Medicare Advantage

Does an HMO or PPO Fit Your 2027 Care in Clark County?

People in North Las Vegas can choose from 72 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 74 this year. Eleven of this year’s plans are gone, 9 are new to Clark County, and 33 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 15 of them under a new name.

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Fall 2026. With the Annual Enrollment Period running Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026, shoppers in and around North Las Vegas are weighing not just which Medicare Advantage plan to pick for 2027 — but which kind of plan. The plan "type" on the label (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO or PFFS) is what controls how you see doctors, whether you need referrals, and what happens if you need care outside the plan's network.

Here is how the 2027 lineup for Clark County — the county North Las Vegas sits in — splits by type, and what each type actually means for day-to-day care.

How do Clark County's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans split between HMO, HMO-POS and PPO?

For 2027, Clark County has 72 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers. By plan type, that works out to 37 HMO plans, 18 HMO-POS plans and 17 PPO plans. No Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans are offered in the county for 2027.

Grouping the HMO families together — regular HMO plus HMO-POS — the county has 55 "HMO-style" plans alongside 17 PPO plans. The table below lists every plan with its type and whether it includes drug coverage.

A few things to know about those counts: they come from CMS's Medicare Advantage Landscape file for plan year 2027, and they are set at the county level, not the city level. So the same roster is what a reader in North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Henderson or Boulder City sees.

What does HMO, HMO-POS, PPO or PFFS actually mean for how I get care?

The plan "type" is a set of rules about networks and referrals. Here is what each one generally means at the program level:

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You pick doctors and hospitals from the plan's local network. Many HMOs ask you to choose a primary care doctor and get a referral before seeing a specialist. Out-of-network care is usually not covered except for emergencies, urgent care and out-of-area dialysis.
• HMO-POS (Point of Service). Works like an HMO, but with a limited "point-of-service" option to use certain out-of-network providers for specific services. The rules vary a lot from plan to plan — the Evidence of Coverage spells out what the POS feature covers.
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). You can see any provider who accepts the plan, in or out of network. Staying in-network costs less; going out usually costs more. Referrals typically are not required.
• PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). You can see any Medicare-approved provider who agrees to the plan's payment terms. PFFS is not offered in Clark County for 2027, so it is not an option locally.

None of these is "better" on its own. The best type for you depends on which doctors you already see, which hospitals you want access to, how often you travel, and whether you want referrals handled for you or prefer to self-refer.

Which carriers offer each plan type in Clark County for 2027?

Based on the CMS 2027 Landscape file for Clark County:

• HMO plans are offered by Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Champion Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), HealthSpring, Humana, SCAN Health Plan and Select Health.
• HMO-POS plans are offered by Centene (WellCare), Champion Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), HealthSpring and UnitedHealthcare.
• PPO plans are offered by Aetna (CVS Health), Humana and UnitedHealthcare.

Several carriers appear in more than one column — for example, Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare each sell more than one type in the county. That means if you like a carrier, you may still have an HMO-versus-PPO choice to make within its own menu.

What should I check before I pick an HMO or a PPO in North Las Vegas?

Before you lock in a type, pull up the plan's own documents and check a few things:

1. Your doctors and hospitals. Look up every provider you want to keep in the plan's network directory for 2027 (networks can change year to year). 2. Referrals. If you see specialists often, check whether the plan requires a primary care referral. 3. Travel and snowbird time. If you spend part of the year outside Nevada, ask how the plan covers routine care away from home — that is where PPO rules differ most from HMO rules. 4. Prescriptions. Most Clark County plans include Part D drug coverage, but a few do not. Check the formulary for the drugs you take. 5. Your Annual Notice of Change. If you already have a Medicare Advantage plan, the ANOC your carrier mailed in September spells out what is changing for 2027 — including network, cost and sometimes plan type.

For 2027, CMS has also confirmed program-level Part D changes that apply across plans: the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B premium and IRMAA brackets are set to be published by CMS later in the fall.

What is changing in Clark County's Medicare Advantage lineup for 2027?

Compared with 2026, Clark County goes from 74 plans and 12 carriers to 72 plans and 10 carriers for 2027. Within that shift, 11 plans are not returning, 9 plans are new, and 15 plans have been renamed. A renamed plan is still a change on paper, even if the underlying coverage is similar — your ANOC and the Plan Finder listing will show the current name.

If you do nothing between now and Dec. 7, 2026, and your current plan is being offered again in 2027, it simply renews with those changes applied. If your plan is one of the ones not returning, you will get a non-renewal notice and a Special Enrollment Period to choose something else.