Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage in Columbia: Counting 2026 Options

COLUMBIA, S.C. — If you're sorting through Medicare options in the Midlands this fall, you have plenty to compare. Columbia sits in Richland County, where 58 Medicare Advantage plans were available for the 2026 plan year, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Landscape files. The 2027 lineup is spelled out in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

Columbia seniors have a wide field of Medicare choices for 2027

That number matters because Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. Two neighbors on the same street in Columbia see the same menu of plans — but a friend across the river in Lexington County may see a different lineup. The count above reflects what's on the shelf in Richland County, not what any one person should pick.

What the 2026 numbers looked like in Richland County

Here's a snapshot of the local landscape, drawn from CMS data:

• 58 Medicare Advantage plans available in Richland County
• 9 carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD)
• 59,468 residents age 65 and older, based on Census estimates

That works out to a crowded market by any measure. With nine different insurance companies competing, most Columbia-area beneficiaries will have several plan designs to weigh — HMOs, PPOs, and special needs plans among them.

One note on stand-alone Part D: the county-level Landscape file shows the drug-only plan menu is counted separately from MA-PD. If you have Original Medicare and want drug coverage, you'll still shop for a Part D plan through Medicare.gov's Plan Finder — that's the tool CMS built for exactly this purpose.

Why the plan count alone doesn't tell you much

Fifty-eight is a big number, but it's not a scoreboard. Two plans with similar names can work very differently once you look at provider networks, pharmacy coverage, and prior authorization rules. A plan that fits a healthy 66-year-old may be a poor fit for someone managing diabetes or seeing a specialist at Prisma Health or Lexington Medical Center.

That's why CMS publishes Star Ratings — a 1-to-5 scale that measures things like customer service, member complaints, and how well a plan manages chronic conditions. Star Ratings are a research tool, not a recommendation. They're one input among many.

Program changes that affect every Columbia beneficiary in 2027

No matter which plan you land on, some rules apply across the board in 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your prescription spending hits that limit, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The Part D deductible tops out at $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. Plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• The old coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone. Since 2025, Part D has three phases instead of four.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly installments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter. It's optional and free to opt into.
• IRMAA — the income-related surcharge on Part B and Part D premiums — kicks in above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7, 2026. This is when you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan and want to change or return to Original Medicare, this is your second window.

Missing these windows usually means waiting a full year, so it's worth putting them on the calendar now.