Medicare Advantage

Before you renew: 5 checks for St. Paul 2027 plans

For 2027, St. Paul is looking at 27 Medicare Advantage plans: 8 new, 18 gone since 2026, and 9 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 3 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Ramsey County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Fall 2026 — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in St. Paul, this is the stretch of the year when it pays to slow down and compare. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and whatever you pick (or keep) takes effect January 1, 2027. Ramsey County, where St. Paul sits, has a new 2027 lineup from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and some plans look different than they did a year ago.

This guide walks you through how to compare the 2027 plans — doctors, hospitals, prescriptions, pharmacies, your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), and the Medicare Plan Finder — without steering you toward any one plan.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in St. Paul for 2027?

St. Paul is in Ramsey County, where 27 Medicare Advantage plans from 6 carriers are offered for 2027, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. By plan type, that's 3 HMO plans and 24 PPO plans. 23 of the 27 include drug coverage.

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are also part of the Ramsey County lineup: 3 Dual-Eligible SNPs (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, and 4 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) for people with certain long-term health conditions. There are no Institutional SNPs offered in the county for 2027.

The six carriers in Ramsey County for 2027, in alphabetical order:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 8 plans (PPO)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota: 4 plans (PPO)
• Blue Plus: 1 plan (HMO), including 1 D-SNP
• HealthPartners: 3 plans (HMO, PPO), including 1 D-SNP
• Medica: 5 plans (HMO, PPO), including 1 D-SNP
• UnitedHealthcare: 6 plans (PPO)

The full table of plans is below this article.

What is new or changing in Ramsey County for 2027?

For 2027, Ramsey County has 8 new Medicare Advantage plans, 18 plans that are not returning, and 3 renamed plans. If your plan is renamed, it is still the same contract — but the ANOC will spell out any benefit or cost changes.

If your current plan is not returning next year, you'll get a non-renewal notice from the carrier, and you'll have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan. You do not have to wait until December 7 if you've already received that letter.

Two program-level numbers are also moving for 2027: the Part D out-of-pocket cap goes to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible goes to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium, deductible and IRMAA brackets have not been announced yet; CMS usually publishes them in the fall.

How do I compare Medicare Advantage plans in St. Paul step by step?

Here is a simple order to work through. Each step uses free, official tools.

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). Your current plan mailed it in late September. It compares your 2026 plan to the 2027 version — premium, deductible, copays, drug tier changes, extra benefits, and network changes. Flag anything you don't like; that becomes your shopping list.

2. List your doctors, hospitals and clinics. Write down every provider you want to keep seeing, including specialists. For an HMO, they generally need to be in-network. For a PPO, out-of-network care is usually allowed at a higher cost. In the Twin Cities, many people care specifically about which hospital systems and clinics are in-network — check this directly in each plan's provider directory, not from memory.

3. List your prescriptions, exactly. Write down the drug name, dose and how often you take it. Drug formularies change every year, so a drug that was Tier 2 in 2026 may land on a different tier in 2027.

4. Check your pharmacy. Plans have preferred pharmacies where your cost share is usually lower. If you use a specific neighborhood pharmacy or a mail-order service, confirm it's in that plan's preferred network for 2027.

5. Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code, add your drugs and your pharmacies, and the tool will show every Ramsey County plan side by side — monthly premium, deductible, drug costs, max out-of-pocket, and star rating. You can sign in with your Medicare account to save your drug list.

6. Call to confirm. Before enrolling, call the plan to confirm your doctors and drugs. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (available 24/7) for help comparing.

What happens if I do nothing by December 7 in St. Paul?

If you do nothing and your plan is still offered in 2027, you stay in it — with the ANOC changes. That is a valid choice, as long as you've actually read the ANOC and the plan still fits.

If your plan is one of the 18 not returning in Ramsey County, you need to act. You'll either pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare (with or without a stand-alone Part D plan). If you miss December 7, there is still the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, 2027, when you can switch MA plans or drop MA and return to Original Medicare once.

What should I look at besides monthly premium?

Premium is only one piece. When you compare 2027 plans in St. Paul, also look at:

• Deductible and copays for primary care, specialists, and hospital stays.
• Maximum out-of-pocket for the year — this is your worst-case medical spending.
• Drug coverage phases. In 2027, once your out-of-pocket drug spending hits $2,400, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread those drug costs across monthly payments if you want.
• Extra benefits like dental, vision, hearing, fitness and over-the-counter allowances. These vary a lot and change year to year.
• Star Ratings. CMS rates plans 1 to 5 stars based on quality and member experience. Ratings are a signal, not a verdict.