Medicare Advantage

Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans in Albuquerque for 2027: who qualifies and what's offered

People in Albuquerque can choose from 36 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 51 this year. 24 of this year’s plans are gone, 9 are new to Bernalillo County, and 22 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 9 of them under a new name.

Albuquerque, N.M. — Seniors in Bernalillo County who live with a serious ongoing illness have a specific type of Medicare Advantage plan built around them, and the 2027 lineup is now set. For plans taking effect January 1, 2027, three carriers — Devoted Health, Humana and UnitedHealthcare — will offer a total of eight Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans, or C-SNPs, in the county. One is new for next year, and one has been renamed.

C-SNPs are not open enrollment plans. A person has to have a qualifying chronic condition, confirmed by a provider, to join. The upside is that the plan is designed around that condition from the start.

What a C-SNP actually is

A Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan is a type of Medicare Advantage plan limited to people living with one or more specific chronic illnesses that Medicare has approved for this kind of plan. The list of qualifying conditions is set by CMS and includes conditions such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, cardiovascular disorders, chronic lung disorders, end-stage renal disease and several others.

Like other Medicare Advantage plans, a C-SNP bundles your Part A, Part B and (in these Bernalillo County plans) Part D drug coverage into one plan. What makes it different is that the provider network, the drug list and the extra benefits are shaped around the condition the plan serves. Care coordination is usually a built-in feature.

The C-SNPs offered in Bernalillo County for 2027

Albuquerque is in Bernalillo County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. For 2027, CMS lists 8 C-SNPs in the county, from three carriers:

• Devoted Health: 3 plans, including DEVOTED C-SNP ENHANCED 003 NM (renamed from DEVOTED C-SNP 003 NM), DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 012 NM (new for 2027) and DEVOTED C-SNP PLUS 004 NM.
• Humana: 3 plans, including two Humana Gold Plus - Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP) offerings and HumanaChoice - Diabetes and Heart (PPO C-SNP).
• UnitedHealthcare: 2 plans — UHC Complete Care NM-11 (PPO C-SNP) and UHC Complete Care Support NM-1A (PPO C-SNP).

The table below lists every C-SNP in the county with its plan type. Plans that name a condition in the title (for example, "Diabetes and Heart") serve those conditions; for every other plan, check the Evidence of Coverage or Medicare Plan Finder to see exactly which conditions qualify.

How enrollment works — the diagnosis step

The piece that trips people up most is the eligibility check. You cannot simply sign up for a C-SNP online the way you might for a general Medicare Advantage plan. The plan has to confirm, with your treating provider, that you have the qualifying chronic condition it covers.

Here is the usual flow:

1. You apply to the plan during a valid enrollment period. 2. The plan sends a short form to your doctor (or asks you to bring one in) to verify the diagnosis. 3. Your provider signs and returns it. Once the plan has that confirmation, your enrollment is accepted.

If the plan cannot verify the condition within the required window, enrollment is not completed. This is a Medicare rule, not something a specific carrier makes up.

The Special Enrollment Period for a qualifying condition

Most Medicare changes have to wait for the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7) or Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment (January 1 – March 31). C-SNPs are different.

When you are first diagnosed with — or Medicare first learns you have — a qualifying chronic condition, you get a Special Enrollment Period to join a C-SNP that covers that condition. You generally have the month you become eligible and the two months after to enroll. If you are already in a C-SNP and your condition is no longer verified, there is also a grace period before you need to switch to another plan.

That means a reader diagnosed in, say, February 2027 does not have to wait until the next fall to make a change. The SEP exists precisely so people can get into a condition-specific plan when they need it.

What is new for 2027 in Bernalillo County

Compared with 2026, the C-SNP shelf in Bernalillo County has one new plan (Devoted's DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 012 NM) and one renamed plan (Devoted's ENHANCED 003 NM, formerly C-SNP 003 NM). A rename does not automatically mean the plan is identical to the prior year — the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mails each fall spells out what changed.

For context, Bernalillo County's overall Medicare Advantage lineup includes 36 plans for 2027. Alongside the 8 C-SNPs, there are 7 Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. There are no Institutional Special Needs Plans (I-SNPs) in the county for 2027.

Enrollment timing and 2027 program figures

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan renews — assuming it is offered next year — with the updates in its ANOC.

A few 2027 program-wide figures CMS has already published:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027 (this is a formula input, not what any plan charges).

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been released yet. CMS typically publishes them in the fall.