Medicare Advantage

Wellcare's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans in Raleigh: three renamed, two gone, none added

RALEIGH — As the Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 Medicare coverage runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026, Wellcare has filed a slimmer lineup in Wake County than it offered a year ago, with three plans carrying new names and two gone from the market. If you have a Wellcare plan today, the differences show up in the Annual Notice of Change your plan mailed before AEP began.

MyMedicarePlans.org is an independent consumer site. We are not Wellcare, not Medicare, and not selling you anything. What follows is a straight read of CMS's public plan files for Wake County, the county Raleigh sits in.

How many Wellcare Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Raleigh for 2027?

Raleigh is in Wake County, where Wellcare is offering 7 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. By plan type, that breaks down to 3 HMO-POS plans and 4 PPO plans. Six of the seven include Part D drug coverage; one does not.

The table on this page lists every Wellcare plan by name and type. Plan availability is set at the county level by CMS, so the same lineup applies across Wake County, not just inside Raleigh city limits.

For context, 8 other carriers also offer Medicare Advantage plans in Wake County for 2027, bringing the all-carrier county total to 63 plans.

Which Wellcare plans are new, renamed, or not returning in Wake County for 2027?

Wellcare added 0 new Medicare Advantage plans in Wake County for 2027 and is not renewing 2 plans that were sold in 2026. Three plans kept their structure but were renamed.

The renamed plans are:

• Wellcare Carolina Complete Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was Wellcare Dual Liberty (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• Wellcare Carolina Complete Dual Liberty Open (PPO D-SNP) — was Wellcare Dual Liberty Open (PPO D-SNP)
• Wellcare Carolina Complete Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was Wellcare Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP)

A rename does not automatically mean the benefits, network, or drug list are the same as last year. Your plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) spells out exactly what moved. If your 2026 plan is one of the two not returning, Wellcare should have sent a non-renewal notice explaining your options.

What are Special Needs Plans, and how many does Wellcare offer in Raleigh for 2027?

Wellcare is offering 3 Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) in Wake County for 2027, and no Chronic Condition (C-SNP) or Institutional (I-SNP) plans. A D-SNP is a Medicare Advantage plan built for people who have both Medicare and full or partial Medicaid.

D-SNPs always include Part D drug coverage and often coordinate Medicare and Medicaid benefits in one plan. You generally need to show current Medicaid eligibility to enroll. If you are not sure whether you qualify, 1-800-MEDICARE or your state Medicaid office can confirm.

How do I check a Wellcare plan against my doctors and prescriptions before December 7?

The fastest way is the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. You enter your ZIP code, add your prescriptions and preferred pharmacy, and compare plans side by side. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A short checklist for any Wellcare plan — or any Medicare Advantage plan — before you enroll:

• Look up each of your doctors and hospitals in the plan's provider directory for 2027.
• Enter every prescription you take into the Plan Finder to see how the plan's 2027 formulary covers it.
• Read the Summary of Benefits and, if you want the full detail, the Evidence of Coverage.
• If you have a current plan, read the ANOC that arrived in the mail — it lists every change for 2027.

Networks and drug lists can change from one plan year to the next, even when the plan name stays the same, so last year's check does not substitute for this year's.

What is changing in Medicare for 2027 that applies no matter which plan I pick?

CMS has confirmed several program-level figures for 2027. 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 may charge rises to $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026. The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33 — that is a formula input CMS uses, not the premium any specific plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those figures later in the fall. In the meantime, the 2026 IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and changes take effect January 1, 2027. If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 and want to switch once, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 through March 31, 2027.

What happens if I do nothing by December 7?

If your current Wellcare plan is offered again in 2027, it renews automatically with the changes described in your ANOC. If your plan is one of the two Wellcare plans not returning in Wake County for 2027, you will not be enrolled in a replacement automatically — you will need to pick a new plan or you will return to Original Medicare.

Either way, the Medicare Plan Finder lets you compare what is available in Wake County before the deadline.