Medicare Advantage

Did Your Kansas City ANOC Arrive? Here's What to Do

Jackson County has 65 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 11 plans are not coming back, 12 are new, and 36 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 16 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Kansas City, not which plan to pick.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Fall 2026. If you have a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, a thick envelope from your insurer has already landed in your mailbox. That is your Annual Notice of Change, and it is the single most important piece of mail you will get this season. It tells you what will be different about your plan on January 1, 2027 — and you have until December 7, 2026 to make a switch if you want one.

Here is a plain-language checklist built for Kansas City households, so you can work through the Annual Enrollment Period without guesswork.

Step 1: Read the Annual Notice of Change

Your ANOC is a side-by-side look at your plan this year versus next year. Pull it out and highlight four things:

• The monthly premium for 2027.
• The deductible and the copays or coinsurance for the services you use most.
• Any change to the drug list (the formulary) or the pharmacy network.
• Any change to extra benefits like dental, vision, hearing or over-the-counter allowances.

If anything there surprises you, that is your signal to compare. Nothing in the ANOC requires you to act — but it tells you whether staying put is still the right call.

Step 2: Check your doctors and hospitals for 2027

Networks change every year. Before December 7, confirm that the primary care doctor, specialists and hospital you use will still be in-network under your plan's 2027 contract.

Two ways to do it:

1. Call your doctor's billing office and ask, by name, which 2027 plans they will accept. "In-network with Humana" is not detailed enough — ask about the specific plan. 2. Check the plan's online provider directory for the 2027 plan year, not 2026.

Kansas City-area readers often use systems like Saint Luke's, Research, HCA Midwest and the University of Kansas Health System. Each hospital's contract can differ by plan, so check every provider that matters to you.

Step 3: Run your prescriptions through Plan Finder

The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare lets you type in your drugs, doses and preferred pharmacy, then see how each 2027 plan would cover them. This is the fastest way to catch a surprise — like a medication moving to a higher tier or needing prior authorization.

A few 2027 numbers to keep in mind as you compare:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap will be $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• The maximum Part D deductible will be $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available if you want to spread drug costs across the year in level monthly bills.

CMS has not yet released the 2027 Part B premium, Part B deductible or the IRMAA income brackets. Those usually come out in November — check medicare.gov when they do.

Step 4: Know what's on the shelf in Jackson County

Kansas City is in Jackson County, where CMS lists 64 Medicare Advantage plans from 9 carriers for the 2026 plan year. By plan type, that breaks down to 21 HMOs, 18 HMO-POS plans, 23 PPOs and 2 PFFS plans; 28 of the 64 are Special Needs Plans for people with specific conditions or Medicaid, and all 64 include drug coverage.

The nine carriers in Jackson County are Aetna (CVS Health), American Health Advantage of Missouri, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Humana, NHC Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan each carrier offers.

That is a lot to sift through — which is exactly why the checklist above matters more than the raw count. You are not shopping all 64; you are checking whether yours still fits, and whether one or two others fit better.

Step 5: Don't forget Original Medicare + Part D

If you are on Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan, this window is your chance to compare drug plans too. Your Part D plan sends its own ANOC. Run your prescriptions through Plan Finder the same way, and remember the 2027 cap and deductible figures above apply here as well.

If you have a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy, that is on a different track — Medigap is not part of the October-to-December window, and switching has its own rules.

Step 6: Mark the deadlines

• December 7, 2026 — last day to make a change for a January 1, 2027 start.
• January 1 – March 31, 2027 — Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1 and change your mind, you get one switch during this window (to another Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare with a Part D plan).

If you do nothing by Dec. 7, your current plan simply renews with the 2027 changes listed in its ANOC. No gap, no penalty — just make sure that renewed plan is one you actually want.