Medicare Advantage

7 New Medicare Advantage Plans in South Carolina for 2027: The List

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Seven Medicare Advantage plans show up on the 2027 CMS Landscape file for South Carolina that were not offered in the state in 2026. They come from five carriers and sit inside a statewide total of 97 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Because Medicare Advantage is sold county by county, a plan listed here as "new" may or may not be sold in the county where a reader lives.

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice made during that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are new in South Carolina for 2027, and which carriers are offering them?

Seven Medicare Advantage plans are new in South Carolina for 2027, out of 97 Medicare Advantage plans offered statewide for the year, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. The five carriers bringing new plans into the state are Aetna (CVS Health) with one new plan, Devoted Health with two, HealthSpring with one, Humana with two and UnitedHealthcare with one.

"New" here means new to the 2027 Landscape file compared with 2026. It does not say anything about the size of the carrier, how long it has been in South Carolina, or how its other plans have performed. The full list, carrier by carrier, is shown in the tables on this page.

Which new South Carolina Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 are offered in the most counties?

The new plans with the widest county reach in South Carolina for 2027 are two with 46-county footprints: Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP) from Humana and AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx SC-MA2 (PPO) from UnitedHealthcare. HumanaChoice Giveback H7617-119 (PPO) is listed in 42 counties.

Devoted Health is introducing two plans with 29-county footprints: DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 040 SC (PPO) and DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 045 SC (PPO C-SNP), the latter a Chronic Condition Special Needs Plan. HealthSpring Achieve (HMO C-SNP) appears in 6 counties, and Aetna Medicare Signature Extra (HMO) from Aetna (CVS Health) appears in 3 counties.

Three of the seven new plans — the HealthSpring HMO C-SNP, the Devoted PPO C-SNP, and the Humana PPO I-SNP — are Special Needs Plans, which have their own eligibility rules tied to a chronic condition or an institutional level of care. One of the seven, the UnitedHealthcare AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx SC-MA2 (PPO), is a Medicare Advantage plan without drug coverage; the other six include Part D drug coverage.

County counts come straight from the 2027 Landscape file and reflect where each plan is approved to be sold, not where any individual reader lives.

What does it mean that a Medicare Advantage plan is "new" for 2027 in South Carolina?

A "new" plan on the 2027 South Carolina Landscape is one that CMS lists for 2027 but did not list for 2026. As a factual matter, a brand-new plan contract does not yet have a Medicare Star Rating or a multi-year track record, because Star Ratings are calculated from prior plan-year data. That is a description, not a judgment.

New plans still have to meet the same federal rules as every other Medicare Advantage plan — the same enrollment windows, the same appeal rights, and the same Evidence of Coverage document that spells out what is and is not covered.

How do I check whether a new 2027 plan is offered in my South Carolina county and covers my doctors and prescriptions?

The county-level answer lives on the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, where entering a South Carolina ZIP code returns only the plans actually sold in that county for 2027. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Three questions are worth working through for any plan on the list:

• Is the plan sold in my county for 2027? A plan listed in 29 or 46 counties is still not sold in the other counties.
• Are my doctors, hospitals and other providers in the plan's 2027 network? Confirm this with the plan's own provider directory and, when possible, by calling the provider's office.
• Are my prescriptions on the plan's 2027 formulary, and at what tier? The plan's formulary and Evidence of Coverage are the authoritative documents.

For Special Needs Plans, there is a fourth question: do I meet the eligibility criteria (a qualifying chronic condition for a C-SNP, or an institutional level of care for an I-SNP)?

What should South Carolina Medicare beneficiaries do before December 7, 2026?

Before December 7, 2026, the practical step is to read the Annual Notice of Change your current plan mailed in September 2026 and compare it against the 2027 options in your county on medicare.gov. A choice made during the October 15 – December 7, 2026 window takes effect January 1, 2027.

If a current plan still fits in 2027, no action is required to stay in it. If a different plan — new or returning — looks like a better match, enrolling in that plan during the Annual Enrollment Period automatically ends the old one on December 31, 2026.

Where can South Carolinians get free help comparing 2027 Medicare Advantage plans?

Two free, non-sales resources are available to every South Carolina Medicare beneficiary: the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE, which is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Both can show the 2027 plans available in a specific ZIP code, including the seven new plans discussed above.

Carriers and licensed agents can also answer questions about their own plans, but only medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE show every plan available in a given county on the same screen.