Medicare Advantage

Traverse City Medicare 2027: Plan Choices in MI

Medicare in Traverse City: how to sort through plan options available in Grand Traverse County for 2027.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — If you are turning 65 or reviewing your coverage this fall, you have a lot to look at. Traverse City is in Grand Traverse County, where 54 Medicare Advantage plans were available for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Plan Finder and Landscape data. The 2027 lineup is detailed in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. That is a wide field of choices for the roughly 21,109 residents age 65 and older who live in the county.

More choices can be a good thing, but it also means more homework. This article walks through what those numbers mean, what is changing in Medicare for 2027, and where to get free, unbiased help before you enroll.

What the local numbers actually mean

Medicare plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level. So when you shop from a Traverse City ZIP code, you are really shopping the Grand Traverse County menu. For 2026, that menu included:

• 54 Medicare Advantage plans (most of which include prescription drug coverage).
• 9 carriers offering Medicare Advantage with drug coverage in the area.
• 0 stand-alone Part D plans shown separately in the county landscape file — a reminder that if you want Original Medicare plus a drug plan here, you will need to look carefully on Medicare.gov for Part D options that serve your ZIP code.

These are simply counts of what is offered. They do not tell you which plan fits your doctors, medications, or budget.

A quick refresher on the parts of Medicare

• Part A covers hospital stays and is premium-free for most people.
• Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care and has a monthly premium.
• Part C (Medicare Advantage) is an all-in-one alternative to Original Medicare, offered by private insurers under contract with Medicare.
• Part D covers prescription drugs, either as a stand-alone plan added to Original Medicare or built into a Medicare Advantage plan.
• Medigap (Medicare Supplement) helps pay some out-of-pocket costs left by Original Medicare.

You cannot have Medigap and Medicare Advantage at the same time, so the first big decision is usually Original Medicare (with a Medigap and Part D) versus Medicare Advantage.

What is new for 2027

A few program-level changes are worth knowing before you compare anything:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your covered drug spending reaches that amount, you pay $0 for the rest of the calendar year on covered Part D drugs.
• The Part D deductible cannot exceed $615 in 2026 or $700 in 2027.
• The coverage gap (“donut hole”) is gone. Since 2025, Part D has just three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your yearly drug costs over monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. It is optional and free to opt into.
• IRMAA surcharges (higher Part B and Part D premiums for higher-income enrollees) begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

About Star Ratings in the local market

CMS publishes Star Ratings each year to give a general sense of how contracts perform on things like customer service and preventive care. In the current data set for the Grand Traverse County area, no contracts are rated 4 stars or higher. That does not mean plans here are unsafe or that you should avoid them — it means ratings are one data point among many. Your network, your drugs, and your total costs matter just as much.

The dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15 – Dec. 7. This is when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Changes start Jan. 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.
• Initial Enrollment Period. If you are new to Medicare, you have a 7-month window around your 65th birthday to sign up.

How to compare 54 plans without losing your weekend

With this many options in Grand Traverse County, a step-by-step approach helps:

1. Make a list of your doctors, preferred hospitals (including Munson Healthcare facilities if you use them), and every prescription with its dose. 2. Use Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder. Enter your ZIP code and your drug list to see personalized results. 3. Check the network for any Medicare Advantage plan before enrolling. Networks change year to year. 4. Look at total cost, not just the premium — deductibles, copays, and out-of-pocket maximums matter. 5. Ask for help. In Michigan, the free State Health Insurance Assistance Program is called MMAP (Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program) and can be reached at 1-800-803-7174.