Medicare Advantage

Does Your 2027 Medicare Plan Still Fit Atascocita?

For 2027, Atascocita is looking at 99 Medicare Advantage plans: 22 new, 37 gone since 2026, and 44 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 17 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Harris County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

ATASCOCITA, Texas — It is fall 2026, which means Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period is open through Dec. 7, 2026. Any change you make in that window starts Jan. 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan simply renews next year — as long as it is still offered — with whatever changes are spelled out in the Annual Notice of Change your insurer mailed you in September.

That notice is where a good review starts. This checklist walks you through what to look at, in what order, before the December deadline.

Step 1: Read your Annual Notice of Change

Your plan sent an ANOC by late September. It is a side-by-side of what your plan covered in 2026 and what it will cover in 2027 — premium, deductible, drug tiers, copays, extra benefits, and the provider and pharmacy networks.

Circle anything that changed. Even small shifts (a drug moving to a higher tier, a specialist copay going up, a dental allowance changing) can add up over a year. The companion document, the Evidence of Coverage, has the full rules if you want to dig deeper.

Step 2: Check your doctors and hospitals

Networks change every year. Before you decide to stay or switch:

• Call your primary care doctor's office and ask, plainly, "Are you in-network with this plan for 2027?" Give them the plan name from your ID card.
• Do the same for any specialists you see regularly.
• If you use a specific hospital system in the Atascocita or greater Houston area, confirm it is still contracted for next year.

Don't rely on last year's directory. Ask the office directly, and if the plan is new to you, confirm it with the insurer too.

Step 3: Re-price your prescriptions

Drug formularies are refreshed every year. Log in to Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov, enter your prescriptions and your preferred pharmacy, and see how each plan handles your list for 2027.

Two Part D numbers to keep in mind for next year, both from CMS:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 in 2027, up from $2,100 in 2026.
• The maximum Part D deductible is $700 in 2027, up from $615 in 2026.

If your drug costs are uneven month to month, ask about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads out-of-pocket drug costs across the calendar year.

Step 4: Look at what else is available in Harris County

Atascocita is in Harris County, where CMS's 2026 Medicare Advantage Landscape lists 114 plans from 15 carriers. The mix by type: 59 HMO, 24 HMO-POS, 29 PPO and 2 PFFS, plus 45 Special Needs Plans. All 114 include drug coverage.

Carriers offering plans in the county include Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Community Health Choice, Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Memorial Hermann Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of Texas, ProCare Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, SCAN Health Plan, Texas Independence Health Plan, UnitedHealthcare and Verda Health Plan of Texas. The table below lists every plan by carrier.

The 2027 county lineup will be posted on Medicare's Plan Finder in October 2026. That is the moment to compare, not August press releases.

Step 5: Don't forget Part B and IRMAA

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible have not been announced yet — CMS usually publishes them in November. The 2027 IRMAA income brackets, which add a surcharge for higher-income enrollees, come out at the same time. For reference, in 2026 IRMAA begins above $109,000 in income for a single filer. Watch medicare.gov for the update before you finalize your budget for next year.

Step 6: Get free, unbiased help if you want a second set of eyes

Two places to know:

• Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, or 1-800-MEDICARE (24/7).
• Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). In Texas, that's the Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP), reachable at 1-800-252-9240. Counselors are trained volunteers who do not sell plans.