Medicare Advantage

Does your Charlotte Medicare Advantage plan still fit in 2027?

People in Charlotte can choose from 89 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 94 this year. 19 of this year’s plans are gone, 14 are new to Mecklenburg County, and 28 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 10 of them under a new name.

CHARLOTTE — Fall 2026 is comparison season. From now through December 7, 2026, people with Medicare in and around Charlotte can switch, drop or pick a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027. Mecklenburg County's lineup is shifting a bit — a few plans are leaving, new ones are joining, and some have new names — so even if you like your current plan, it's worth a side-by-side look before the deadline.

Here's how to compare the 2027 options without getting overwhelmed.

What Charlotte's 2027 lineup looks like

Charlotte is in Mecklenburg County, where plan availability is set. For 2027, the county has 89 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape. All 89 include prescription drug coverage.

By plan type, the 2027 mix is:

• HMO: 34
• HMO-POS: 22
• PPO: 32
• PFFS: 1

Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which are built for people with specific situations, break down this way in 2027: 23 Dual Eligible SNPs (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, 10 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs), and 6 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs).

The 12 carriers offering plans in the county next year, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, HealthTeam Advantage, Humana, Liberty Medicare Advantage, Longevity Health Plan, Provider Partners Health Plans, and UnitedHealthcare. The table below lists every plan.

What's new for 2027

Three things to know before you start comparing:

• 14 plans are new to Mecklenburg County for 2027.
• 19 plans are not returning. If yours is one of them, your carrier will send a non-renewal notice and you'll need to pick something else or move to Original Medicare.
• 10 plans have been renamed. The plan is still there, but the name on your card or paperwork may look different.
• Alignment Health Plan is listed as a carrier in the county for 2027.

The specifics of what's changing in any one plan — benefits, copays, provider network, drug list — are in the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan was required to send by September 30, 2026. Dig it out of the mail pile; it's the single most useful document you have this fall.

A step-by-step way to compare

1) Read your ANOC first

If you already have a Medicare Advantage plan, start with the ANOC. It shows what's changing from 2026 to 2027 — premium, deductible, copays, extra benefits, in-network pharmacies, drug tiers. If nothing looks different and your doctors and drugs are still covered, you may be happy to let your plan renew January 1. Doing nothing is a valid choice.

2) Make three lists

Before you look at any plan, write down:

• Your doctors and hospitals (primary care, specialists, the hospital system you want to use — many Charlotte residents will have Atrium Health or Novant Health providers on this list).
• Your prescriptions, with the exact dose and how often you take each one.
• The pharmacies you actually use.

Comparing plans without these three lists is guessing.

3) Use the Medicare Plan Finder

Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code, and sign in (or continue as a guest). The Plan Finder lets you:

• See every 2027 Medicare Advantage plan available at your address.
• Enter your drug list once and see each plan's estimated yearly drug cost.
• Mark your preferred pharmacies to see which plans treat them as "preferred."
• Filter by plan type (HMO, PPO, HMO-POS) and by Special Needs Plan.
• Open each plan's Star Ratings, which measure quality and member experience.

4) Check the provider network — don't assume

Even if a carrier's name is familiar, the network can change year to year, and networks differ from plan to plan within the same carrier. Call your doctor's office and ask, "Are you in-network for this specific plan in 2027?" Say the plan's full name. For hospitals, check the plan's online directory and confirm by phone.

5) Check the drug list (formulary) and your pharmacy

A plan can cover your drug but place it on a tier that costs more, or require prior authorization or step therapy. The Plan Finder shows this. And a pharmacy can be in-network but not "preferred" — the price difference can be real.

6) Look at the whole cost, not just the premium

Compare the plan's premium, deductible, copays for the care you actually use, and the maximum out-of-pocket limit for in-network care. For 2027, the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 and the Part D maximum deductible is $700 across all Medicare drug coverage — those are set by CMS, not by any one plan.

If your plan is one of the 19 not returning

You have a Special Enrollment Period that runs beyond December 7 if your plan is terminating. You can pick a new Medicare Advantage plan, or go back to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D plan (and possibly a Medigap policy, though Medigap underwriting rules in North Carolina may apply outside your initial window). Call 1-800-MEDICARE to confirm your situation and your deadlines.

A note on what hasn't been announced yet

CMS has confirmed the 2027 Part D figures above. The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been published yet — CMS typically releases them later in the fall. Don't lock in a decision based on anyone's projection of those numbers; wait for the official release.