Medicare Advantage

Blue Cross of Minnesota's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup in Minneapolis: 1 new plan, 4 not returning

Minneapolis — Fall 2026. If you have a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Medicare Advantage plan in Minneapolis, your 2027 lineup looks different than it did this year. For plan year 2027, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is offering 2 Medicare Advantage plans in Hennepin County, the county Minneapolis sits in. One of those plans is new for 2027, and 4 of the carrier's 2026 plans are not coming back.

That is the kind of change worth looking at before the Annual Enrollment Period closes on December 7, 2026. MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent consumer news site — we are not Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, and other carriers also sell Medicare Advantage plans in the county (5 other carriers, for 25 plans in total across Hennepin County in 2027).

Which Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Minneapolis for 2027?

In Hennepin County, the county that includes Minneapolis, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is offering 2 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Both are PPOs and both include Part D prescription drug coverage. The carrier is not offering any Special Needs Plans (D-SNP, C-SNP or I-SNP) in the county for 2027.

The two plans, listed alphabetically, are:

• Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Essential (PPO) — new for 2027
• Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Freedom Blue (PPO)

The full plan table on this page shows each plan's type and drug coverage. We cannot list premiums, copays, networks or star ratings here — those details come from the plan itself or from Medicare.gov.

What is new or not returning from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota in Hennepin County for 2027?

For 2027, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has 1 new Medicare Advantage plan in Hennepin County and 4 plans that are not returning. Nothing has been renamed.

In the 2026 plan year, the carrier offered 5 Medicare Advantage plans in Hennepin County: Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Choice (PPO), Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Comfort (PPO), Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Complete (PPO), Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Core (PPO), and Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Freedom Blue (PPO). For 2027, Freedom Blue continues and Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Essential (PPO) is new. The other four 2026 plans are not on the 2027 lineup in this county.

If one of those four is your current plan, you should have received — or will soon receive — an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) and a non-renewal notice from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. That notice spells out your options and your special enrollment rights.

What should I do if my 2026 Blue Cross plan is not returning in Minneapolis for 2027?

If your plan is being discontinued, you do not lose Medicare — but you do need to pick a new plan or you will return to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027, without Part D drug coverage. You have a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February 2027 to choose another Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan, but acting during the Annual Enrollment Period (through December 7, 2026) means your new coverage starts cleanly on January 1.

If you do nothing and your current plan is one of the two returning for 2027, it renews automatically with the changes described in your ANOC.

How do I check a plan against my doctors and prescriptions before December 7?

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Plan Finder lets you enter your prescriptions and your pharmacy and shows how each plan would cover them.

A short checklist for Minneapolis residents:

• Have your Medicare number and a current prescription list (name, dose, how often) in hand.
• Enter your ZIP code so Plan Finder shows plans available in Hennepin County.
• Check each plan's provider directory for your primary care doctor, specialists, and preferred hospital system — directories live on the carrier's own website.
• Check each plan's formulary (drug list) for every medication, including the tier and any prior authorization or step therapy requirements.
• Read the plan's Summary of Benefits and, if you want full detail, the Evidence of Coverage.

Networks and formularies can change from one plan year to the next, so a plan that worked for you in 2026 is worth re-checking for 2027.

What is changing for Medicare itself in 2027?

A few program-wide numbers are already set. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). The Part D maximum deductible a plan can charge rises to $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33 — that is a formula input CMS uses, not what any specific plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those in the fall, usually in November. The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") remains eliminated — Part D has three phases now — and the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available if you want to spread drug costs across the year.

When do I need to decide?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7, 2026. Any change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you are already on a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you also have the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 – March 31, 2027, to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare (with a Part D plan).