Medicare Advantage

Before you enroll: Hamilton County's 2026 MA lineup

For 2027, Cincinnati is looking at 77 Medicare Advantage plans from 14 carriers: 16 new, 30 gone since 2026, and 21 continuing plans that change something in their terms, with 5 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Hamilton County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

CINCINNATI — If you are shopping a Medicare Advantage plan here for 2027, the table below lists every plan available in Hamilton County, grouped by carrier, with its plan type and whether it includes drug coverage. Cincinnati sits in Hamilton County, and Medicare Advantage availability is set at the county level, so the same lineup shows up whether you live in Hyde Park, Westwood or Mount Airy.

The list comes from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for the 2027 plan year. It tells you what is on the shelf. What it does not tell you is the price, the doctor network or the drug list for any single plan — those live in each plan's own documents and on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

What is on the shelf in Hamilton County

For 2027, 14 carriers are selling Medicare Advantage in the county. In alphabetical order, they are Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), CareSource MyCare Ohio, Centene (WellCare), Communicare Advantage, Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Medical Mutual of Ohio, MediGold, Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Perennial Advantage, UnitedHealthcare and Valor Health Plan.

Humana offers the most plans in the county at 22, followed by UnitedHealthcare at 14 and Aetna (CVS Health) at 11. On the other end, CareSource MyCare Ohio, Molina Healthcare of Ohio and Valor Health Plan each offer a single plan, and each of those is a Special Needs Plan. Every plan on the roster — all 96 — includes Part D prescription drug coverage. There are no stand-alone Part D plans listed as sold in Hamilton County in this file, so if you enroll in Medicare Advantage here, drug coverage comes built in.

Plan types, in plain English

You will see a few labels in the table. HMO plans generally ask you to use a set network and pick a primary care doctor. HMO-POS ("point of service") plans work the same way, with a limited option to go out of network for certain services. PPO plans usually let you see out-of-network providers, often at a higher cost. PFFS ("private fee-for-service") plans set their own payment terms with providers.

SNP stands for Special Needs Plan. These are only for people who meet the plan's specific eligibility — a chronic condition (C-SNP), both Medicare and Medicaid (D-SNP), or nursing home or institutional-level care (I-SNP). Of the 96 plans in the county, 34 are SNPs. If you do not qualify for an SNP, focus on the non-SNP plans.

How the carriers line up

The full table below is the source of truth, but here is how the 14 carriers stack up by plan count:

• Humana: 22 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PFFS, PPO; 4 SNPs)
• UnitedHealthcare: 14 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 7 SNPs)
• Aetna (CVS Health): 11 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 5 SNPs)
• Devoted Health: 10 plans (HMO, PPO; 4 SNPs)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 9 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 2 SNPs)
• Medical Mutual of Ohio: 6 plans (HMO, PPO)
• MediGold: 6 plans (HMO, PPO)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC): 5 plans (HMO, PPO; 2 SNPs)
• Centene (WellCare): 5 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; 3 SNPs)
• Perennial Advantage: 3 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; 2 SNPs)
• Communicare Advantage: 2 plans (HMO; 2 SNPs)
• CareSource MyCare Ohio, Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Valor Health Plan: 1 plan each (all SNPs)

The dates that matter

The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026. That is when most people compare, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027.

If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you also have the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from Jan. 1 through March 31. During that window you can switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a stand-alone Part D plan if you need one).

A few 2027 program facts worth knowing

These are program-wide, not tied to any specific plan on the roster:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your drug spending hits that limit, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments if you want.
• IRMAA surcharges for higher-income enrollees start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.