Medicare Advantage

Before You Renew: Boston's 2027 Medicare Advantage Shifts

For 2027, Boston is looking at 50 Medicare Advantage plans: 12 new, 14 gone since 2026, and 24 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 3 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Suffolk County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

BOSTON — As the Annual Enrollment Period opens Oct. 15, 2026, the Medicare Advantage lineup available to people on Medicare in Boston is shifting in both directions. Suffolk County, which covers Boston, will see 12 Medicare Advantage plans join the market for 2027 and 14 plans leave it, with three more renamed from their 2026 titles. The window to choose a plan for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2027 runs through Dec. 7, 2026.

How the Boston-area market looks going into 2027

Medicare Advantage plan availability is set by county, not by city. Boston sits in Suffolk County, where the 2026 CMS landscape lists 52 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers. By plan type, that breaks out to 31 HMO plans, five HMO-POS plans and 16 PPO plans. Sixteen of the plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), designed for people with specific conditions or who have both Medicare and Medicaid. All 52 include prescription drug coverage.

The carriers offering plans in Suffolk County this year are Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Commonwealth Care Alliance Massachusetts, Commonwealth Care Alliance, Inc., eternalHealth, Fallon Health, Humana, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of Massachusetts, Tufts Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare. The table on this page lists every plan by carrier and type.

What's new for 2027

Comparing the 2026 and 2027 CMS landscape files, 12 Medicare Advantage plans are new to Suffolk County for 2027. They come from five carriers:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts: Medicare HMO Blue FlexRx (HMO-POS), Medicare HMO Blue ValueRx (HMO), Medicare PPO Blue ValueRx (PPO)
• Fallon Health: Fallon Medicare Plus Blue (HMO), Fallon Medicare Plus Green (HMO), Fallon Medicare Plus Orange (HMO), NaviCare (HMO D-SNP)
• Mass General Brigham Health Plan: Mass General Brigham Advantage Core (HMO-POS), Mass General Brigham Advantage Plus (HMO-POS)
• Tufts Health Plan: Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO Smart Saver Rx (HMO), Tufts Medicare Preferred PPO RX (PPO)
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx MA-MA2 (HMO-POS)

A note worth flagging: several plan names on the "new" list match names on the "leaving" list. That is because a carrier can retire a plan ID and introduce a new one using a similar or identical name. For enrollment purposes, CMS treats these as different plans, and your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) will tell you which bucket your 2026 plan falls into.

What's not returning in 2027

Fourteen Medicare Advantage plans available in Suffolk County in 2026 are not being offered for 2027:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts: Medicare HMO Blue FlexRx (HMO-POS), Medicare HMO Blue ValueRx (HMO), Medicare PPO Blue ValueRx (PPO)
• Fallon Health: Fallon Medicare Plus Blue (HMO), Fallon Medicare Plus Green (HMO), Fallon Medicare Plus Orange (HMO)
• Humana: Humana Direct Choice Giveback (PPO), Humana USAA Honor Giveback (PPO), HumanaChoice H5216-249 (PPO)
• Mass General Brigham Health Plan: Mass General Brigham Advantage (PPO), Mass General Brigham Advantage Premier (PPO), Mass General Brigham Advantage Signature (PPO)
• Tufts Health Plan: Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO Smart Saver Rx (HMO), Tufts Medicare Preferred PPO RX (PPO)

If your current plan is on this list, your carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice. You then qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that runs from Dec. 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027, giving you time beyond the regular Dec. 7 deadline to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or move back to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D plan.

Plans with new names

Three plans are continuing but under a new name for 2027:

• Fallon Health's NaviCare (HMO D-SNP) is being renamed NaviCare NHC (HMO D-SNP).
• UnitedHealthcare's UHC One Care MA-Y4 (HMO D-SNP) is being renamed UHC One Care MA-YL (HMO D-SNP).
• UnitedHealthcare's UHC Senior Care Options NHC MA-Y002 (HMO D-SNP) is being renamed UHC Senior Care Options MA-YL (HMO D-SNP).

A rename alone does not require you to re-enroll, but it can be a signal that other details of the plan have been updated. Your ANOC is where to confirm.

The plan types, briefly

The lineup in Suffolk County mixes four structures, and the difference matters when you compare plans:

• HMO plans generally require you to use the plan's network and pick a primary care doctor. Thirty-one of the 52 Suffolk County plans are HMOs.
• HMO-POS plans are HMOs with a "point of service" option that lets you go outside the network for certain services, usually at a higher cost. Suffolk County has five.
• PPO plans let you see out-of-network providers, typically at a higher cost share. Suffolk County has 16.
• Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are built for specific groups — most of the 16 Suffolk County SNPs are dual-eligible plans (D-SNPs) for people on both Medicare and Medicaid, and some are Senior Care Options or One Care integrated plans designed for Massachusetts' dual-eligible programs.

What is confirmed for 2027, and what isn't

Some figures that affect every Medicare drug plan next year are already set. CMS has confirmed the Part D out-of-pocket cap will rise to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible will be $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The Part D national base beneficiary premium — a formula input, not what any individual plan charges — is $41.33 for 2027.

The 2027 standard Part B premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets for higher earners, have not yet been published; CMS typically announces them in November. The 2026 IRMAA surcharges, for reference, begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

What to do between now and Dec. 7

Three things worth doing this fall, in order:

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change. It arrives by late September and explains, in plain language, what is changing about your current plan — including whether it is being discontinued. 2. Check the Medicare Plan Finder. Enter your ZIP code and your medications at medicare.gov/plan-compare to see every 2027 plan available in Suffolk County, with the specific premiums, deductibles, cost shares and star ratings this article cannot name. 3. If your plan is leaving, don't panic. You will keep Original Medicare coverage automatically, and your Special Enrollment Period gives you until the end of February 2027 to choose a replacement Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.