Medicare Advantage

Columbus's 2027 Medicare Advantage map: who's staying, who's leaving, who's new

People in Columbus can choose from 79 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 92 this year. 27 of this year’s plans are gone, 14 are new to Franklin County, and 28 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 5 of them under a new name.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 2027 Medicare Advantage shelf for Franklin County is set, and shoppers in Columbus will see a familiar group of 12 carriers but a shuffled lineup underneath. Twenty-seven plans sold here in 2026 are not coming back for 2027, 14 new plans are joining the market, and about 60 continue with no name change. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

That shuffle matters most for anyone whose current plan is on the "leaving" list. If your plan is not offered next year, your coverage does not simply disappear — but you do have a short, special window to pick something new.

Who's selling Medicare Advantage in Columbus for 2027

Franklin County residents will choose from plans offered by Aetna (CVS Health), CareSource MyCare Ohio, Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Medical Mutual of Ohio, MediGold, Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Perennial Advantage, The Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare.

Across those 12 carriers, the mix includes HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, and PFFS plans, plus a strong set of Special Needs Plans (SNPs) for people with Medicaid, certain chronic conditions, or those who live in an institutional setting. The table below lists every plan by carrier.

What's new for 2027

Fourteen plans are joining the Columbus-area shelf for 2027. New entries include Aetna Medicare Prime Care (HMO-POS); three new Centene (WellCare) D-SNPs — Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Access (HMO D-SNP), Wellcare Buckeye Health Dual Reserve (HMO D-SNP), and Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align (HMO D-SNP); two from Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 023 OH (HMO C-SNP) and DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 028 OH (HMO); two from Elevance Health (Anthem) — Anthem Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP) and Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP); two from Humana — Humana Essentials Plus Giveback (PPO) and HumanaChoice Giveback H5216-481 (PPO); Molina Complete Care Connect for MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP); and three from UnitedHealthcare — AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC OH-19 (HMO-POS), AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx OH-MA2 (HMO-POS), and UHC Complete Care Support OH-1A (HMO-POS C-SNP).

Several of the new names are dual-eligible or chronic-condition SNPs, which continues a multi-year trend toward more tailored products for people with specific needs. If one of these appears to fit your situation, use Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see the plan's own documents before you enroll.

Plans that are not returning after 2026

Twenty-seven plans sold in Franklin County in 2026 will not be offered in 2027. They include four Aetna plans — Aetna Medicare Dual Care (HMO D-SNP), Aetna Medicare Enhanced (HMO-POS), Aetna Medicare Partial Dual (HMO D-SNP), and Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO); four Centene (WellCare) plans — Wellcare Assist (HMO-POS), Wellcare Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP), Wellcare Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP), and Wellcare Simple (HMO-POS); two Devoted Health plans — DEVOTED DUAL 011 OH (HMO D-SNP) and DEVOTED DUAL PLUS 010 OH (HMO D-SNP); nine Humana plans — Humana Dual Select H5525-046 (PPO D-SNP), Humana Gold Choice H8145-032 (PFFS), Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H6622-015 (HMO D-SNP), Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H6622-087 (HMO D-SNP), two listings of Humana USAA Honor Giveback with Rx (PPO), Humana Value Plus H5525-041 (PPO), HumanaChoice Giveback H5216-309 (PPO), and HumanaChoice Giveback H7617-003 (PPO); Mount Carmel MediGold Premium Choice (PPO); two from The Health Plan — The Health Plan SecureCare SNP (HMO D-SNP) and The Health Plan SecureChoice - Option II (PPO); and five UnitedHealthcare plans — AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC OH-0003 (HMO-POS), UHC Dual Complete OH-D001 (HMO D-SNP), UHC Dual Complete OH-D1 (PPO D-SNP), UHC Dual Complete OH-S2 (HMO D-SNP), and UHC Dual Complete OH-V001 (HMO D-SNP).

If you are enrolled in one of these plans, your carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice. Read it carefully — it is the start of a short list of to-dos.

If your plan is leaving: a Special Enrollment Period

A non-renewed Medicare Advantage plan triggers a Special Enrollment Period (SEP). From December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027, you can:

• Enroll in a different Medicare Advantage plan, or
• Return to Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

If you do nothing by the end of that window and your plan has ended, you will be in Original Medicare without drug coverage, which can mean a late-enrollment penalty for Part D later on. Switching back to Original Medicare also raises the question of a Medigap policy; outside your first six months on Part B, insurers in Ohio can use medical underwriting, so check what you'd qualify for before you drop a Medicare Advantage plan.

Renamed and otherwise changed plans

Five plans have new names for 2027 but are not brand-new products: Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align Unity (HMO D-SNP) (was Wellcare Buckeye MyCare Ohio Dual Align), DEVOTED C-SNP ENHANCED 020 OH (HMO C-SNP) (was DEVOTED C-SNP PREMIUM 020 OH), Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Support (HMO D-SNP) (was Anthem I MyCare Ohio Full Dual Advantage), Humana Full Access (PPO) (was Humana Full Access H5525-042), and MedMutual Advantage Classic (HMO-POS) (was MedMutual Advantage Classic (HMO) — a plan-type change as well).

Beyond the renames, 23 continuing plans show at least one change year over year — a premium, deductible, name or plan-type change. Those are the sort of edits that show up in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which should arrive by late September. Reading the ANOC is the single highest-value thing a current member can do during enrollment season.

2027 figures to keep in mind

Two Part D numbers already confirmed by CMS matter for anyone comparing plans this fall:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap for prescription drugs is $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not yet been announced; CMS typically publishes those figures later in the fall. The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan — an option to spread covered drug costs across the year in level monthly amounts — remains available in 2027 to anyone with Part D.