Medicare Advantage

Shopping Medicare in Blaine for 2027? Here's how wide the field really is

If you live in Blaine and you're getting ready to review your Medicare coverage for 2027, the first thing worth knowing is simple: you have a lot of choices to sift through, and they come from a handful of different insurance companies. Blaine sits in Anoka County, where Medicare Advantage plan availability is set at the county level by the federal government.

Medicare AdvantageBlaine, MN

Blaine, Minn. — Sorting through Medicare choices for 2027

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Plan Finder data for 2026, Anoka County had 37 Medicare Advantage plans available, offered by 6 carriers. The 2027 lineup is in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. The point of this article is to help you understand what those counts mean before you start comparing details.

What the plan counts actually mean

The 37 Medicare Advantage plans in Anoka County include different plan types — think HMOs, PPOs, and some special needs plans — spread across 6 insurance carriers. So while the total number sounds large, in practice you're really choosing among a smaller number of companies, each offering more than one option.

Blaine's 65-and-older population is about 57,229, which is why carriers pay attention to this market. But availability is set countywide, so a neighbor across the county line may see a different list.

Part D drug coverage looks a little different here

For 2026, Anoka County showed 0 stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans in the CMS data; the 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Stand-alone Part D plans are the ones you'd pair with Original Medicare (or with certain Medigap setups) if you wanted drug coverage on its own.

Because that count is zero locally, most Blaine residents who want prescription drug coverage will get it built into a Medicare Advantage plan (often called an "MA-PD"). If you have Original Medicare and want a stand-alone drug plan, call 1-800-MEDICARE or check medicare.gov to see what's currently listed for your ZIP code — availability can shift year to year.

Star Ratings in Anoka County

Medicare gives each plan contract a Star Rating from 1 to 5, based on things like customer service and member experience. For 2026, CMS data showed 0 contracts rated 4 stars or higher serving Anoka County; the 2027 ratings are on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. Star Ratings are one tool among many — not a substitute for checking whether your doctors, hospitals and medications are covered under a specific plan.

Dates to circle for 2027 coverage

Two windows matter most:

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026. This is when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.

A few numbers everyone on Medicare should know

These are program-level figures set by CMS and apply nationwide, not just in Blaine:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that amount, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027 (plans may set a lower one).
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA surcharges — the extra amount higher-income enrollees pay for Part B and Part D — start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

How to sort through 37 plans without losing your weekend

A few practical steps for Blaine residents:

1. Start with your doctors and hospitals. Check which plans include them in-network before you look at anything else. 2. Add your prescriptions. Enter your medications into medicare.gov's Plan Finder to see how each plan covers them. 3. Think about how you use care. If you travel often or split time between states, the plan type (HMO vs. PPO, for example) can matter more than the plan name. 4. Get free, unbiased help. Minnesota's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — called the Senior LinkAge Line in Minnesota — offers no-cost counseling at 1-800-333-2433.