Medicare Advantage

Before AEP Opens, Check Your Minneapolis Mail

People in Minneapolis can choose from 22 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 32 this year. 13 of this year's plans are gone, 6 are new to Hennepin County, and 6 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 3 of them under a new name.

Medicare AdvantageMinneapolis, MN

MINNEAPOLIS — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in Minneapolis, this fall's mail is worth opening carefully. According to the 2027 Medicare Advantage Landscape files from CMS, 13 plans currently sold in Hennepin County will not return next year, six new plans are being added, and three are keeping the same coverage under a new name. That means a sizable share of Minneapolis members will see something different when the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15.

Minneapolis is in Hennepin County, and Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. Everything below reflects the Hennepin County landscape.

What's leaving after 2026

Thirteen plans available in Hennepin County this year will not be offered in 2027. They span four carriers:

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota: Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Choice (PPO), Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Comfort (PPO), Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Complete (PPO), and Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Core (PPO).
• HealthPartners: HealthPartners Journey Pace (PPO), HealthPartners Journey Smart (PPO), HealthPartners Journey Steady (PPO), and HealthPartners Journey Stride (PPO).
• Medica: Medica Advantage Solution H6154-001 (HMO-POS), Medica Advantage Solution H8889-001 (PPO), Medica Advantage Solution H8889-003 (PPO), and Medica Advantage Solution H8889-005 (PPO).
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC MN-0005 (PPO).

If you are in one of these plans, your carrier is required to send you a written non-renewal notice this fall. Read it — it explains that your coverage ends December 31, 2026, and what your options are.

What's new for 2027

Six plans are new to Hennepin County for 2027:

• Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Essential (PPO) from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
• HealthPartners Journey Pace (PPO) and HealthPartners Journey Smart (PPO) from HealthPartners. (These share names with plans being retired; they are filed as new plans in CMS data, so the plan details will be in the new plan's materials.)
• Medica Advantage Preferred (PPO), Medica Advantage Select (PPO), and Medica Advantage Value (PPO) from Medica.

The table below lists every Medicare Advantage plan available in Hennepin County for 2026 by carrier, so you can see the full field.

Renamed, but not new

Three plans in Hennepin County are the same coverage under a new name for 2027:

• Allina Health Aetna Medicare Premier (PPO) was Allina Health Aetna Medicare Grand (PPO).
• Allina Health Aetna Medicare Premier Extra (PPO) was Allina Health Aetna Medicare Grand Extra (PPO).
• Medica Advantage Salute (PPO) was Medica Advantage Solution H8889-009 (PPO).

If you are in one of these, you don't need to do anything to stay enrolled — but the new name is what you'll see on ID cards and in enrollment tools.

Plans with other changes

CMS's file also flags six plans as changing on premium, deductible, plan type or name. We can't say what changed or by how much — that's in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which arrives by the end of September. The ANOC compares your current coverage to next year's, page by page. It is the single most important piece of Medicare mail you get all year.

What to do if your plan is leaving

You have two enrollment windows, and it helps to know which one applies to you.

• Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7): Anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Coverage starts January 1.
• Special Enrollment Period for non-renewal: If your plan is not being offered in 2027, you qualify for an SEP that runs through the end of February 2027. You can use it to join a different Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan, or to return to Original Medicare and add a Part D plan.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (Jan. 1 – March 31): If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you can make one change during this window.

If you do nothing and your current plan is leaving, most carriers will not automatically move you to a specific replacement — you could end up in Original Medicare without drug coverage, which can lead to a late-enrollment penalty later. That's why the mail matters.

A few program facts worth knowing

These apply nationwide and may affect how you compare plans:

• Part D has an out-of-pocket cap of $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs over the year in monthly amounts, at no extra cost. You have to opt in.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.