Medicare Advantage

Garland's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup adds 20 new plans: how to vet one with no track record

Dallas County has 84 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 29 plans are not coming back, 20 are new, and 31 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 9 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Garland, not which plan to pick.

Garland, Texas — Fall 2026. When the Medicare Advantage lineup for 2027 opens for enrollment on October 15, Garland residents will see something they could not pick a year ago: 20 brand-new plans in the local market, offered by six carriers. Because these plans did not exist in 2026, none of them has a track record yet — no returning members, no prior Star Rating from CMS. That makes the homework step before December 7 especially important.

What Medicare Advantage plans are new in Garland for 2027?

Garland is in Dallas County, where CMS's 2027 MA Landscape Source File lists 20 Medicare Advantage plans as new — meaning they are offered for the 2027 plan year but were not offered for 2026. They come from six carriers.

Here are the new plans, in alphabetical order by carrier, as CMS lists them. The table on this page shows every plan available in the county; the entries below are only the ones flagged as new.

• Aetna (CVS Health) — 3 new plans: Aetna Medicare Enhanced Extra (PPO) with drug coverage; Aetna Medicare QMB Only Care (HMO D-SNP) with drug coverage; Aetna Medicare Signature (HMO) with drug coverage.
• Elevance Health (Anthem) — 6 new plans: Wellpoint Chronic Care Advantage Select (HMO C-SNP); Wellpoint Chronic Care Select (HMO-POS C-SNP); Wellpoint Dual Advantage Plus Select (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Dual Advantage Select (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage Select (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Medicare Advantage Select (HMO-POS). All include drug coverage.
• HealthSpring — 1 new plan: HealthSpring TotalCare Plus (HMO D-SNP) with drug coverage.
• Humana — 5 new plans: Humana DaVita Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP), listed twice as separate offerings; Humana Gold Plus - Diabetes and Heart (HMO C-SNP); Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP); Humana Value Choice (PPO). All include drug coverage.
• Texas Independence Health Plan — 2 new plans: Texas Independence Community Plan (HMO I-SNP) and Texas Independence Health Plan, Inc. (HMO I-SNP). Both include drug coverage.
• UnitedHealthcare — 3 new plans: UHC Dual Advantage TX-V11 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-Q6 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete TX-Y1 (HMO-POS D-SNP). All include drug coverage.

How many of the new 2027 plans are Special Needs Plans, and do they include drug coverage?

Of the 20 new plans in Dallas County for 2027, all 20 include Part D prescription drug coverage. The majority are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) — plans designed for people who qualify by diagnosis (C-SNP, Chronic), by Medicaid eligibility (D-SNP, Dual), or by institutional need (I-SNP).

Breaking down the new 2027 plans by type:

• D-SNPs (for people with both Medicare and Medicaid): nine plans across Aetna, Elevance Health (Anthem), HealthSpring, and UnitedHealthcare.
• C-SNPs (for people with qualifying chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart conditions, or kidney disease): five plans across Elevance Health, Humana.
• I-SNPs (for people who live in or require an institutional level of care): three plans from Humana and Texas Independence Health Plan.
• General HMO, HMO-POS, or PPO plans (open to anyone who qualifies for Medicare Advantage in the service area): three plans from Aetna, Elevance Health, and Humana.

If a plan is a SNP, you must meet its eligibility rules to enroll. The Medicare Plan Finder flags these when you search.

How is a new 2027 plan different from a renewing one?

A new plan is one CMS did not have on file for 2026 in this county. That has one practical consequence: no Star Rating history yet. CMS publishes Star Ratings based on data a plan has already generated — member surveys, customer service measures, clinical quality metrics — so a brand-new plan contract has nothing yet to measure. CMS treats these plans as "not yet rated" in Plan Finder.

A renewing plan, by contrast, carries its rating, its network as it stood, and its prior Evidence of Coverage into the new year — adjusted by whatever changes appear in its Annual Notice of Change.

The absence of a Star Rating is a fact about the plan's age, not a verdict on its quality. It simply means one of the usual research tools is not available for this plan, so the other checks — doctors, drugs, pharmacies, costs — carry more weight.

How do I check a new plan against my doctors and prescriptions before December 7?

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (available 24/7). Work through these steps for each plan you want to consider:

1. Enter your ZIP code (Garland ZIPs are in Dallas County). Plan Finder will show every Medicare Advantage plan offered where you live. 2. Add your prescriptions by name and dose. Plan Finder will show whether each drug is on the plan's formulary, which tier it falls on, and your estimated yearly drug cost under that plan. 3. Add your preferred pharmacy. Many plans have "preferred" and "standard" pharmacies with different cost sharing. 4. Check your doctors and hospitals. Plan Finder links out to the plan's provider directory, but call your doctor's office directly to confirm they will accept the specific plan for 2027 — networks can change year to year. 5. Read the plan's Summary of Benefits and, if you want the full detail, the Evidence of Coverage on the plan's own website.

For 2027, the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026) and the Part D maximum deductible is $700 (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 publishes them in the fall, typically in November.

What if I like my current plan and do not want to switch?

Nothing happens if you do nothing. If your current Medicare Advantage plan is offered again for 2027, you stay on it automatically. The plan mails you an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) each fall listing what is different for the new year — premium, deductible, drug tiers, provider network, extra benefits. Read it before December 7.

In Dallas County, CMS lists 29 plans as not returning for 2027 and 9 as renamed. If your plan is one of them, your plan sent you a non-renewal or renaming letter. Enrollment windows exist for both situations; medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE can walk you through your options.

When is the deadline, and what if I change my mind later?

The Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage runs October 15 – December 7, 2026. A change you make in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

If you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and later decide it is not the right fit, you have a second window: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 – March 31, 2027. During that period you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan once, or go back to Original Medicare (and add a Part D plan).