Medicare Advantage

18 Medicare Advantage plans debut in Cleveland for 2027: how to size one up

People in Cleveland can choose from 99 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 112 this year. 31 of this year’s plans are gone, 18 are new to Cuyahoga County, and 37 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 6 of them under a new name.

CLEVELAND — When the Annual Enrollment Period opens on October 15, 2026, shoppers in Cuyahoga County will see something they could not pick last year: 18 Medicare Advantage plans that are brand new for 2027. They come from nine different carriers, and because they are new, none of them has a Star Rating history on Medicare's Plan Finder yet.

That matters because a new plan looks a lot like a renewing one on screen — same carrier names, same plan-type labels — but there is no track record of member experience, drug pricing patterns, or network stability to lean on. The practical move is the same one Medicare has always recommended: check the plan against your own doctors, your own pharmacy and your own medicines before you commit by December 7, 2026.

What "new for 2027" actually means

Cleveland is in Cuyahoga County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. CMS's Landscape Source Files for 2026 and 2027 show that 18 plans in the county are new for the coming plan year — meaning they were not sold here in 2026 and have no local enrollment history yet.

A renewing plan carries forward its contract number, its Star Rating and its track record on things like customer service calls and drug pricing. A new plan does not. The Star Ratings page on medicare.gov will show renewing plans with scores from past years; new plans will simply have no rating displayed. CMS treats that as "not yet rated," not as a warning.

The nine carriers adding plans in Cuyahoga County

Across the 18 new plans, these carriers are the ones adding something to the 2027 lineup (counts in parentheses):

• Centene (WellCare) — 3
• Communicare Advantage — 1
• Devoted Health — 2
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 2
• Humana — 5
• Molina Healthcare of Ohio — 1
• SummaCare Medicare Advantage Plans — 1
• UnitedHealthcare — 2
• Zing Health — 1

Every one of the 18 new plans includes Part D prescription drug coverage. The plan types in the group are a mix of HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and several Special Needs Plan variants.

The 18 new plans, by carrier

The table below lists every new Medicare Advantage plan in Cuyahoga County for 2027, with its carrier and plan type. In alphabetical order by carrier, they are:

• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Access (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Reserve (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align (HMO D-SNP)
• Communicare Advantage: CommuniCare Advantage CSNP (HMO C-SNP)
• Devoted Health: DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 024 OH (HMO C-SNP); DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 026 OH (HMO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Anthem Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP); Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP)
• Humana: Humana Essentials Plus Giveback (PPO); Humana Gold Plus H0292-004 (HMO-POS); Humana Senior Living Plan (PPO I-SNP); Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP); HumanaChoice Giveback H5216-481 (PPO)
• Molina Healthcare of Ohio: Molina Complete Care Connect for MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP)
• SummaCare Medicare Advantage Plans: SummaCare Medicare Amber (HMO)
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx OH-MA2 (HMO-POS); UHC Complete Care Support OH-1A (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• Zing Health: Zing Elite Essentials Diabetes & Heart OH (HMO C-SNP)

About the Special Needs Plans in the group

Several of the new plans are Special Needs Plans. There are three types:

• D-SNP (dual-eligible): for people with both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNP (chronic condition): for people with a qualifying condition such as diabetes or certain heart conditions.
• I-SNP (institutional): for people who live in a nursing facility or need a nursing-home level of care.

SNPs have eligibility rules. You cannot simply pick one because the name sounds appealing — Medicare and the plan have to confirm you qualify.

How to vet a new plan before December 7

Because a new plan has no local history, the checks you do yourself matter more. A short routine:

1. Pull the plan up on Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code and your medicines. Plan Finder will show the plan's 2027 premium, deductible, drug tiers and estimated yearly drug cost at your pharmacy. 2. Check your doctors and hospitals. Call the plan or use its online provider directory and confirm that your primary care doctor, any specialists and the hospital you use are in-network for 2027. Networks for a new plan have never been exercised locally, so verify in writing when you can. 3. Check your pharmacy. The same drug can sit on different tiers at different plans, and a "preferred" pharmacy on one plan may be "standard" on another. 4. Read the Summary of Benefits when the plan posts it. For any question the summary leaves open, the Evidence of Coverage is the binding document. 5. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week, if something does not match up.

The 2027 numbers it helps to know

For context as you compare drug coverage across any plan — new or renewing:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027 (this is a formula input CMS uses, not what any specific plan charges).

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS usually publishes those figures later in the fall.

The coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated as of 2025, so Part D now has three phases. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the calendar year in level monthly bills, is also available again for 2027 at no extra cost if you opt in.

If you do nothing

Nothing happens automatically beyond this: your current plan renews for 2027 if the carrier is still offering it, with the changes spelled out in your Annual Notice of Change (the ANOC that arrives by late September). For 2027 in Cuyahoga County, 31 plans are not returning and 6 are being renamed, so even "doing nothing" is worth a glance at the ANOC to make sure your plan is one of the ones that is simply continuing.

If you miss December 7, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 – March 31, 2027, and lets anyone already in a Medicare Advantage plan make one change.