Medicare Advantage

Cary's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans: who sells what in Wake County

Wake County has 63 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 19 plans are not coming back, 5 are new, and 35 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 15 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Cary, not which plan to pick.

For Medicare shoppers in Cary, the 2027 plan year brings a slate of Medicare Advantage options to sort through. Cary sits in Wake County, and the county's plan menu — the official list of what private insurers may sell to people with Medicare — includes 48 Medicare Advantage plans from 9 different carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for 2027.

Every one of those 48 plans includes prescription drug coverage. That matters, because there are no stand-alone Part D drug plans listed for the county next year — so if you want an Advantage plan with built-in Part D, the roster below is where you'll be choosing from.

How the Cary lineup is organized

Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level, so the plans on offer in Cary are the same plans available anywhere else in Wake County. Each plan is one of a few types:

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization): use in-network providers, usually with a primary care doctor coordinating care.
• HMO-POS (Point of Service): an HMO that allows some out-of-network care under specific rules.
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): more flexibility to see out-of-network providers, typically at higher cost-sharing.
• SNP (Special Needs Plan): limited to people who meet specific eligibility, such as having both Medicare and Medicaid (D-SNP), a qualifying chronic condition (C-SNP), or living in a nursing home (I-SNP).

Of the 77 plans in the county, 30 are SNPs. If you don't qualify for an SNP, your practical menu is the remaining plans.

The 9 carriers offering plans in Wake County for 2027

Here is how the 77 plans are distributed across carriers, in alphabetical order. The full plan-by-plan table appears below this article.

• Aetna (CVS Health): 7 plans (HMO, PPO; 2 SNPs)
• Alignment Health Plan: 7 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 3 SNPs)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina: 8 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 1 SNP)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC): 8 plans (HMO, PPO; 2 SNPs) — sold under the HealthSpring name
• Centene (WellCare): 9 plans (HMO-POS, PPO; 4 SNPs)
• Experience Health: 1 plan (HMO)
• Humana: 18 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 6 SNPs)
• Liberty Medicare Advantage: 3 plans (HMO; 3 SNPs)
• Longevity Health Plan: 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• PruittHealth Premier: 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare: 14 plans (HMO-POS, PPO; 7 SNPs)

The table below lists every plan by name, with its plan type and its drug-coverage status.

Reading a plan name

Plan names in the roster include some shorthand worth translating. "D-SNP" means a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (Medicare and Medicaid). "C-SNP" means a Chronic Condition SNP, often for people managing conditions like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. "I-SNP" means an Institutional SNP for people living in long-term care. Plans with "Regional PPO" in the name — such as one of Humana's PPO offerings — are approved by CMS to serve a multi-county region rather than a single county.

Names like "Giveback" simply refer to a product line offered by a carrier. Because federal rules prohibit us from describing any plan's specific benefits, premiums or copays, you'll want to look up the actual details for any plan that interests you on the official Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

What to know about 2027 program rules

A few program-wide facts apply no matter which plan you choose:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap in 2026 is $2,100. Once your true out-of-pocket drug spending hits that amount for the year, you pay $0 for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible for 2026 is $615. Individual plans may set a lower deductible.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is an optional program that lets you spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums — starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates for Cary residents

• Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026: Annual Enrollment Period. This is when you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027.
• Jan. 1 – March 31, 2027: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1, you get one chance to switch to a different Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and pick up a Part D plan).

How to compare plans without guessing

Because we can't publish plan-level costs or benefits, the surest way to compare is:

1. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare and enter your ZIP code and your prescriptions. Plan Finder will show 2027 premiums, deductibles, copays, drug coverage details, and star ratings side by side. 2. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7. 3. Contact the North Carolina Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) — the state's SHIP — for free, unbiased counseling. SHIIP counselors do not sell insurance. 4. Read the plan's own Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage, available from the carrier.

None of the 77 plans in the county carry a star rating of 4 or higher this cycle at the contract level, according to the current CMS ratings data — a reminder to look closely at each plan on its own terms rather than relying on any single number.