Medicare Advantage

Wellcare Medicare Advantage in Missouri for 2027: 6 Plans, County by County

JEFFERSON CITY — For the 2027 plan year, Wellcare — which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services groups under Centene (WellCare) — will offer 6 Medicare Advantage plans across Missouri, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for CY2027. Because Medicare Advantage is sold county by county, the plans listed statewide are not necessarily all available where any one Missouri reader lives. This explainer is published by an independent Medicare education site; we are not the government, not affiliated with it, and not affiliated with Wellcare or any other insurance carrier.

How many Wellcare Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Missouri for 2027?

Wellcare lists 6 Medicare Advantage plans in Missouri for 2027: 3 HMO-POS plans and 3 PPO plans. Of those six, 5 include Part D prescription drug coverage, and 3 are Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. The Wellcare list for 2027 has no Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) and no Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs).

For context, CMS counts 11 other Medicare Advantage carriers offering plans somewhere in Missouri for 2027, and 174 Medicare Advantage plans across all carriers in the state. Wellcare is one piece of that larger statewide picture. The six Wellcare plans are shown in the table on this page, with plan type, drug coverage status and county reach for each.

Which Wellcare plans have the widest county reach in Missouri for 2027?

In Missouri for 2027, Wellcare's widest county reach belongs to its PPO plans. Wellcare Home State Health Dual Access Open (PPO D-SNP), Wellcare Patriot Giveback Open (PPO) and Wellcare Simple Open (PPO) are each listed in 58 Missouri counties. The remaining three — Wellcare Home State Health Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP), Wellcare Home State Health Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP) and Wellcare Simple (HMO-POS) — are each listed in 49 counties.

Those county counts come from the CMS Landscape file and describe where a plan is offered, not how it works. The table on this page shows the full county-reach figures side by side. Even a plan with a wide statewide footprint may not be offered in a specific Missouri county, which is why the next step is always a county-level check on Medicare.gov.

What is new or not returning from Wellcare in Missouri for 2027?

For Missouri in 2027, Wellcare is adding 0 new Medicare Advantage plans and has 1 plan that is not returning from 2026. The CMS files also show that four of this year's Wellcare plans have been renamed: the previous "Wellcare Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP)," "Wellcare Dual Access Open (PPO D-SNP)," "Wellcare Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP)" and the related Dual plan names are now listed under the "Home State Health" branding shown in the plan table on this page.

A rename does not by itself mean a plan is new, and a non-returning plan does not mean a member loses Medicare. If a 2026 Wellcare plan is not continuing into 2027, affected members should receive an Annual Notice of Change or non-renewal letter from the plan explaining their options during the Annual Enrollment Period.

How do I check whether a Wellcare plan is offered in my Missouri county and covers my doctors and prescriptions?

To check whether a specific Wellcare plan is offered in your Missouri county for 2027 — and whether it covers your doctors and prescriptions — use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or read the plan's own Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories. These are the only sources that show county-level availability, in-network providers, formularies and cost-sharing for an individual plan.

A good step-by-step: enter your ZIP code and county on Medicare.gov, add your prescriptions and preferred pharmacies, and then look at each Wellcare plan the tool returns for your county. Compare those results against your current doctors and any specialists you see. If something is unclear, 1-800-MEDICARE can walk through the same screens with you.

What should Missouri Medicare beneficiaries do before December 7, 2026?

Before December 7, 2026, Missouri Medicare beneficiaries should review their current coverage against the 2027 options and make any change they want to take effect January 1, 2027. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 – December 7, 2026; coverage chosen during that window starts on New Year's Day.

A simple checklist: read the Annual Notice of Change your current plan sent, list your doctors and prescriptions, and then look at the 2027 Medicare Advantage choices in your county on Medicare.gov — including the Wellcare plans in the table on this page if any are offered where you live. People who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid should pay particular attention to the D-SNP options, since three of Wellcare's six Missouri plans for 2027 fall in that category.

Where can Missourians get free help comparing Medicare Advantage plans for 2027?

Missourians can get free, year-round help comparing Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 directly from Medicare: visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Medicare Plan Finder is the official county-level tool and shows every plan available in a given ZIP code, including the Wellcare plans listed in the CMS Landscape files.

For questions about Social Security retirement timing or Medicare premium withholding, the Social Security Administration at ssa.gov is the official source. Keep in mind that plan-specific details — premiums, cost-sharing, networks, formularies and star ratings — change each year and should be confirmed on Medicare.gov or in the plan's own documents, not from a summary like this one.