Medicare Advantage

Before you pick a Medicare Advantage plan in Las Vegas: how the plan types differ in 2027

For 2027, Las Vegas is looking at 72 Medicare Advantage plans: 9 new, 11 gone since 2026, and 33 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 15 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Clark County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

If you live in Las Vegas and you're sorting through Medicare Advantage for 2027, the first question isn't which plan to pick — it's which type of plan fits how you like to get care. Las Vegas sits in Clark County, where 10 carriers are offering Medicare Advantage plans next year, in a mix of HMO, HMO-POS and PPO designs, plus a large group of Special Needs Plans built for specific health or financial situations. Knowing what those letters mean will save you a lot of guesswork before you ever compare a single premium or drug list.

What Medicare Advantage looks like in Clark County

Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level, so every plan sold in Las Vegas is a Clark County plan. For 2027, CMS lists 57 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers here. All of them include prescription drug coverage, which is one reason there are no stand-alone Part D plans listed separately in this data set for the area — drug coverage is bundled in.

The 12 carriers, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Champion Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of Nevada, SCAN Health Plan, Select Health and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan by carrier, so you can see the full lineup without scrolling through it here.

How the plan types differ

The letters after a plan name — HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, PFFS — describe how the plan handles doctors, referrals and out-of-network care. The rules are set by Medicare, not by any one insurer.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You use doctors and hospitals in the plan's network, and you usually pick a primary care doctor who coordinates your care. Out-of-network care generally isn't covered except in emergencies. Most Clark County plans — 38 of the 74 — are HMOs.

HMO-POS (HMO with a Point-of-Service option). Same basic structure as an HMO, but the plan lets you go outside the network for certain services, usually at a higher cost. There are 21 HMO-POS plans in the county.

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). More flexibility to see out-of-network providers, though in-network care costs less. Referrals are typically not required. There are 15 PPO plans in the county.

PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). These plans set their own payment terms and let you see any Medicare-approved provider who agrees to the plan's terms. No PFFS plans are offered in Clark County for 2027 — worth knowing if you've had one in the past somewhere else.

Special Needs Plans, and who they're for

Of the 74 plans in the county, 34 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs). SNPs limit membership to people who meet specific eligibility rules, and they tailor benefits and drug lists around that group.

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible) is for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition) is for people with a qualifying chronic condition — for example, diabetes, heart conditions, chronic lung disease or end-stage renal disease. Each C-SNP names the conditions it covers.
• I-SNP (Institutional) is for people who live in a nursing facility or need that level of care at home.

You can see this play out in the roster. Champion Health Plan, for instance, offers 7 plans, 6 of which are C-SNPs. Elevance Health (Anthem) offers 8 plans, and its Anthem I CareMore line includes chronic-care, kidney-care, lung-care and home-care SNPs. Humana, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and others list D-SNP options as well. If you don't meet an SNP's eligibility rules, you can't enroll in it — so if you're just Medicare-only and healthy, an SNP isn't a choice you're weighing.

How to decide which type fits you

There's no "best" type. There's the type that matches how you actually use care.

• If you have a primary care doctor you trust and mostly see local, in-network specialists, an HMO may feel simple and predictable.
• If you like the HMO structure but want a door open for occasional out-of-network care, look at HMO-POS.
• If you split time between Las Vegas and somewhere else, travel a lot, or want to see specialists without referrals, a PPO may be worth a closer look.
• If you qualify for Medicaid, live with a serious chronic condition, or need institutional-level care, ask specifically about SNPs — the eligibility rules are the gate.

Whichever direction you lean, always check that your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies are in the plan's network for 2027 (networks change year to year) and that your medications are on the plan's drug list. Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your prescriptions and see how each plan handles them.

Program facts to keep in mind for 2027

A few Medicare-wide rules matter no matter which plan type you choose:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 in 2027. Once you hit it, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025 — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter. It's optional and free to opt into.
• IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D premiums begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.
• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31.