Medicare Advantage

If you got a non-renewal letter in Austin, here is what it means for 2027

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 — This fall, some Medicare Advantage members in and around Austin are opening a letter from their insurer with news that their current plan will not be offered in 2027. Fifteen Medicare Advantage plans sold in Travis County this year are not in the 2027 lineup, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for the current and coming plan years. If one of them is yours, you have time, options, and a special window to make a change.

How to tell if your plan is one of them

If your Medicare Advantage plan will not be offered in Travis County next year, your insurer is required to send you a written notice — often called a non-renewal letter or a plan termination notice. These letters usually arrive in late September or early October before the Annual Enrollment Period begins. The letter will say your current plan will not be available in 2027, give you the exact end date (December 31, 2026), and explain your options.

The letter is the official signal. If you did not get one and your plan is not on the list below, your plan is renewing for 2027 — but the details may change. For any plan that is renewing, read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your insurer sends; it spells out what is different next year.

The Austin-area plans not returning for 2027

Austin is in Travis County, where CMS data show 15 Medicare Advantage plans offered in 2026 are not in the 2027 file. In alphabetical order by carrier, those plans 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)

The table on this page lists every Medicare Advantage plan that will be sold in Travis County for 2027 — 56 plans from 8 carriers, per the CMS Landscape file.

What happens if you do nothing

If your plan is on the list and you do not pick a new one by December 31, 2026, you will not lose Medicare. You will be automatically returned to Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) starting January 1, 2027.

Here is the catch: Original Medicare does not include prescription drug coverage. If your current Medicare Advantage plan includes Part D (all 60 of the 2026 Travis County plans do), you would start the new year without drug coverage unless you take action. You would also lose any extra benefits your current plan may have offered.

Your choices and your Special Enrollment Period

When a plan is non-renewed, Medicare gives you a Special Enrollment Period that runs from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027. Within that window you can:

• Join a different Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage).
• Stay with Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.
• The simplest path for most people is to use the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026, so your new coverage starts cleanly on January 1, 2027.

You also have a Medigap guaranteed-issue right in this situation. At the federal level, when your Medicare Advantage plan ends, you can buy certain Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policies without medical underwriting for a limited time. Texas has its own rules on which Medigap plans qualify and how long the window lasts — contact the Texas Department of Insurance for the state-specific details before you decide.

A few 2027 program figures to keep in mind

As you compare plans for next year, two Part D numbers are already set by CMS:

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

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.