Medicare Advantage

Shopping for 2027 Medicare Advantage in Frisco? A six-step way to sort the Collin County lineup

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 have Medicare in Frisco, the mail has probably started piling up: a thick Annual Notice of Change from your plan, glossy brochures from carriers you have never heard of, and reminders that the Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any change you make lands as 2027 coverage on January 1.

Frisco sits in Collin County, where CMS lists 81 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for 2027, down from 97 plans the year before. With that many choices, the useful question is not "which plan is best" — no one can answer that for you — but "how do I compare them in a way that actually fits my doctors, my drugs and my budget?"

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

Collin County, which includes Frisco, has 81 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for 2027, according to the CMS Landscape Source File. Of those, 36 are HMOs, 20 are HMO-POS plans and 25 are PPOs. Seventy-three include Part D drug coverage built in.

The 12 carriers offering plans in the county next year are Aetna (CVS Health), Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), HealthSpring, Humana, Molina Healthcare of Texas, ProCare Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, Texas Independence Health Plan, UnitedHealthcare and Verda Health Plan of Texas. The full table below shows every plan by carrier and type.

What is new for 2027 in Frisco?

For 2027, Collin County has 21 brand-new Medicare Advantage plans and 37 plans that are not returning. That turnover is the single biggest reason to open your mail this fall rather than letting the plan auto-renew.

Carrier lineups are shifting too. Compared with 2026, Texas Independence Health Plan appears on the 2027 list, while a couple of smaller carriers from last year do not. Some established carriers added plans; others trimmed. The counts in the table below reflect what CMS has approved for sale in the county next year.

What are Special Needs Plans and who can join one?

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are Medicare Advantage plans built for people in specific situations. Collin County has 41 SNPs for 2027: 22 Dual-Eligible SNPs (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, 12 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) for people with a qualifying condition such as diabetes, heart failure or chronic kidney disease, and 7 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs) for people who live in a nursing home or need that level of care at home.

You can only join an SNP if you qualify. If you do, these plans often tailor the drug list, specialists and extra benefits around the condition — which is exactly why you have to compare them on the specifics, not the label.

How do I compare 2027 Medicare Advantage plans step by step?

Here is a six-step method that works for anyone in Frisco, whether you are keeping your plan or shopping new.

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) first. Your current plan mailed this in September. It spells out every change coming January 1, 2027 — premium, deductible, copays, drug tier changes, network changes. If nothing in it bothers you, you can stop. Doing nothing means your plan renews as described.

2. List your doctors and hospitals. Write down every provider you want to keep, including primary care, specialists, and the hospital system you prefer (in Frisco that often means Baylor Scott & White, Texas Health Presbyterian, Medical City or Children's Health for a grandchild on the policy). For each plan you consider, check its online provider directory or call the plan to confirm the doctor is in-network for 2027, not just 2026.

3. List your prescriptions. Write down each drug, the dose and how often you take it. On the Medicare Plan Finder, you can enter this list once and it will show you, for every plan sold in Collin County, whether the drug is covered, which tier it sits on, and your estimated yearly cost.

4. Check your pharmacy. Plans split pharmacies into "preferred" and "standard," and your out-of-pocket on the same drug can differ between the two. If you fill at a specific Frisco pharmacy — a Walgreens on Preston, an H-E-B, a Costco, a local independent — make sure it is a preferred pharmacy for the plan.

5. Use the Medicare Plan Finder. At medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your Frisco ZIP code and your drug list. The tool pulls every Collin County plan, lets you filter by type (HMO, PPO, SNP) and shows plan-level estimated costs side by side. It is the only tool that compares all 81 plans at once with your actual drugs.

6. Call before you enroll. If a plan looks right on paper, call it and confirm your doctor and your pharmacy, in writing if possible. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE for help walking through the Plan Finder.

What 2027 Medicare costs are already set, and what is not?

A few 2027 figures are already published 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 is $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The Part D national base beneficiary premium — a formula input, not what any one plan charges — is $41.33 for 2027.

Not yet announced: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets. CMS typically publishes those in November. Watch medicare.gov for the official numbers rather than relying on projections.

What happens in Frisco if I do nothing by December 7?

Nothing dramatic. If your current Medicare Advantage plan is being offered again in Collin County for 2027, you stay in it, with the changes listed in your ANOC taking effect January 1. If your plan is one of the 37 not returning, your carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice and you have a Special Enrollment Period to pick another plan.

You also get a second chance window: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs January 1 – March 31, 2027, and lets anyone already in a Medicare Advantage plan switch to another MA plan or back to Original Medicare once.