Medicare Advantage

Austin's 2027 Medicare Advantage map: one carrier out, one in, and 11 new plans

People in Austin can choose from 56 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 60 this year. 15 of this year’s plans are gone, 11 are new to Travis County, and 21 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 8 of them under a new name.

AUSTIN — As the Annual Enrollment Period opens Oct. 15, 2026, the Medicare Advantage menu in Travis County is shifting more than it has in several years. One familiar carrier is leaving the county for 2027, a new one is arriving, and nearly a quarter of the plans on this year's shelf will not be back.

Austin sits in Travis County, where Medicare plan availability is set. For plan year 2026, eight carriers offer 60 Medicare Advantage plans here. For 2027, the roster will look different: 15 plans are leaving, 11 are new, 8 have been renamed, and 37 are continuing. Thirteen more carry a change the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) will spell out.

Here is what's actually changing, by carrier, and what to do if your plan is one of the ones not coming back.

The carrier lineup for 2027

Eight carriers offer Medicare Advantage in Travis County in 2026: Aetna (CVS Health), Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Texas Independence Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare.

Two carrier-level changes stand out for 2027:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC) will not offer Medicare Advantage plans in Travis County next year. Members in a BCBS plan will need to pick a new plan or will return to Original Medicare.
• Provider Partners Health Plans is new to the county, entering with the Provider Partners Texas Advantage Plan (HMO I-SNP), an Institutional Special Needs Plan.

The remaining seven carriers all stay, though several are reshaping what they offer.

What's leaving after 2026

Fifteen plans will not be offered in Travis County in 2027. In alphabetical order by carrier, they are:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Full Dual Care (HMO D-SNP)
• Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC): Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Choice Premier (PPO); Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Dual Care Plus (HMO D-SNP); Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Optimum (PPO); Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Preferred (PPO)
• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Dual Access (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Dual Reserve (HMO D-SNP); Wellcare Giveback (HMO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Wellpoint Dual Advantage 2 (HMO D-SNP)
• Humana: Humana USAA Honor Giveback (PPO)
• UnitedHealthcare: UHC Complete Care Support TX-1A (Regional PPO C-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-D002 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-S003 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-V002 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

Most of these are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) — plans built for people with Medicaid as well as Medicare, or for a specific chronic condition. If you are in one of them, the next section matters.

What's new for 2027

Eleven plans are new to the Travis County roster for 2027:

• Devoted Health: DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 082 TX (HMO C-SNP); DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 109 TX (HMO)
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Wellpoint Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP)
• Humana: Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP)
• Provider Partners Health Plans: Provider Partners Texas Advantage Plan (HMO I-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare: UHC Dual Advantage TX-V11 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-Q6 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-S6 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-YL2 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

Here, too, the picture is heavily tilted to Special Needs Plans. Shoppers who are not dual-eligible and do not have a qualifying chronic condition will likely be choosing among the general plans that are continuing from this year.

Renamed, not gone

Eight plans are the same plan with a new name. If one of these is yours, your ANOC will note the name change along with any other updates:

• Aetna Medicare Signature Extra (PPO), formerly Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO)
• Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP), formerly Wellcare Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP)
• DEVOTED C-SNP ENHANCED 023 TX (HMO C-SNP), formerly DEVOTED C-SNP PREMIUM 023 TX (HMO C-SNP)
• Humana Essentials Plus Giveback (PPO), formerly Humana Essentials Plus Giveback H7617-035 (PPO)
• HumanaChoice Giveback H5216-358 (PPO), formerly Humana Essentials Plus Giveback H5216-358 (PPO)
• HumanaChoice H5216-432 (PPO), formerly Humana Full Access H5216-432 (PPO)
• HumanaChoice H7617-029 (PPO), formerly Humana Full Access H7617-029 (PPO)
• AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC TX-61 (Regional PPO), formerly UHC Medicare Advantage TX-0030 (Regional PPO)

An additional 13 plans are continuing but changing in some way the ANOC will flag — a premium, deductible, plan type or name adjustment. Read it carefully when it lands in your mailbox.

If your plan is not coming back

If your current Medicare Advantage plan is on the "leaving" list, your carrier is required to mail you a non-renewal notice. You have options:

• During the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15 – Dec. 7, 2026), pick a new Medicare Advantage plan for a Jan. 1, 2027 start.
• You also qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that runs Dec. 8, 2026 through Feb. 28, 2027 to switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare and add a stand‑alone Part D drug plan.
• Doing nothing means you return to Original Medicare on Jan. 1, 2027, without drug coverage.

For everyone else, nothing automatic happens: if your plan is being offered again next year, it renews on Jan. 1, 2027 with whatever changes the ANOC describes.

The 2027 numbers worth knowing

A few program-level figures CMS has already confirmed for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (it is $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (it is $615 in 2026).
• The Part D national base beneficiary premium is $41.33 for 2027 — a formula input, not what any specific plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes those in November. The coverage gap ("donut hole") has been gone since 2025; Part D now has three phases, and the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly installments.