Medicare Advantage

Medicare in Morristown: 56 Plan Choices in Hamblen County

# Medicare in Morristown: 56+ plan options available in Hamblen County for 2026

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — If you're turning 65 soon, or you already have Medicare and are thinking about a change for 2026, here's a plain-English snapshot of what's on the table in your area. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape files, Hamblen County — which includes Morristown — has 56 Medicare Advantage plans available for the 2026 plan year.

That's a lot of choices for one county, and it can feel overwhelming. This article is about the counts — how many options you have and where they come from — not about which one is right for you. Only you (with help from a licensed agent, SHIP counselor, or Medicare.gov) can figure out that part.

The lay of the land in Hamblen County

Morristown sits inside Hamblen County, and Medicare plan availability is set at the county level. So whether you live in downtown Morristown, out toward Cherokee Lake, or anywhere else in the county, you're generally looking at the same menu of plans.

Here's what that menu looks like for 2026:

• 56 Medicare Advantage plans available in the county
• 7 carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD)
• Roughly 11,750 residents age 65 and older live in Hamblen County

For a county this size, having seven different insurance carriers competing is a meaningful amount of choice. Different carriers build their networks and drug lists differently, so two plans that look similar on paper can behave quite differently at the pharmacy counter or the doctor's office.

What about stand-alone Part D drug plans?

This is where Hamblen County looks a little different from the Medicare Advantage picture. CMS landscape data shows 0 stand-alone Part D prescription drug plans listed for the county in this dataset for 2026.

If that number looks surprising, don't panic — stand-alone Part D availability is set by CMS region, and the count in a given landscape file can shift. The practical takeaway for most people in Morristown who want drug coverage is that it's typically bundled inside a Medicare Advantage plan (an "MA-PD"). If you have Original Medicare and need a stand-alone Part D plan, call 1-800-MEDICARE or check Medicare.gov to see the current list for your ZIP code.

Star Ratings: what the number means (and doesn't)

CMS rates Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts on a 1-to-5 star scale based on things like customer service, member complaints, and preventive care. In this year's landscape data for the Morristown area, 0 contracts are rated 4 stars or higher.

A quick note on how to read that: Star Ratings are assigned at the contract level, and one contract can cover many plans and many states. A lower area rating doesn't automatically mean a plan is bad for you, and a high rating doesn't mean it's the right fit. Use ratings as one input among many — network, drug coverage, and total out-of-pocket costs matter too.

2026 program changes worth knowing

Even if you don't change plans, the Part D program itself is changing in ways that will affect nearly everyone with drug coverage:

• $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on Part D drugs. Once you hit that amount in a calendar year, you pay $0 for covered prescriptions the rest of the year.
• $615 maximum Part D deductible for 2026 (plans can set theirs lower).
• The "donut hole" is gone. Since 2025, Part D has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. You can choose to spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying all at once at the pharmacy.
• IRMAA surcharges kick in for single filers with income above $109,000 (based on your 2024 tax return for 2026 premiums).

Key dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7. This is when most people compare and switch plans for the coming year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to a different MA plan or move back to Original Medicare.