Medicare Advantage

Before December 7: how to weigh St. Louis plan choices

St. Louis city has 80 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 10 plans are not coming back, 11 are new, and 41 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 17 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for St. Louis, not which plan to pick.

ST. LOUIS — Fall 2026 is when Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period lands in mailboxes across the city, and the window to pick 2027 coverage runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026. In St. Louis city, the county St. Louis sits in, the CMS Landscape file shows 80 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers for 2027 — a lineup with some turnover worth checking before you decide to stay put or switch.

If you do nothing, your current plan renews for 2027 as long as it is still offered, with whatever changes are spelled out in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). That is why comparing — even for 10 minutes — matters this fall.

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

For 2027, St. Louis city has 80 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers, according to the CMS Landscape Source File. By type, that breaks down to 35 HMO plans, 19 HMO-POS plans, 25 PPO plans, and 1 PFFS plan. Of the 80, 73 include Part D drug coverage built in.

Medicare plan availability is set at the county level, so the counts above apply to everyone with a St. Louis city address — but which plans actually fit your doctors, drugs and pharmacy is personal, and that is what the comparison steps below are for.

The full roster for 2027 appears in the table below. The 11 carriers are: Aetna (CVS Health), American Health Advantage of Missouri, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Essence Healthcare, HealthSpring, Humana, NHC Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, and UnitedHealthcare.

What is new or different in the 2027 St. Louis lineup?

For 2027, St. Louis city sees 11 new Medicare Advantage plans added and 10 plans not returning, based on CMS's year-over-year Landscape files. Some plan names have also been updated — a renamed plan is not necessarily the same plan, so if yours looks slightly different in your mail, read the ANOC carefully to see what actually changed.

If your current plan is on the "not returning" list, you will get a non-renewal notice from your insurer and a Special Enrollment Period to choose a replacement. If your plan is renewing, your ANOC — which arrives by late September — lists every change to premiums, cost sharing, drug tiers, networks and extra benefits for 2027.

What plan types and Special Needs Plans are offered in St. Louis for 2027?

St. Louis city's 2027 lineup includes HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and PFFS plans, plus 35 Special Needs Plans (SNPs) for people who qualify. The SNP mix is 19 D-SNPs (for people with both Medicare and Medicaid), 7 C-SNPs (for people with certain chronic conditions like diabetes or heart conditions), and 9 I-SNPs (for people living in a nursing home or needing that level of care).

A quick refresher on the plan types:

• HMO uses an in-network provider list and usually a primary care doctor who coordinates referrals.
• HMO-POS is an HMO that lets you go out of network for some services, usually at a higher cost.
• PPO lets you see in- and out-of-network providers, with lower cost sharing in network.
• PFFS pays providers a set rate; providers choose whether to accept the plan each visit.

If you think you may qualify for a D-SNP, C-SNP or I-SNP, Plan Finder lets you filter for those, and 1-800-MEDICARE can confirm your eligibility.

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

Use the same five checks on every plan you consider; this is where the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov does the heavy lifting.

1) Read your Annual Notice of Change first. Your current plan's ANOC shows what is changing for 2027 — premium, deductible, copays, drug tiers, pharmacy network, extra benefits. If you are happy with the changes, you may not need to shop at all.

2) Check your doctors and hospitals. On Plan Finder, open each plan's provider directory, or call the plan directly, and confirm the specific doctors, specialists and hospitals you use are in network for 2027. Networks can change on January 1.

3) Enter your prescriptions. Plug every drug, dose and quantity into Plan Finder. The tool shows each plan's formulary tier for your drugs, your estimated yearly drug cost, and any coverage rules (prior authorization, step therapy, quantity limits).

4) Pick your pharmacy. The same drug can cost different amounts at different pharmacies in the same plan — "preferred" pharmacies usually mean lower cost sharing. Plan Finder lets you set your pharmacy so the estimates reflect where you actually fill prescriptions.

5) Compare total yearly cost, not just the premium. Add premium, deductible, expected copays and drug costs together. For 2027, the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026) and the Part D maximum deductible is $700 (up from $615 in 2026) — those program-level numbers apply across plans.

What should I know about the December 7, 2026 deadline?

December 7, 2026 is the last day to pick a 2027 Medicare Advantage or Part D plan during the Annual Enrollment Period, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027. If you miss the window, you generally wait until the next AEP — with two exceptions worth knowing.

Medicare Advantage members get a second window, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, 2027, to switch to a different MA plan or go back to Original Medicare once. Special Enrollment Periods also exist for specific life events (a move, loss of other coverage, a plan non-renewal, qualifying for Extra Help, and more).

CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible or the 2027 IRMAA income brackets; those usually post in November. Check medicare.gov once they are out so your total-cost math is based on final 2027 numbers.