Medicare Advantage

Enrolled in UnitedHealthcare in Baltimore? Read this first

Baltimore — Fall 2026. Open Enrollment for 2027 Medicare coverage runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and UnitedHealthcare is bringing three Medicare Advantage plans to Baltimore city next year — the same count it offered for 2026, with one plan carrying a renamed label. Every change takes effect January 1, 2027.

This guide walks through what UnitedHealthcare is offering in the county, what has shifted since last year, and how to check any plan against your own doctors and prescriptions before the December 7 deadline. MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent news site; we are not UnitedHealthcare, and seven other carriers also sell Medicare Advantage plans in Baltimore city for 2027.

How many UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Baltimore for 2027?

UnitedHealthcare is offering 3 Medicare Advantage plans in Baltimore city for the 2027 plan year — one HMO, one HMO-POS and one PPO. All three include Part D prescription drug coverage, and all three are Special Needs Plans.

Baltimore sits inside Baltimore city (which CMS treats as its own county-equivalent for Medicare plan availability). For context, seven other carriers also offer Medicare Advantage plans in Baltimore city for 2027, with 24 plans in total across all carriers. The table below lists every UnitedHealthcare plan available in the county.

What are UnitedHealthcare's Special Needs Plans in Baltimore city for 2027?

All 3 UnitedHealthcare plans in Baltimore city for 2027 are Special Needs Plans — 2 Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) and 1 Institutional Special Needs Plan (I-SNP). There are no Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) in the UnitedHealthcare lineup here.

Special Needs Plans are a type of Medicare Advantage plan limited to people who meet specific eligibility rules:

• D-SNPs are for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• I-SNPs are for people who live in a nursing home or need nursing-home-level care.
• C-SNPs are for people with certain qualifying chronic conditions.

UnitedHealthcare's 2027 D-SNPs in Baltimore city are UHC Dual Complete MD-Q001 (HMO D-SNP) and UHC Dual Complete MD-S002 (HMO D-SNP). Its I-SNP is UHC Nursing Home Plan EX-F004 (PPO I-SNP). If you are not eligible for Medicaid and do not live in a qualifying institutional setting, you cannot enroll in these plans — but Baltimore city has many other Medicare Advantage options from other carriers.

What is changing in UnitedHealthcare's Baltimore lineup for 2027?

For 2027, zero UnitedHealthcare plans are leaving Baltimore city, zero are new, and one has been renamed. The overall plan count stays at 3.

The renamed plan is UHC Dual Complete MD-Q001, which carried an "HMO-POS D-SNP" label for 2026 and appears as an "HMO D-SNP" plan name for 2027. A rename does not necessarily mean the plan looks the same inside — benefits, cost-sharing, pharmacy networks and provider networks can change at renewal. The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan sent in September 2026 lays out exactly what is different year over year.

If you do nothing during Open Enrollment and your current plan is being offered again next year, it renews automatically on January 1, 2027, with the changes described in that ANOC.

How do I check a UnitedHealthcare plan against my doctors and prescriptions before December 7?

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Both let you enter your prescriptions and preferred pharmacy and see how each plan treats them, and you can look up whether your doctors are in a given plan's network.

Here is a simple way to work through it before the December 7, 2026 deadline:

1. Read your plan's 2027 ANOC. It arrives by late September and lists every change for the coming year. 2. List your doctors, hospitals and regular prescriptions. Include dosage and how often you fill each one. 3. Run them through the Plan Finder on medicare.gov. You can compare any plan head-to-head. 4. Confirm with the plan directly. Call the number on the back of your member card, or check UnitedHealthcare's provider directory and formulary, to verify your doctors and drugs for 2027 specifically. 5. Make any change by December 7, 2026. New coverage starts January 1, 2027.

If you choose a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1 and want to switch, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 – March 31, 2027 and gives you one more chance to change plans or return to Original Medicare.

What should I know about 2027 Part D costs?

CMS has confirmed a few Part D figures for 2027 that apply across every Medicare drug plan, including the drug coverage inside UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Advantage plans:

• 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 reaches that amount, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Individual plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33. This is a formula input Medicare uses — not the premium any specific plan charges.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan remains available in 2027. It lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar 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 those figures later in the fall.