Medicare Advantage

What’s Changing in New Mexico Medicare Advantage for 2027: 27 Plans Leaving, 19 Changing

SANTA FE, N.M. — The federal Medicare Advantage lineup for New Mexico is smaller for the 2027 plan year, and every county in the state is touched by the shift. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage Landscape files, 73 Medicare Advantage plans were offered somewhere in New Mexico for 2026, and 61 are offered for 2027. Behind those totals: 27 plans are leaving, 19 are changing in at least one county, 15 are new, and 27 are continuing unchanged.

Medicare AdvantageNew Mexico

The headline for members is simple. If your plan is leaving, you have a decision to make. If it is renewing with changes, the specifics are in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). If it is renewing unchanged, you still may want to look again during the Annual Enrollment Period, which runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, for coverage that starts January 1, 2027.

What the statewide numbers mean

CMS publishes a Landscape file for each plan year listing every Medicare Advantage plan offered in each county. Comparing the 2026 and 2027 files, each plan counted once statewide no matter how many counties it serves, New Mexico moves from 73 plans to 61.

Within that:

• Leaving: 27 plans were offered somewhere in New Mexico for 2026 and are offered nowhere in the state for 2027.
• Changing: 19 plans are offered both years but differ in at least one county on premium, drug deductible, plan type or plan name.
• New: 15 plans appear in New Mexico for 2027 that were not offered here for 2026.
• Continuing unchanged: 27 plans look the same on those fields year over year.

All 33 New Mexico counties see at least one plan leave or change.

On the carrier side, the Landscape files show no 2027 New Mexico plans listed for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of IL, NM, OK, TX; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NM, TX; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico; CHRISTUS Health Advantage; Molina Healthcare of Arizona; or SCAN Health Plan. Molina Healthcare of New Mexico is new to the state's 2027 Landscape.

If your plan is leaving

If your current Medicare Advantage plan is one of the 27 not offered in New Mexico for 2027, you will receive a non-renewal notice from your plan. You have two protections built into the rules.

First, the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), October 15 – December 7, 2026, is open to everyone with Medicare. A choice made during AEP takes effect January 1, 2027.

Second, members whose plan is not renewed get a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that runs through the end of February. That gives you time past December 7 to pick a different Medicare Advantage plan or move to Original Medicare (and, if you want, a stand-alone Part D drug plan).

If you do nothing and your plan is leaving, you are not automatically enrolled in a comparable plan — you default to Original Medicare without Part D drug coverage, which is why acting during AEP or the SEP matters.

If your plan is changing

If your plan is one of the 19 that continue into 2027 with a difference in at least one county on premium, drug deductible, plan type or plan name, your ANOC is the document to read. Carriers mail or post the ANOC in the fall. It compares this year's plan details to next year's, line by line, for the plan you are in.

A member who does nothing stays enrolled in the renewing plan under the terms in the ANOC on January 1, 2027. That is a valid choice — but only if the ANOC still fits your doctors, your prescriptions and your budget. The AEP is the time to confirm that or switch.

The counties with the most change

Every New Mexico county sees activity, but the Landscape comparison shows heavier movement in some. Counts below are plans leaving and plans changing in that county:

• Bernalillo County: 24 leaving, 13 changing
• Sandoval County: 24 leaving, 13 changing
• Santa Fe County: 20 leaving, 12 changing
• Rio Arriba County: 19 leaving, 8 changing
• Torrance County: 18 leaving, 13 changing
• Dona Ana County: 14 leaving, 7 changing
• Valencia County: 14 leaving, 12 changing
• San Miguel County: 11 leaving, 12 changing

A plan that leaves one county may still be offered in others — the statewide "leaving" count of 27 only includes plans gone from the entire state.

What to do before December 7

A short checklist for the weeks between now and December 7, 2026:

1. Open your mail. Watch for a non-renewal letter (if your plan is leaving) or the ANOC (if it is renewing). 2. Make a short list. Note your current doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and prescriptions. 3. Compare at Medicare.gov. The Plan Finder shows every 2027 plan available at your ZIP code. 4. Decide and enroll by December 7, 2026 for a January 1, 2027 start. If your plan is not renewed and you miss December 7, use the Special Enrollment Period through the end of February.

Where to get free help

You do not have to sort this out alone, and you do not have to go through a sales call to get answers.

• Medicare.gov — the official federal site, with the Plan Finder tool.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — 24/7 phone help.
• New Mexico SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) — free, unbiased, one-on-one counseling for people with Medicare and their families.