Medicare Advantage

Anthem's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup in Newark: one plan new, one not coming back

NEWARK, N.J. — Fall 2026. As the Annual Enrollment Period opens for 2027 Medicare coverage, Anthem — which CMS lists under its parent, Elevance Health — is offering three Medicare Advantage plans in Essex County, the county Newark sits in. One is new for next year, and one plan Anthem offered in 2026 is not coming back. If you are already in an Anthem plan here, or thinking about one, this is the window to check the details against your doctors and your prescriptions before December 7, 2026.

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent consumer site. We are not Anthem, and we are not Medicare. The plan counts below come from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape files; the specifics of any single plan live on medicare.gov and in each plan's own documents.

What Medicare Advantage plans does Anthem offer in Newark for 2027?

In Essex County, where Newark is located, Anthem is offering 3 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. By type, that is 2 HMO plans and 1 HMO-POS plan. All 3 include Part D drug coverage. One plan is a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid, and one is a Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan (C-SNP) built around kidney care.

The full list of Anthem's 2027 plans in the county, in alphabetical order:

• Wellpoint Extra Help (HMO) — HMO, with drug coverage, new for 2027
• Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — HMO D-SNP, with drug coverage
• Wellpoint Kidney Care (HMO-POS C-SNP) — HMO-POS C-SNP, with drug coverage

The table below lists every Anthem plan available in the county next year. For the premium, deductible, copays, provider network, drug list and star rating of any single plan, use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

What is new or not returning from Anthem in Essex County for 2027?

Compared with 2026, Anthem has 1 new Medicare Advantage plan in Essex County and 1 plan that is not returning for 2027. None were renamed. The new plan on the 2027 list above is Wellpoint Extra Help (HMO).

If you are already in an Anthem plan, you should receive an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) by late September 2026. That document is where the specifics live — any shift in your premium, your deductible, your copays, your drug tiers, or your provider network for 2027. If your current plan is the one not returning, Medicare will send a separate letter, and you will have a Special Enrollment Period to choose a different plan.

Doing nothing is also an option: if your plan is offered again next year, it renews automatically with the changes described in the ANOC.

How do I check an Anthem plan against my own doctors and drugs?

Before December 7, 2026, run your own list through the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. It is the one tool that pulls plan-by-plan details for your ZIP code.

A simple way to work through it:

1. Make a list of every prescription you take, with dose and how often. 2. Write down the doctors, specialists and hospitals you want to keep. 3. On medicare.gov, enter your ZIP code and your drugs, then open each plan you are considering. 4. Check the plan's drug list (formulary) for every one of your prescriptions, and the plan's provider directory for every doctor. 5. If anything is unclear, call the plan directly using the number on medicare.gov, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Networks and formularies can change from one year to the next even if the plan name stays the same. That is why "my doctor was in-network last year" is not the same as "my doctor will be in-network in 2027."

Who are the other Medicare Advantage carriers in Essex County?

Anthem is one of 9 carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in Essex County for 2027, and 48 Medicare Advantage plans are available in the county in total. If an Anthem plan does not fit your doctors or your drug list, there are other options to compare on medicare.gov.

Nothing here singles out one carrier or plan as the right choice — that depends entirely on your prescriptions, your providers, your budget and whether you qualify for a Special Needs Plan.

What should I know about Part D costs for 2027?

A few program-level Part D numbers are already set for 2027 and apply no matter which plan you choose:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs reaches that cap, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). Individual plans may set a lower deductible.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available — an optional way to spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly bills instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.

The 2027 standard Part B premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those figures later in the fall, usually in November. We will not quote a projection here.

When do I need to decide, and what happens if I do nothing?

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any plan change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing and your current plan is offered in 2027, it simply renews with the changes in your ANOC.

There is a second window — Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, January 1 through March 31, 2027 — when people already in a Medicare Advantage plan can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare once. It is a narrower window than AEP, so it is better to make the main decision now.