Medicare Advantage

Aetna's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in Minneapolis: two plan names change, nothing drops

MINNEAPOLIS — Fall 2026. If you have an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan in Minneapolis, this is the stretch of the year to open the envelope from your insurer and compare what you have now against what will be on offer January 1. Aetna, which CMS lists as Aetna (CVS Health), is returning to Hennepin County for 2027 with eight Medicare Advantage plans — the same count as 2026 — but two of those plans are coming back under new names. No Aetna plans are leaving the county, and none are brand new.

We are an independent consumer site, not Aetna, and Aetna is one of several carriers selling Medicare Advantage in Hennepin County. The full table of Aetna's 2027 plans sits below this article.

What Aetna is offering in Hennepin County for 2027

Minneapolis is in Hennepin County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. For 2027, Aetna's lineup in the county is eight plans, every one of them a PPO, and every one of them includes Part D drug coverage. Two of the eight are Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans. There are no HMO plans, no Dual-Eligible SNPs and no Institutional SNPs from Aetna here.

In alphabetical order, Aetna's 2027 plans are: Allina Health Aetna Medicare Chronic (PPO C-SNP), Allina Health Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO), Allina Health Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO), Allina Health Aetna Medicare Premier (PPO), Allina Health Aetna Medicare Premier Extra (PPO), Allina Health Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO), Allina Health Aetna Medicare Signature Fit (PPO), and Allina Health Aetna Medicare Value (PPO C-SNP). The table below lists every plan.

What's new, what's renamed, what's not returning

Short version: nothing is leaving and nothing is new. The change to watch is the renames.

• Renamed for 2027: Allina Health Aetna Medicare Premier (PPO) — this was Allina Health Aetna Medicare Grand (PPO) in 2026. Allina Health Aetna Medicare Premier Extra (PPO) — this was Allina Health Aetna Medicare Grand Extra (PPO) in 2026.
• Not returning: none.
• New for 2027: none.

A rename does not necessarily mean the plan is identical to the old one, and it does not necessarily mean it is different. The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) that your plan sends in September is the document that tells you exactly what changed — premium, drug tiers, provider network, extras, cost shares. If you have the former "Grand" or "Grand Extra," read the ANOC carefully so the new name does not catch you off guard at the pharmacy counter in January.

A quick word on the two Special Needs Plans

Two of Aetna's eight plans in the county — Allina Health Aetna Medicare Chronic (PPO C-SNP) and Allina Health Aetna Medicare Value (PPO C-SNP) — are Chronic Condition SNPs. C-SNPs are only open to people who have a qualifying chronic condition that the plan is built around (for example, diabetes or certain heart or lung conditions). If you do not have the qualifying condition, you cannot enroll in that plan, even if it is available in your ZIP code. If you do, a SNP may line up more tightly with the specialists and medications you already use. The plan's Evidence of Coverage lists which conditions qualify.

How to check a plan against your doctors and prescriptions before December 7

This is the part that matters most, and it only takes an afternoon. Before you decide whether to keep your current Aetna plan, switch to a different Aetna plan, or look at a plan from a different carrier, run the three checks every year:

1. Your doctors and hospitals. Pull up the plan's online provider directory, or call the plan, and confirm each doctor and facility you use is in-network for 2027 (not 2026). Networks can change at the plan year boundary. Allina Health Aetna plans are co-branded with Allina Health; confirm each provider you see is in the specific plan's network. 2. Your prescriptions. Enter every drug you take into the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. You will see each plan's 2027 formulary tier, pharmacy pricing and any restrictions (prior authorization, step therapy, quantity limits). 3. The ANOC your plan already sent you. This is the single document that tells you what is changing about the plan you already have.

The Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare lets you compare up to three plans side by side on your drugs, your pharmacies and total estimated yearly cost. If you would rather do it by phone, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24/7.

The dates and the program-level numbers

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7, 2026. A change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31, 2027. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1 and change your mind, this is a second window to switch MA plans or return to Original Medicare.
• Doing nothing is a choice. If your plan is offered again next year — all eight Aetna plans in Hennepin County are — it renews automatically with its 2027 terms.
• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026, rising to $2,400 in 2027.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026, rising to $700 in 2027. (Plans may set a lower deductible, or none, on some tiers.)
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. You can ask any Part D plan to spread your yearly drug costs into level monthly payments instead of paying at the counter.
• 2027 Part B premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets: CMS has not announced these yet. They are typically published in the fall, usually November. Do not act on estimates.

Other carriers in the county

Aetna is one of six carriers offering Medicare Advantage in Hennepin County for 2027; together they offer 25 plans. Nothing in this article is a recommendation to pick Aetna over another carrier or one Aetna plan over another — that depends on your doctors, your drugs, and your budget. The Plan Finder is where the comparison actually happens.