Medicare Advantage

How 12 Carriers Shape Arlington's 2027 Advantage Menu

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 sits in Tarrant County, and that is the geography that shapes your Medicare Advantage menu for 2027. Twelve carriers are selling Medicare Advantage plans in the county next year, and the plans they sell come in a few different shapes — HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, PFFS, and Special Needs Plans. Before you sort through names and pick one, it helps to understand who is offering plans in the area and what each plan type actually means.

Who is selling Medicare Advantage in Tarrant County

For plan year 2027, 12 carriers offer Medicare Advantage plans in Tarrant County. Listed alphabetically, with the number of plans each offers:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 9 plans
• American Health Advantage of Texas: 1 plan
• Baylor Scott & White Health Plan: 4 plans
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC): 13 plans
• Centene (WellCare): 6 plans
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 6 plans
• Humana: 25 plans
• Molina Healthcare of Texas, Inc.: 1 plan
• ProCare Advantage: 3 plans
• Provider Partners Health Plans: 1 plan
• Texas Independence Health Plan: 2 plans
• UnitedHealthcare: 18 plans

The table below lists every plan by carrier. Plan counts alone don't tell you which plan fits your doctors, your medications, or your budget — that's a personal comparison, not a ranking.

How the plan types differ

Medicare Advantage plans in Tarrant County come in four network types. Each has its own rules about where you can get care.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization). You generally use doctors and hospitals in the plan's network, and you usually need a primary care doctor and referrals to see specialists. Out-of-network care is typically not covered except in an emergency.

HMO-POS (HMO with a Point-of-Service option). A hybrid: it works like an HMO, but the "point-of-service" feature lets you go outside the network for certain services, usually at a higher cost. Tarrant County has 20 HMO-POS plans.

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). You can see any Medicare-approved provider, in-network or out, without a referral, but you'll usually pay less in-network. Tarrant County has 31 PPO plans — some are local PPOs and some are regional PPOs.

PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service). The plan sets what it will pay providers and what you owe. Providers can decide, visit by visit, whether to accept the plan's terms unless they have a contract with it. Tarrant County has 2 PFFS plans (both from Humana).

None of these types is "better" than the others — they're just different trade-offs between flexibility and structure.

Special Needs Plans: who they're for

Of the 89 Medicare Advantage plans in Tarrant County, 36 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs). These aren't open to everyone — you have to meet specific eligibility rules. There are three kinds:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible) — for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition) — for people with certain chronic conditions, such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, or end-stage renal disease.
• I-SNP (Institutional) — for people who live in a nursing home or need a similar level of care.

SNPs are required to include drug coverage and are built around the population they serve. If you don't qualify for an SNP, you'd choose from the general HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, or PFFS plans.

Drug coverage is built in

Every one of the 73 Medicare Advantage plans in Tarrant County for 2027 includes Part D prescription drug coverage. That's typical for Medicare Advantage: most plans bundle medical and drug coverage together (these are called MA-PD plans).

A few Part D program facts to keep in mind for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 for the year.
• The maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge is $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap is gone — Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.

What to compare, and when

Plan counts and plan types are the starting point, not the finish line. When you compare plans, look at the specific doctors and hospitals in each plan's network, the drugs on its formulary, and the cost-sharing that applies to services you actually use.

Two enrollment windows matter:

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 through December 7. This is when most people join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the following year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 through March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare.