Medicare Advantage

14 new Medicare Advantage plans in Greensboro for 2027: how to check one before you switch

Guilford County has 97 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 15 plans are not coming back, 14 are new, and 41 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 16 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Greensboro, not which plan to pick.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — When the Medicare Plan Finder refreshes for the 2027 plan year, shoppers in Guilford County will see 14 Medicare Advantage plans that were not sold here for 2026. Eight carriers are behind them, including a name that is new to the county lineup. Because these plans do not have a track record in Guilford yet, the way you check them is a little different from checking a plan you already know.

Here is what is new, where it comes from, and how to vet one against your own doctors and prescriptions before the Annual Enrollment Period closes on December 7, 2026.

What Medicare Advantage plans are new in Greensboro for 2027?

Fourteen Medicare Advantage plans are new in Guilford County for 2027, offered by 8 carriers. All 14 include prescription drug coverage. The full roster for the county is in the table below; the plans introduced for next year, listed alphabetically by carrier, are:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP); Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO)
• AmeriHealth Caritas VIP Care: AmeriHealth Caritas VIP Care (HMO D-SNP)
• Devoted Health: DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 032 NC (HMO C-SNP); DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 038 NC (HMO)
• HealthSpring: HealthSpring Achieve (HMO C-SNP)
• HealthTeam Advantage: HealthTeam Advantage Thrive Plan (HMO)
• Humana: Humana Gold Plus Giveback H1036-343 (HMO-POS); Humana Gold Plus H1036-137 (HMO-POS); HumanaChoice H7617-122 (PPO)
• Provider Partners Health Plans: Provider Partners North Carolina Community Plan (HMO I-SNP); Provider Partners North Carolina Essential Plan (HMO I-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare: UHC Dual Complete NC-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete NC-S3 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

Greensboro is in Guilford County, and Medicare plan availability is set at the county level, so these are the plans a Greensboro ZIP code will show.

Which of the new Greensboro plans are Special Needs Plans?

Most of the 14 new plans in Guilford County for 2027 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which only accept members who meet specific eligibility rules.

There are three SNP flavors in this group:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible) — for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. The new D-SNPs are AmeriHealth Caritas VIP Care (HMO D-SNP), UHC Dual Complete NC-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP) and UHC Dual Complete NC-S3 (HMO-POS D-SNP).
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition) — for people with a qualifying chronic condition such as diabetes or a heart condition. The new C-SNPs are Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP), DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 032 NC (HMO C-SNP) and HealthSpring Achieve (HMO C-SNP).
• I-SNP (Institutional) — for people who live in, or need the level of care provided by, a long-term care facility. The new I-SNPs are Provider Partners North Carolina Community Plan (HMO I-SNP) and Provider Partners North Carolina Essential Plan (HMO I-SNP).

The other new plans — Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO), DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 038 NC (HMO), HealthTeam Advantage Thrive Plan (HMO), Humana Gold Plus Giveback H1036-343 (HMO-POS), Humana Gold Plus H1036-137 (HMO-POS) and HumanaChoice H7617-122 (PPO) — are open to any Medicare-eligible resident of the service area.

How does a brand-new Medicare Advantage plan differ from one that is renewing?

A new plan is one CMS has approved to sell for the first time in your county; a renewing plan is one you (or your neighbors) may have been on this year. The biggest practical difference is history.

• No Star Rating yet. Medicare Star Ratings are built from prior-year performance data. A plan that did not exist in your county last year does not have ratings for its local experience yet. That is a program fact, not a red or green flag.
• No local word-of-mouth. You cannot ask a Greensboro neighbor how claims went last year, because last year there was no plan to claim against.
• The Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) only exists for renewing plans. If you are already enrolled in a plan that is being offered again for 2027, the ANOC your plan mailed in September spells out what is changing — premium, drug tier placement, copays, extras. A new plan has no ANOC because there is nothing to compare it to; everything you need is in its 2027 Summary of Benefits and Evidence of Coverage.
• Networks and formularies are built fresh. The carrier may be familiar, but the specific provider list and drug list for a new plan are set for that plan.

None of this makes a new plan better or worse than a renewing one. It just means the vetting work is on you, and it should happen before December 7.

How do I check a new 2027 plan against my doctors and prescriptions?

Do it in this order, and finish before December 7, 2026.

1. Build your lists. Write down every doctor and facility you want to keep seeing (primary care, specialists, hospital, imaging center, pharmacy), and every prescription you take with the dose and how often. 2. Use the Medicare Plan Finder. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your Greensboro ZIP code, and add your prescriptions. The tool shows which 2027 plans cover each drug and at what tier. 3. Confirm providers directly. Plan Finder's network data is helpful but not final. Open the plan's 2027 provider directory on the carrier's site, or call the plan and ask whether your specific doctors and hospital are in-network for the 2027 contract year. For brand-new plans, this is especially important because the directory is being published for the first time. 4. Check the pharmacy, not just the drug. A medication may be covered but priced very differently at a preferred versus standard pharmacy. Ask what tier your pharmacy is in for 2027. 5. Confirm SNP eligibility if that applies. For a D-SNP, you need to be enrolled in North Carolina Medicaid. For a C-SNP, you need a provider to confirm the qualifying condition. For an I-SNP, the level-of-care criteria must be met. 6. If something does not match, call 1-800-MEDICARE or the plan to resolve it before you enroll.

What is the Guilford County picture around these new plans for 2027?

For 2026, Guilford County residents have 98 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers to choose among, including 38 Special Needs Plans and 86 plans with drug coverage. For 2027, CMS records show 14 plans new to the county, 15 not returning and 16 renamed, with 97 plans total offered next year.

If your current plan is one of the 15 not returning, your carrier was required to send you a non-renewal notice; you have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan. If your plan is renaming, it is often — but not always — the same plan with a new label; your ANOC will say.

A couple of program-level 2027 numbers to keep in mind as you compare any plan with drug coverage: the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet; CMS typically publishes those in the fall.