Medicare Advantage

Shopping Medicare Advantage in Arlington for 2027?

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.

Medicare AdvantageArlington, TX

ARLINGTON, Texas — If you live in Arlington and you are shopping a Medicare Advantage plan for 2027, the menu is long. Arlington sits in Tarrant County, where the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists 73 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for the 2027 plan year. This piece walks through who those carriers are, what plan types they offer, and whether the plans include drug coverage — so you can scan the table below and know what you are looking at.

What "available in Arlington" actually means

Medicare Advantage plans are approved and priced at the county level, not the city level. So when you see "plans available in Arlington," what CMS is really telling you is which plans are sold in Tarrant County. A neighbor a few blocks over in Grand Prairie or Mansfield may be in Tarrant, Dallas or Ellis County and see a slightly different list. The 73-plan count in this article is Tarrant County's number, taken from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for plan year 2027.

The 12 carriers offering MA-PD plans in Tarrant County

Twelve carriers are on the 2027 Tarrant County lineup, listed here in alphabetical order:

• Aetna (CVS Health): 9 plans (HMO, PPO; 4 Special Needs Plans)
• American Health Advantage of Texas: 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Baylor Scott & White Health Plan: 4 plans (HMO-POS, PPO)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC): 13 plans (HMO, PPO; 2 SNPs)
• Centene (WellCare): 6 plans (HMO; 3 SNPs)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): 6 plans (HMO, HMO-POS; 5 SNPs)
• Humana: 25 plans (HMO, PFFS, PPO; 6 SNPs)
• Molina Healthcare of Texas, Inc.: 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• ProCare Advantage: 3 plans (HMO-POS; 3 SNPs)
• Provider Partners Health Plans: 1 plan (HMO; 1 SNP)
• Texas Independence Health Plan: 2 plans (HMO; 2 SNPs)
• UnitedHealthcare: 18 plans (HMO-POS, PPO; 8 SNPs)

The full plan-by-plan detail — every plan's name, type and drug-coverage status — is in the table below. Nothing in this article ranks these carriers or singles out any plan; we are describing what's on the shelf, not what to buy.

Plan types on the 2027 menu

Of the 89 plans in Tarrant County, the breakdown by plan type is:

• HMO: 36
• HMO-POS: 20
• PPO: 31
• PFFS: 2

A quick refresher on what those letters mean:

• HMO (Health Maintenance Organization): You generally use in-network doctors and hospitals and pick a primary care doctor who coordinates referrals.
• HMO-POS (Point of Service): An HMO that allows some out-of-network care, usually at a higher cost.
• PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): More flexibility to see out-of-network providers, typically at a higher cost share.
• PFFS (Private Fee-for-Service): You can see any Medicare-approved provider who agrees to the plan's payment terms.

Special Needs Plans are a big share next year

Thirty-six of the 89 Tarrant County plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs). SNPs limit membership to people who fit a specific profile:

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

You can see SNPs across many of the carriers in the table — Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Molina, ProCare Advantage, Provider Partners, Texas Independence, UnitedHealthcare and American Health Advantage of Texas all offer at least one SNP in the county. If you don't qualify for one of these categories, an SNP isn't the right fit.

Drug coverage is built into every 2027 plan on this list

Every one of the 73 Tarrant County Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 includes Part D prescription drug coverage — what CMS calls an MA-PD plan. That matters because there are zero stand-alone Part D plans listed in the Tarrant County landscape file for 2027. If you want your drug coverage bundled with your medical coverage through one of these carriers, that's how it will come.

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 Part D deductible is capped at $615 (plans can set a lower deductible).
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") was eliminated in 2025; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread your drug costs into level monthly payments if you choose.

Dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period: Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026. Changes take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: Jan. 1 – March 31, 2027. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan) once during this window.
• IRMAA note: Higher-income Part B and Part D surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer for 2026.

How to compare the plans in the table

Once you've looked at the table below, the fastest way to check exact 2027 premiums, deductibles, copays, provider networks and drug formularies is:

1. Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your ZIP code and your prescriptions, and compare plans side by side. 2. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24/7, TTY 1-877-486-2048. 3. Contact Texas SHIP — the Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) — for free, unbiased local counseling at 1-800-252-9240.