Medicare Advantage

Providence Medicare Advantage changes for 2027: one plan leaving, four renamed

For 2027, Providence is looking at 18 Medicare Advantage plans: 0 new, 1 gone since 2026, and 8 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 4 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Providence County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Medicare AdvantageProvidence, RI

Providence, R.I. — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan here, the mail landing in your box this fall is worth opening. According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape files comparing 2026 and 2027, one Medicare Advantage plan is leaving Providence County after 2026, four plans are keeping the same coverage but changing names, and eight more are changing in some way that will be spelled out in each plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).

No new Medicare Advantage carriers are entering the county for 2027, and 18 plans are continuing. The Annual Enrollment Period runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, and members whose plan is not being renewed get an extra window to switch.

What is changing in Providence County for 2027

Providence sits in Providence County, and Medicare Advantage plan availability is set at the county level. For 2027, CMS data show:

• Leaving after 2026: 1 plan — AARP Medicare Advantage CareFlex from UHC RI-5 (HMO-POS), offered by UnitedHealthcare.
• New for 2027: 0 plans.
• Renamed (same plan, new name): 4 plans.
• Changing in some way (premium, deductible, type or name): 8 plans. CMS's file flags that a change exists; the details live in each plan's ANOC.
• Continuing unchanged in those fields: 18 plans.

Four carriers continue to offer Medicare Advantage in Providence County: Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, and UnitedHealthcare. The table on this page lists every 2026 plan by carrier.

If your plan is leaving

Only one plan is not being renewed in Providence County for 2027: AARP Medicare Advantage CareFlex from UHC RI-5 (HMO-POS). If that is your plan, UnitedHealthcare is required to send you a non-renewal notice. You have two ways to pick new coverage:

1. The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): Oct. 15–Dec. 7, 2026. Any choice you make here takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. 2. A Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for non-renewal: This runs through Feb. 28, 2027. You can use it to join another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

If you do nothing, you generally return to Original Medicare on Jan. 1 — which pays for hospital and medical care but does not include Part D drug coverage. That matters, because without Part D you could face a late enrollment penalty later.

Renamed plans: same coverage, new label

Four plans in the county are being renamed for 2027. A rename by itself is not a benefit change — but the ANOC will still show any real 2027 updates alongside the new name. The renamed plans are:

• Aetna Medicare Enhanced (PPO) — was Aetna Medicare Value Plus (PPO)
• UHC Dual Advantage RI-V1 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete RI-V001 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete RI-Q1 (PPO D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete RI-S001 (PPO D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete RI-Q2 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete RI-S002 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

If one of these is your plan, you do not need to re-enroll. Your ID card may change, but your membership continues.

Plans "changing" — read the ANOC

Eight plans in Providence County show a change for 2027 in CMS's file — that could be premium, deductible, plan type or name. CMS does not spell out which one in the Landscape data. The document that does is your Annual Notice of Change, mailed by Sept. 30 each year. Look at:

• Monthly premium and drug deductible
• Copays for primary care, specialists, hospital stays and prescriptions
• Your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies (still in network?)
• Extra benefits like dental, vision, hearing and over-the-counter items
• The drug list (formulary) for the medicines you take

Program-wide changes that apply here too

Even if your plan is continuing, a few Medicare-wide rules are worth knowing for 2027:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your drug spending hits that amount, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated as of 2025. Part D now has three phases.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional way to spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments.
• IRMAA: higher-income surcharges on Part B and Part D start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

What to do, step by step

1. Find your ANOC (mailed in September) and your Evidence of Coverage. 2. Check whether your plan is on the leaving or renamed list above. 3. List your doctors and prescriptions before you compare plans. 4. Use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov to compare 2027 options in ZIP codes tied to Providence County. 5. If you want unbiased, free help, contact Rhode Island's SHIP — called THE POINT / RI SHIP — or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048).