Medicare Advantage

Does Frisco's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup still include PFFS?

People in Frisco can choose from 81 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 97 this year. 37 of this year’s plans are gone, 21 are new to Collin County, and 30 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 9 of them under a new name.

Frisco, Texas — Fall 2026. If you live in Frisco and you're sorting through Medicare Advantage options for next year, one of the first forks in the road is the plan type. For 2027, the plans serving Collin County — where Frisco sits — split into three familiar shapes: HMO, HMO-POS and PPO. The PFFS category that showed up in the county's 2026 lineup is not part of the 2027 Medicare Advantage mix listed by CMS for Collin County.

The Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any choice you make during that window takes effect January 1, 2027. If you do nothing, your current plan renews — as long as it is offered again — with the changes spelled out in your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC).

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Collin County for 2027, by type?

Collin County has 81 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for 2027, according to the CMS Landscape Source File. By type, that breaks down to 36 HMO, 20 HMO-POS and 25 PPO plans. Counting HMO together with HMO-POS, 56 of the 81 plans use some form of HMO structure.

That's a smaller overall number than Collin County had in 2026, when 97 plans were listed (including HMO, HMO-POS, PPO and two PFFS plans). The full plan-by-plan table on this page shows every option by carrier.

What does HMO mean for a Medicare Advantage plan?

An HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) plan asks you to use its network of doctors, hospitals and other providers, and in most cases to pick a primary care physician who coordinates your care and provides referrals to specialists. Care outside the network generally isn't covered except in emergencies or urgent situations.

For 2027 in Collin County, the carriers offering HMO plans are, in alphabetical order: Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), HealthSpring, Humana, Molina Healthcare of Texas, Inc., Provider Partners Health Plans, Texas Independence Health Plan, and Verda Health Plan of Texas.

Whether an HMO fits you is less about the label and more about whether your doctors are in that specific plan's network. The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you check that for each plan.

What is an HMO-POS plan and how is it different?

HMO-POS stands for "HMO with a Point-of-Service option." It's an HMO at its core — network-first, often with referrals — but with a limited ability to see certain out-of-network providers for certain services, usually at a higher cost share. The rules vary by plan, so the specifics live in each plan's Evidence of Coverage.

For 2027 in Collin County, carriers offering HMO-POS plans are: Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Elevance Health (Anthem), ProCare Advantage, and UnitedHealthcare.

What does PPO mean, and who offers one in Collin County for 2027?

A PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plan has a preferred provider network, but it also covers care from doctors and hospitals outside that network — typically at a higher share of the cost. You usually don't need a referral to see a specialist.

For 2027 in Collin County, carriers offering PPO plans are: Aetna (CVS Health), Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, HealthSpring, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.

PPOs can appeal to people who travel inside the United States, split time between homes, or want more flexibility to see specialists directly. The trade-off is that out-of-network cost shares can be meaningfully higher, and some services may still need prior authorization — the plan's own documents are the source of truth.

What happened to PFFS plans in Collin County for 2027?

Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans don't appear in the county's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup as listed by CMS. Collin County had two PFFS plans in 2026; for 2027, the plan types listed are HMO, HMO-POS and PPO.

If you're currently in a PFFS plan, watch for a notice from your carrier about what is happening to your plan for 2027. A plan that is not returning will send a non-renewal notice; otherwise your ANOC spells out the changes.

As a program, PFFS plans decide how much they pay providers and how much you pay. Providers can choose each visit whether to accept the plan's terms, which makes checking acceptance ahead of each visit important where PFFS plans do exist.

How do I decide which plan type fits me?

Start with three practical questions, not with the label on the plan:

• Which doctors and hospitals do I want to keep using? Check each plan's network on medicare.gov or by calling the plan.
• Do I travel or spend time outside the Dallas–Fort Worth area? PPOs generally offer broader out-of-network coverage; HMOs usually don't.
• How do I feel about referrals? HMO and HMO-POS plans often use them; PPOs usually don't.

No plan type is cheaper or better across the board. Costs, drug lists, prior authorizations and extra benefits vary plan by plan, inside every type. For Collin County specifically, the full table on this page lists every 2027 Medicare Advantage plan by carrier and type.

What's changing for 2027 that applies to every plan type?

A few program-level 2027 figures are already set by CMS:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027 — this is a formula input, not what any plan actually 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 the fall. We'll update coverage when they're out.

Also for Collin County: 37 Medicare Advantage plans from the 2026 lineup are not returning in 2027, 21 are new, and 9 have been renamed. If your plan is affected, your ANOC — or a separate non-renewal letter — will say so.