Medicare Advantage

New Medicare Advantage plans in Memphis for 2027: who's offering them

For 2027, Memphis is looking at 74 Medicare Advantage plans: 12 new, 11 gone since 2026, and 30 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 7 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Shelby County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

MEMPHIS — Shoppers in Shelby County will see 12 Medicare Advantage plans on the 2027 lineup that were not sold here for 2026, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for the current and coming plan years. The new plans come from five carriers, and they land in the middle of the Annual Enrollment Period that runs October 15 through December 7, 2026 — the window to pick coverage that starts January 1, 2027.

If a brand-new plan name is catching your eye this fall, the work is the same as with any plan: check it against your doctors, your pharmacy and your prescriptions before you enroll. A new plan simply has no local track record yet, so the Plan Finder tool and the plan's own documents matter even more.

What "new for 2027" means in Memphis

Each fall, insurers file their plans with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and CMS publishes the list county by county. Memphis is in Shelby County, where 12 of the Medicare Advantage plans offered for 2027 did not exist on the 2026 lineup. Separately, CMS records show 11 plans are not returning for 2027, and 7 are being renamed. The table below lists every plan.

A "new" plan is a plan that was not sold in this county last year under this contract. It may come from a carrier you already know, or from a smaller insurer expanding its footprint. Either way, it is a fresh product with its own network, formulary and benefit design.

The 12 new plans, by carrier

Here are the Medicare Advantage plans new to Shelby County for 2027, listed alphabetically by carrier, with plan type and whether drug coverage is included. All 12 include Part D drug coverage.

• BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee — BlueAdvantage Emerald (PPO), with drug coverage
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE ENHANCED 037 TN (PPO C-SNP), with drug coverage
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 036 TN (PPO C-SNP), with drug coverage
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE PLUS 031 TN (PPO C-SNP), with drug coverage
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED CHOICE 024 TN (PPO), with drug coverage
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK 025 TN (PPO), with drug coverage
• Devoted Health — DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 044 TN (PPO), with drug coverage
• Humana — Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP), with drug coverage
• UnitedHealthcare — AARP Medicare Advantage Direct Plus from UHC TN-8 (HMO-POS), with drug coverage
• UnitedHealthcare — UHC Dual Complete TN-Q1 (HMO-POS D-SNP), with drug coverage
• UnitedHealthcare — UHC Dual Complete TN-Y2 (HMO-POS D-SNP), with drug coverage
• Zing Health — Zing Elite Essentials Diabetes & Heart TN-MS (HMO C-SNP), with drug coverage

Special Needs Plans among the new arrivals

Several of the new plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which are built for people who meet specific requirements. Among the 12:

• C-SNPs (Chronic Condition SNPs) serve people with certain conditions — in this group, plans built around diabetes and heart conditions. Four of the new plans are C-SNPs: three from Devoted Health and one from Zing Health.
• D-SNPs (Dual Eligible SNPs) serve people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Two of the new plans are D-SNPs, both from UnitedHealthcare.
• I-SNPs (Institutional SNPs) serve people who live in a long-term care setting or need that level of care at home. One new plan is an I-SNP, from Humana.

If you do not qualify for a given SNP, you cannot enroll in it, so these plans will not appear as options for every shopper on the Plan Finder.

How a brand-new plan differs from one that is renewing

The biggest practical difference is that a new plan has no local track record. CMS publishes Star Ratings each year to help compare Medicare Advantage plans, but a plan needs to have been offered long enough for CMS to measure it. New plans simply do not have a rating yet. This is a program fact — not a reason to pick or avoid any plan — and it will resolve itself as the plan accumulates data.

A renewing plan, by contrast, sends every current member an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) each fall explaining what is different for the coming year: premium, deductible, copays, formulary, provider network and extra benefits. If you are already enrolled in a plan that is coming back for 2027, read the ANOC before you decide whether to stay or shop.

How to vet any new plan before December 7

The same checklist works whether a plan is brand new or has been in Memphis for years:

1. Check your doctors. Use the Plan Finder at medicare.gov to see each plan's provider directory, and confirm with your doctor's office that they are taking the plan for 2027. 2. Check your prescriptions. Enter every drug you take into the Plan Finder. The formulary (drug list) tells you if a medication is covered, what tier it is on and whether there are rules like prior authorization. 3. Check your pharmacy. Preferred and standard pharmacies can charge different amounts under the same plan. 4. Read the Evidence of Coverage. The EOC is the plan's full rulebook. It is longer than the summary but it is the document that controls what happens if something is denied. 5. Call if you are stuck. 1-800-MEDICARE is open 24/7, or you can call the plan directly using the number on its summary page.

A few 2027 program facts to keep in mind

Some Medicare numbers for 2027 are already set and apply no matter which plan you choose:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (it is $615 in 2026).
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is still available if you want to spread drug costs across the year in level monthly amounts.

CMS typically announces the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the IRMAA income brackets, later in the fall. Watch medicare.gov for those figures.