Medicare Advantage

How many 2026 Medicare Advantage plans cover Cuyahoga County?

For 2027, Westlake is looking at 99 Medicare Advantage plans: 18 new, 31 gone since 2026, and 37 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 6 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Cuyahoga County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

If you live in Westlake and open your mailbox this fall, you already know the answer feels like "too many." Here is the real number: Westlake is in Cuyahoga County, where 93 Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2027, offered by 16 different carriers. That is a lot of paperwork — but it is also a lot of room to find something that fits.

This article is not about which plan to pick. It is about the size of the menu in front of you, so you can walk into the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7) knowing what "shopping around" actually means here.

What "112 plans" really means

The 93 figure comes from the CMS 2027 Medicare Advantage landscape file for Cuyahoga County. It counts Medicare Advantage plans — the Part C option that bundles hospital, medical, and usually drug coverage into one plan run by a private carrier.

A few things this number is not:

• It is not the number of plans in Westlake specifically. Medicare uses county-level service areas, so anyone with a Westlake ZIP sees the Cuyahoga County menu.
• It is not a ranking. CMS lists every plan approved to be sold in the county, not the "best" ones.
• It is not the same as stand-alone Part D drug plans, which are counted in a separate national region.

16 carriers, one county

Behind those 112 plans are 16 different insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD) in the area. That matters because many carriers offer several plans — one might have three HMOs, four PPOs, and a special-needs plan for people with certain chronic conditions or dual Medicare-Medicaid eligibility.

So when you compare, it often helps to think in two steps: which carriers have networks that include your doctors and hospitals, and then which of that carrier's plans matches how you actually use care.

What about stand-alone Part D?

If you are staying with Original Medicare (Parts A and B) and want drug coverage, you would normally add a stand-alone Part D plan. Those are sold by region, not by county, so they do not appear in the 112-plan county count. You can see the Part D plans available to Westlake residents by entering your ZIP code on medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

A few Part D rules worth knowing while you shop:

• The out-of-pocket cap for covered drugs is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027.
• The maximum deductible a Part D plan can charge is $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments if you choose.

Star Ratings, briefly

You will see CMS Star Ratings (1 to 5) next to plans on medicare.gov. They measure things like customer service, member complaints, and chronic-condition care management. They are a useful data point, not a verdict. Read the ratings alongside your own priorities, like network and drug list, rather than as a stand-alone score.

How to actually sort through 112 options

You do not have to read 112 brochures. A workable approach:

1. Make a short list of your doctors, hospitals, and regular prescriptions. 2. Go to medicare.gov and enter your Westlake ZIP code. 3. Filter by whether you want Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare plus a Part D plan. 4. Check each finalist for network match and drug coverage. 5. Call 1-800-MEDICARE or Ohio's SHIP program (called OSHIIP) for free, unbiased help.

With more than 242,000 people age 65 and older in Cuyahoga County, you are not the only one working through this — and local counselors have seen a lot of situations like yours.