Medicare Advantage

Does Your 2027 ANOC Still Fit Your Jersey City Life?

Hudson County has 48 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 10 plans are not coming back, 10 are new, and 12 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 2 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Jersey City, not which plan to pick.

Jersey City, N.J. — The envelope that arrived in your mailbox in late September is the one piece of mail Medicare members in Hudson County should not toss. It is your Annual Notice of Change, and it spells out exactly how your current plan will look different on January 1, 2027. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, which gives Jersey City residents a defined window to compare what their plan is becoming against everything else sold in the county.

What is the Annual Notice of Change and why does it matter in Jersey City for 2027?

The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) is the document your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan mails every fall that compares this year's coverage to next year's. For Jersey City residents, it is the single most important piece of paper in the AEP, because it tells you how your 2026 plan becomes your 2027 plan on January 1.

Open it next to your current Evidence of Coverage. Look for changes to the monthly premium, the medical deductible, the drug deductible, the primary care and specialist copays, the maximum out-of-pocket limit, and the drug tier your regular prescriptions sit on. Benefits like dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter allowances and transportation can also shift year to year.

How do I check that my doctors and hospitals are still in network for 2027?

Call the plan and confirm each provider by name for the 2027 plan year, not 2026. Networks are set one plan year at a time, and a doctor or hospital that participates today is not guaranteed to participate next year.

In Jersey City, that typically means confirming your primary care provider, any specialists you see regularly, and the hospital system you prefer — for many residents that is a Hudson County facility or a nearby system across the river. Ask the plan's member services line to check each National Provider Identifier (NPI) against the 2027 network, and ask the provider's billing office whether they will be contracted with that plan next year. Get both answers in writing or by email when you can.

How should I check my prescriptions against a 2027 plan's formulary?

Make a written list of every drug you take, with the exact strength and monthly quantity, then run it through the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov or ask the plan to price it for 2027. Formularies — the lists of covered drugs and their tiers — are rebuilt every year, and a drug that was tier 2 in 2026 may land on a different tier in 2027.

Two 2027 Part D numbers are already set by CMS and worth knowing as you compare: the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge is $700 (up from $615 in 2026). The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments, remains available in 2027 if you want to opt in.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Hudson County for 2027?

Jersey City is in Hudson County, where 48 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers are available for the 2027 plan year, according to the CMS Landscape Source File. By plan type, that is 12 HMO plans, 12 HMO-POS plans and 24 PPO plans; 11 are Special Needs Plans designed for people who qualify (for example, dual eligibles or those with certain chronic conditions), and 40 include Part D drug coverage.

The 10 carriers offering Medicare Advantage in the county, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Braven Health, Centene (WellCare), Clover Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Humana, Longevity Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan by carrier and type so you can see the full lineup at a glance.

What is the December 7 deadline and what happens if I miss it?

December 7, 2026 is the last day to make an Annual Enrollment Period change for coverage that starts January 1, 2027. If you do nothing by that date, your current plan simply renews with the changes described in your ANOC — no coverage is cancelled automatically.

After December 7, your options narrow but do not disappear. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31, 2027 lets you switch to another Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare one time. Special Enrollment Periods also exist for specific life events, such as moving out of a plan's service area. A few 2027 figures are not out yet: CMS typically publishes the 2027 Part B standard premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets later in the fall, usually in November.