Medicare Advantage

Raleigh's 2027 Medicare Advantage map: 5 new plans, 19 leaving, 2 carriers gone

People in Raleigh can choose from 63 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 77 this year. 19 of this year’s plans are gone, 5 are new to Wake County, and 35 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 15 of them under a new name.

RALEIGH — The 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup for Wake County is set, and the shape of the local market is shifting. Two carriers that sold plans here in 2026 will not be back next year, a handful of new plans are joining the shelf, and about a dozen familiar plans are showing up under new names. Open enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice you make takes effect January 1, 2027.

Raleigh is in Wake County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The table below lists every plan on offer. This article walks through what is changing carrier by carrier so you know what to look for in your mail.

Who's on the shelf for 2027

For the 2026 plan year, Wake County residents had 77 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers to choose from — a mix of HMO, HMO-POS and PPO designs, including 30 Special Needs Plans and plans that all included drug coverage. For 2027, the carrier list gets shorter but the overall choice stays broad.

Carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans in Wake County for 2027 include Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Centene (WellCare), Humana, Liberty Medicare Advantage, Longevity Health Plan, PruittHealth Premier and UnitedHealthcare. The full list of plans, with plan type and drug coverage, is in the table on this page.

Two carriers not returning

Two names from 2026 will not be back in Wake County for 2027:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), which marketed the HealthSpring family of plans locally
• Experience Health

If you are enrolled in a plan from either carrier, you will receive a non-renewal notice from your plan. CMS gives people in that situation a Special Enrollment Period that runs from December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027 to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or move back to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan. You do not have to wait for the general enrollment window to close before acting.

Plans leaving after 2026

Nineteen plans in all will not be offered in Wake County next year. Besides the full HealthSpring and Experience Health lineups, the list includes:

• Aetna Medicare Signature Care (HMO)
• Alignment Health Platinum (HMO)
• Blue Medicare Choice (HMO) from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
• Wellcare Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP) and Wellcare Giveback Open (PPO) from Centene (WellCare)
• HumanaChoice H5525-050 (PPO) and HumanaChoice H5525-083 (PPO)
• AARP Medicare Advantage Access from UHC NC-23 (PPO), UHC Dual Complete NC-D001 (HMO-POS D-SNP) and UHC Dual Complete NC-S3 (HMO-POS D-SNP) from UnitedHealthcare

If one of these is your plan, your Annual Notice of Change will tell you so, and your coverage ends December 31, 2026. The same Special Enrollment Period above applies.

Plans new for 2027

Five plans are new to the Wake County roster for 2027:

• Humana Gold Plus Giveback H1036-343 (HMO-POS)
• Humana Gold Plus H1036-137 (HMO-POS)
• PruittHealth Premier (HMO I-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete NC-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete NC-S3 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

The last name on that list is worth noting: UnitedHealthcare is retiring a 2026 plan called UHC Dual Complete NC-S3 and introducing a different 2027 plan under the same marketing name. If you are a member, check the plan ID on your paperwork, not just the name.

The two Humana plans are standard HMO-POS designs; the PruittHealth Premier plan is an Institutional Special Needs Plan, written for people who live in or are expected to live long-term in a nursing facility. The two UnitedHealthcare plans are Dual-eligible Special Needs Plans for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.

Renames and quiet changes

Fifteen Wake County plans are returning for 2027 under new names. Among them: Aetna Medicare Eagle (PPO) was Aetna Medicare Eagle Giveback (PPO); Aetna Medicare Full Dual (HMO D-SNP) was Aetna Medicare Dual (HMO D-SNP); several Alignment Health plans picked up new suffixes; Wellcare's Dual Liberty, Dual Liberty Open and Dual Reserve are now Wellcare Carolina Complete Dual Liberty, Dual Liberty Open and Dual Reserve; and several AARP Medicare Advantage and UHC Dual Complete plans swapped their internal codes.

Separately, about 20 plans in Wake County are continuing but changing on things like premium, deductible, plan type or name. The Annual Notice of Change your carrier sends by late September spells out exactly what is different for your plan. Read it next to your current member materials, not from memory.

What's changing in Part D for 2027

Even if you keep the same Medicare Advantage plan, the drug side of your coverage will shift because the federal rules are changing:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026.
• The Part D maximum deductible a plan can charge rises to $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026.
• The coverage gap, or "donut hole," remains eliminated — Part D has three phases now.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available to spread drug costs over the calendar year in monthly bills.

CMS has not yet announced the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible or the 2027 IRMAA income brackets; those figures are typically published in the fall. For 2026, IRMAA surcharges on Part B and Part D start above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

How to use this during open enrollment

A few plain steps help:

1. Open your Annual Notice of Change when it arrives. It tells you whether your plan is renewing, being renamed, or ending. 2. If your plan is on the "leaving" list, mark your calendar for the Special Enrollment Period that runs December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027. 3. Compare plans on the official Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, which pulls premiums, drug costs and provider networks straight from each carrier. 4. If you want to talk to a person, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you do nothing and your current plan is offered in 2027, it renews automatically on January 1 with whatever changes are in your ANOC. That is a valid choice — just make it on purpose.