Medicare Advantage

Before you pick an HMO or PPO in Yonkers, read this

Westchester County has 65 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 20 plans are not coming back, 8 are new, and 21 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 3 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Yonkers, not which plan to pick.

Medicare AdvantageYonkers, NY

Yonkers sits in Westchester County, and for plan year 2027, that county's Medicare Advantage shelf is stocked with a mix of HMOs, HMO-POS plans, PPOs and Special Needs Plans from more than a dozen carriers. If you are new to Medicare — or just tired of guessing which plan type fits your life — the first useful step is not comparing benefits. It is understanding what the letters after each plan name actually mean.

This guide walks through the plan types you will see in Yonkers, who offers them, and how to think about the choice. The table below lists every plan available in the county, so you can match names to types as you read.

What the plan-type letters actually mean

Medicare Advantage plans are private plans that replace Original Medicare for the people who choose them. The letters after each plan name describe how the plan is structured.

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You pick a primary care doctor and generally use the plan's in-network providers. Referrals are often required to see specialists. Out-of-network care usually is not covered except in emergencies.
• HMO-POS (Point of Service). An HMO with a limited "point of service" option that lets you go outside the network for certain services, usually at a higher cost.
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). More flexibility. You can see out-of-network providers, though you pay less when you stay in-network. Referrals are typically not required.
• PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). A less common plan type nationally. The plan — not Medicare — decides how much it will pay providers, and providers decide visit by visit whether to accept the plan's terms. No PFFS plans appear on the 2027 Westchester roster.
• SNP (Special Needs Plan). A plan built for a specific group. There are three flavors: D-SNP for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid ("dual eligible"), C-SNP for people with certain chronic conditions, and I-SNP for people who live in a nursing home or need a similar level of care. You have to qualify to enroll.

An SNP can be built on top of an HMO or PPO chassis — that is why you will see labels like "HMO D-SNP" or "PPO I-SNP" in the roster.

How the Yonkers-area market is laid out

Availability data comes from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File and is set at the county level. For Westchester County in 2027:

• 77 Medicare Advantage plans
• 16 carriers offering MA-PD (Medicare Advantage with drug coverage)
• By type: 35 HMO, 23 HMO-POS, 19 PPO
• 39 Special Needs Plans among the 77
• Every plan on the shelf includes Part D drug coverage

Listed alphabetically, the carriers offering 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in the county are Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Elderplan, ElderServe Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), EmblemHealth, Hamaspik, Inc., Healthfirst Medicare Plan, Humana, Longevity Health Plan, MVP Health Care, Senior Whole Health of New York, UnitedHealthcare, VillageCareMAX and VNS Health Medicare. Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC) is not offering plans in the county for 2027.

Some carriers offer only one or two plans; others offer close to a dozen. The exact plan counts per carrier, and the full list of plan names and types, are in the table below.

Choosing among HMO, HMO-POS and PPO

If you are not eligible for an SNP, your everyday choice in Yonkers is between HMO, HMO-POS and PPO. A few questions can narrow it down:

• Do your doctors matter more than the monthly cost? Then check whether they are in a given plan's network before anything else. PPOs generally give you more room to go out of network.
• Do you travel or split time outside New York? PPOs tend to handle out-of-area care more gracefully than tight HMOs.
• Are you comfortable with a primary care doctor coordinating referrals? If yes, an HMO or HMO-POS may feel natural. If no, a PPO's referral-free structure may fit better.

None of these answers is universal. Rules vary plan by plan, so use Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov to check specifics against the plans on the roster.

Who Special Needs Plans are for

More than half of the 77 plans in Westchester County are SNPs. That does not mean SNPs are the "default" — it means Yonkers has a robust set of options for people who qualify.

• If you have both Medicare and full or partial Medicaid, look at the D-SNPs on the roster. Carriers offering D-SNPs in the county include Aetna, Centene (WellCare), Elderplan, ElderServe Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), EmblemHealth, Hamaspik, Healthfirst, Humana, MVP Health Care, Senior Whole Health of New York, UnitedHealthcare, VillageCareMAX and VNS Health Medicare.
• If you live in a nursing home or need that level of care, look at the I-SNPs. Aetna, Elderplan, ElderServe Health, Longevity Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare offer I-SNPs in the county for 2027.
• There are no stand-alone C-SNPs on this county's 2027 roster.

Because SNPs have enrollment rules tied to your health status or Medicaid status, a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) counselor can help you confirm eligibility.

A few program-level facts that apply to everyone

No matter which plan type you pick, some rules are set by the federal government, not the insurer:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: Your out-of-pocket spending for covered Part D drugs is capped at $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027.
• Part D deductible: The maximum allowed deductible is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. Individual plans may charge less.
• No more donut hole: The coverage gap was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: An optional program that spreads your Part D out-of-pocket costs across monthly payments during the year, at no added cost.
• IRMAA: Higher-income enrollees pay income-related surcharges on Part B and Part D. For a single filer in 2026, surcharges begin above $109,000 in income.
• Star Ratings: CMS rates plan quality on a 1-to-5 scale. In Westchester County, no contracts are currently rated 4 stars or higher. Ratings are one input among many; they are not a stand-alone recommendation.

When you can enroll or switch

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 through December 7. Changes take effect January 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 through March 31. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare once during this window.
• Special Enrollment Periods: Certain life events — moving, losing other coverage, becoming eligible for Medicaid — can open an extra window.