollment Period from December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027 to join a different Medicare Advantage plan or move back to Original Medicare and pick up a stand-alone Part D plan. You will not lose Medicare — but you do need to make a choice, because the old plan simply won't exist on January 1.

The plans leaving Orleans Parish after 2026 are:

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

A note on the UnitedHealthcare list: three of those names — Peoples Health Dual Complete LA-S5, Peoples Health Secure Complete, and Peoples Health Secure Health — also appear as new plans for 2027. In CMS terms, the current contracts are ending and new contracts are starting under similar names. Even so, your 2026 plan is being discontinued, so read the Annual Notice of Change carefully to see whether the "new" plan is right for you.

Which Medicare Advantage plans in New Orleans were renamed for 2027?

Eleven plans in Orleans Parish are continuing into 2027 but under a different name. If you look for your plan by its old title and can't find it, that may be why. The renamed plans are:

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

Beyond the renames, another 17 plans are continuing with changes to things like premium, deductible, type or name, and 44 plans are continuing largely as-is. Your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which arrived in September, lists what is different about your own plan for 2027.

What should New Orleans Medicare shoppers know about the 2027 deadlines and drug cost rules?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan renews for 2027 — assuming it is being offered — with the changes described in the ANOC. There is also a Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, 2027 if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan and want to switch once.

A few program-level numbers to keep in mind:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and will be $2,400 in 2027.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 and will be $700 in 2027.
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") has been gone since 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs out over the year in monthly bills, instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced. CMS typically publishes them later in the fall.