Medicare Advantage

Stow's 2027 Medicare Advantage picture: 17 carriers, what to check before Dec. 7

For 2027, Stow is looking at 100 Medicare Advantage plans: 17 new, 30 gone since 2026, and 37 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 5 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Summit County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

STOW, Ohio — Fall 2026 is when Medicare shoppers in Summit County get their clearest look at the coming year's Medicare Advantage lineup. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

For 2026, Summit County — the county Stow sits in — has 113 Medicare Advantage plans from 17 carriers on the shelf, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape file. That is the baseline readers will compare to when their 2027 Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) arrives in the mail. Below is a carrier-by-carrier snapshot of who is competing for Stow's Medicare business right now, plus what to do if a plan you rely on does not come back next year.

How the Stow-area lineup breaks down

Stow is in Summit County, where Medicare Advantage plan availability is set. CMS's public landscape file lists 113 Medicare Advantage plans available in the county for the current plan year, spread across three plan types: 47 HMO plans, 26 HMO-POS plans, and 40 PPO plans. Every one of those plans includes prescription drug coverage.

Thirty-eight of those plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) — plans built for people with certain chronic conditions, people who have both Medicare and Medicaid (dual-eligible), or people living in institutional settings. If you fit one of those categories, the SNP shelf is worth a closer look with a licensed agent or your local SHIP counselor.

The 17 carriers competing in Summit County

The table on this page lists every plan by carrier and type. In alphabetical order, the carriers offering Medicare Advantage in the county are:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 9 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 4 SNPs)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC) — 5 plans (HMO, PPO; 2 SNPs)
• CareSource MyCare Ohio (HMO D-SNP) — 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Centene (WellCare) — 5 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; 3 SNPs)
• Communicare Advantage — 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Devoted Health — 11 plans (HMO, PPO; 4 SNPs)
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 9 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 2 SNPs)
• Humana — 24 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 6 SNPs)
• Medical Mutual of Ohio — 8 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO)
• Molina Healthcare of Ohio — 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Perennial Advantage — 3 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; 2 SNPs)
• PrimeTime Health Plan — 4 plans (HMO-POS)
• SummaCare Medicare Advantage Plans — 7 plans (HMO, HMO-POS)
• The Health Plan — 5 plans (HMO, PPO; 1 SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare — 14 plans (HMO, HMO-POS, PPO; 7 SNPs)
• Valor Health Plan — 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Zing Health — 5 plans (HMO; 3 SNPs)

Humana has the deepest bench in the county, followed by UnitedHealthcare and Devoted Health. Regional and locally rooted names — Medical Mutual of Ohio, SummaCare, PrimeTime Health Plan, and The Health Plan — sit alongside the national carriers. Which one is right for any given household depends on doctors, hospitals, prescriptions and personal preferences, not on plan count.

What "new for 2027" and "not returning" actually mean

Every year, some plan contracts are renewed with CMS, some are consolidated, and some are dropped. CMS finalizes and posts the 2027 landscape file each fall, and carriers mail an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) to current members by late September, spelling out what is different for the coming year — including whether the plan will exist in 2027 at all.

If your plan is returning, doing nothing means you keep it on Jan. 1, 2027, with the changes described in your ANOC.

If your plan is not returning — CMS calls this a non-renewal — you get a Special Enrollment Period that lets you pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or move to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan without waiting for the next AEP. That window typically runs from Dec. 8 through the end of February, but the notice you receive from your carrier and from CMS will give you the exact dates that apply to your situation.

The plan-by-plan list on this page reflects the current (2026) roster. As CMS posts the 2027 file and carriers finalize their materials, this page and the plan table will show what carries over and what does not.

The 2027 numbers that are already confirmed

For Part D drug coverage — which is built into every one of the 113 Medicare Advantage plans in Summit County — CMS has confirmed two 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 rises to $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026.

CMS has also set the 2027 Part D national base beneficiary premium at $41.33. That is a formula input used to calculate late-enrollment penalties and certain surcharges — not the premium any specific plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets have not been announced. CMS typically publishes those numbers in the fall, usually November. Do not act on projections you see floating around online; wait for the official release.

What to actually do between now and Dec. 7

You do not need to change plans to keep coverage. But this is a good year to look, for three reasons: the Part D cap and deductible are moving, carriers routinely tweak formularies and provider networks, and the SNP shelf in Summit County is unusually deep.

A practical checklist:

1. Read your ANOC. It tells you what your current plan will look like in 2027. 2. List your prescriptions and your doctors. Then check each 2027 plan you are considering against them in the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. 3. Ask about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. It is an optional program that lets you spread your out-of-pocket drug costs over the calendar year instead of paying them at the pharmacy counter. 4. Get free, unbiased help. In Ohio, the SHIP is called OSHIIP (Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program), reachable at 1-800-686-1578. Or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), open 24/7.