Medicare Advantage

Baltimore's 2027 Medicare Advantage map is shifting: three carriers out, one new in

Baltimore city has 24 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 9 plans are not coming back, 2 are new, and 9 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 1 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Baltimore, not which plan to pick.

BALTIMORE — Fall 2026. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in Baltimore, the lineup you'll see when you open Medicare Plan Finder this October looks different from last year's. Three carriers are pulling out of Baltimore city for 2027, one new carrier is coming in, and nine plans sold here in 2026 will not be back. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice you make in that window starts January 1, 2027.

What's changing in Baltimore for 2027

Baltimore sits in Baltimore city, and Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. For 2026, Baltimore city residents can choose from 31 Medicare Advantage plans offered by 10 carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. For 2027, CMS's updated file shows the county's roster reshuffling: 21 plans continue, 9 leave, 2 are new, 1 is renamed, and 8 continuing plans have at least one change to premium, deductible, plan type or name.

The headline change is at the carrier level. Communicare Advantage, Humana, and Provider Partners Health Plans will not offer Medicare Advantage plans in Baltimore city next year. In their place, Johns Hopkins Advantage MD joins the county with a new plan for 2027.

The plans leaving after 2026

Nine plans sold in Baltimore city in 2026 are not being offered for 2027:

• Alterwood Advantage Choice Plus (HMO) — Alterwood Advantage
• HealthSpring Alliance (HMO) — Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC)
• CommuniCare Advantage CSNP (HMO C-SNP) — Communicare Advantage
• CommuniCare Advantage ISNP (HMO I-SNP) — Communicare Advantage
• Humana Gold Plus H6622-081 (HMO) — Humana
• Humana USAA Honor Giveback (HMO) — Humana
• Provider Partners Maryland Advantage Plan (HMO I-SNP) — Provider Partners Health Plans
• Provider Partners Maryland Community Plan (HMO I-SNP) — Provider Partners Health Plans
• Provider Partners Maryland Essential Plan (HMO I-SNP) — Provider Partners Health Plans

If one of these is your plan, your insurer will mail you a non-renewal notice. You get a Special Enrollment Period that lets you pick another Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare (and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan) outside the usual windows. Most people in this situation have from the time they get the notice through the end of February 2027 to make the move, but acting during Annual Enrollment keeps your coverage seamless on January 1.

The plans new for 2027

Two plans are joining the Baltimore city lineup:

• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Advantage Signature (PPO) — CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Medicare Advantage
• Johns Hopkins Advantage MD BMORE Balanced (HMO D-SNP) — Johns Hopkins Advantage MD (a carrier new to the county)

One plan is being renamed: UHC Dual Complete MD-Q001, which was listed as an HMO-POS D-SNP in 2026, is listed as an HMO D-SNP for 2027.

The 2027 lineup by carrier and type

The remaining carriers continue to offer plans in Baltimore city for 2027, with the specific plan details — premiums, deductibles, networks, drug coverage and extras — spelled out in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and the 2027 Medicare Plan Finder. The table below lists every plan by carrier. Carriers continuing in the county next year include:

• Alterwood Advantage
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC)
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Advantage DualPrime
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Medicare Advantage
• Kaiser Permanente
• KeyCare Advantage
• UnitedHealthcare

Across the 2026 Baltimore city roster, HMOs are the most common plan type (25 of 31), followed by HMO-POS (3) and PPO (3). Seventeen plans are Special Needs Plans (D-SNP, C-SNP, or I-SNP), designed for people with specific situations such as dual Medicare-Medicaid eligibility, a chronic condition, or nursing-home-level care. All 31 plans include prescription drug coverage.

What's the same for every plan: the 2027 drug rules

A few things change for everyone with Part D coverage next year, no matter which plan you pick:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that cap, you pay $0 for the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan — the option to spread your drug costs over monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter — continues.
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") remains eliminated; Part D has three phases.

CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible or the 2027 IRMAA income brackets. Those are published later in the fall, usually in November. For 2026, IRMAA surcharges start above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

How to use the Annual Enrollment Period

You have from October 15 through December 7, 2026. During that window you can:

• Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan, or back.
• Switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.
• Join, drop or switch a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

A change made in this window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing and your current plan is still offered next year, it simply renews — but read the Annual Notice of Change your insurer mailed in September. That document spells out what, if anything, is different about your plan for 2027.

If you join a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1 and it isn't the right fit, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31, 2027) gives you one more chance to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.