Medicare Advantage

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in Lincoln: a plan-by-plan look

LINCOLN, Neb. — Fall 2026. If you have a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska Medicare Advantage plan in Lincoln, this fall's mail is worth opening carefully. The carrier's 2027 lineup in Lancaster County looks different from 2026: two plans are new, and three of the plans sold this year are not coming back. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent news and education site. We are not Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, and we don't sell plans. Below is a plain look at what the carrier is offering in the county next year, how the mix has shifted, and how to check any plan against your own doctors and prescriptions before the deadline.

What Medicare Advantage plans is Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska offering in Lincoln for 2027?

For 2027, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska is offering 3 Medicare Advantage plans in Lancaster County, the county Lincoln sits in. By type, that is 1 HMO-POS plan and 2 PPO plans. All 3 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 table below lists every one of the carrier's 2027 plans by name. We can tell you what the plans are called and what type each one is; for premiums, copays, deductibles, provider networks, drug lists and star ratings, you'll want the plan's own documents or the Medicare Plan Finder.

What's new, and which plans aren't coming back in 2027?

Two of the carrier's three 2027 plans are new this year: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska MA Assure (HMO-POS) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska MA Protect (PPO). The returning plan is Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska MA Connect (PPO).

Three plans the carrier sold in Lancaster County in 2026 are not returning for 2027. If you're currently enrolled in a plan that is going away, the carrier is required to send you a notice explaining your options. You will have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a different plan, but it's smart not to wait on it — the regular Annual Enrollment deadline of December 7, 2026 is the simplest window to work in.

Every current member — whether your plan is returning or not — should get an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) in the fall. The ANOC spells out what changes next year on premiums, copays, drug tiers and extras.

Is Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska the only Medicare Advantage carrier in Lancaster County for 2027?

No. For 2027, Lancaster County residents can choose from 41 Medicare Advantage plans in total, offered by 9 carriers including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. So if a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska plan doesn't fit this year, you have other carriers to compare in the county.

This article focuses on one carrier because that's what the headline says it does. It isn't a judgment that this carrier is better or worse than the others — we don't rank plans or carriers, and neither does Medicare in the way people sometimes assume.

What's changing in Medicare itself for 2027?

A few program-level numbers are already set for 2027. The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026. The maximum Part D 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's a formula input used across the program, not a price any single plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, along with the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges, have not been announced yet. CMS typically releases those figures in the fall, usually in November. Please don't rely on projections from anyone — including us — for those numbers.

The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") was eliminated starting in 2025, so Part D now has three phases. If paying your drug costs in a lump at the pharmacy counter is a problem, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread those costs across the plan year in monthly amounts.

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

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. It is the only tool that lets you plug in your exact medications, pharmacies and (for Medicare Advantage) your doctors, then shows how each plan available in your ZIP code would handle them. The three steps that catch most problems:

1. List your prescriptions — exact drug names, doses and how often you take them. The Plan Finder will show each plan's drug tier, estimated yearly cost and any restrictions like prior authorization. 2. Check your doctors and hospitals — for an HMO or HMO-POS, in-network really matters; for a PPO, in-network still costs less. Confirm with the plan's own provider directory or by calling your doctor's billing office and asking which plans they'll be contracted with for 2027. 3. Read your ANOC — if you're already a member, your Annual Notice of Change tells you what's different next year on the plan you already have.

If you'd rather talk to a person, 1-800-MEDICARE is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What happens if I do nothing by December 7?

If you do nothing and your current plan is being offered again in 2027, you stay in it. The 2027 version of the plan — with whatever changes the ANOC describes — becomes your coverage on January 1, 2027. If your current plan is not being offered again in 2027, you'll get a non-renewal notice and you'll need to pick a new plan to avoid falling back to Original Medicare without drug coverage.

There is also the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 – March 31, 2027. If you're in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you get one chance in that window to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare (with the option to add a stand-alone Part D plan). It's a safety valve, not a substitute for using the fall window.