Medicare Advantage

22 new Medicare Advantage plans land in Arlington for 2027: how to vet one with no track record

People in Arlington can choose from 83 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 89 this year. 28 of this year’s plans are gone, 22 are new to Tarrant County, and 32 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 10 of them under a new name.

Arlington, Texas — Shoppers in Arlington are opening their mail this fall to a bigger-than-usual stack of brochures. For plan year 2027, seven carriers are adding 22 new Medicare Advantage plans in Tarrant County, the county Arlington sits in, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files. A brand-new plan looks a lot like a renewing one on paper — but it has no history yet, which changes how you should check it before the December 7, 2026 deadline.

What "new for 2027" actually means

A new plan is one a carrier is offering in Tarrant County for 2027 that it did not sell here for 2026. It has its own plan ID, its own benefits booklet, its own provider network and its own drug formulary. It is not a renamed version of an older plan — CMS tracks renames separately, and there are 10 of those in the county for 2027.

Because the plan is new, three things are true at the same time:

• There is no Star Rating for it yet. CMS rates plans after they have been running long enough to measure. That is a program fact, not a reason to pick or skip a plan.
• There is no word-of-mouth from neighbors who have used it.
• The paperwork — the Summary of Benefits, the formulary and the provider directory — is the only way to see what it covers.

That makes homework matter more, not less.

The carriers adding plans in Tarrant County for 2027

Seven carriers are introducing new plans for 2027. In alphabetical order:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 3 new plans
• Centene (WellCare) — 2 new plans
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 5 new plans
• HealthSpring — 1 new plan
• Humana — 5 new plans
• UnitedHealthcare — 4 new plans
• Verda Health Plan of Texas — 2 new plans

Verda Health Plan of Texas is the only carrier on the list that was not already selling Medicare Advantage plans in Tarrant County for 2026. The others are expanding or reshaping their 2027 lineups.

The full list of names, plan types and drug coverage appears in the table below.

Plan types in the new lineup

The 22 new plans come in a few shapes. Knowing the shape matters because it drives how you see doctors.

• HMO plans ask you to use the plan's network and usually to pick a primary care doctor.
• HMO-POS plans are HMOs with a limited "point of service" option to go out of network for certain services.
• PPO plans let you see out-of-network providers, usually at a higher cost share.

Among the 22 new plans, you'll see HMO, HMO-POS and PPO options from the carriers listed above. Every new plan for 2027 includes Part D prescription drug coverage.

Special Needs Plans among the new ones

A large share of the new 2027 plans are Special Needs Plans. SNPs are Medicare Advantage plans built for a specific group:

• D-SNPs are for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNPs are for people with certain chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart conditions or kidney disease.
• I-SNPs are for people who live in a nursing home or need that level of care.

You must meet the eligibility rules to enroll in an SNP. If you don't, a general HMO, HMO-POS or PPO is the lane to look at.

How to check a new plan against your doctors and prescriptions

Because a new plan has no history, the only reliable way to judge it is to test it against your own life. Here is a plain-language routine you can finish in one sitting:

1. Make two lists. Write down every doctor and facility you want to keep (primary care, specialists, hospital, imaging center), and every prescription you take, including the dose and how often. 2. Open the Medicare Plan Finder. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code, and add your drugs with their dosages and your preferred pharmacy. The tool will show you each 2027 plan available in Tarrant County, including the new ones. 3. Check the network. For each plan you're serious about, confirm your doctors in the plan's own online directory (not just the Plan Finder summary). Call the office and ask, "Are you contracted with this specific plan for 2027?" The plan name and the carrier name are both important — some carriers run several networks. 4. Read the Summary of Benefits. Look at how the plan handles the services you actually use: primary care, specialists, hospital stays, physical therapy, mental health, dental, hearing. 5. Compare drug coverage. The formulary tells you which tier each of your medications sits on and whether it needs prior authorization or step therapy. For 2027, the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible is $700 (up from $615 in 2026). 6. If you're happy with your current plan, read the ANOC. The Annual Notice of Change your carrier mailed in September spells out what is changing for 2027. Doing nothing means it renews.

If you'd rather have help walking through it, call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The deadline, without the drama

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan continues — assuming it is being offered for 2027 — with whatever changes its ANOC describes.

For 2027 in Tarrant County, CMS data shows 28 plans not returning and 22 new ones. If a non-renewal notice arrived in your mail, that is the one piece of mail worth opening right away, because it means your current plan will not be an option on January 1.

A quick note on costs you'll see elsewhere: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes them later in the fall. Any number you see before then is a projection, not an official figure.