Medicare Advantage

Before you renew in Irving: a 2027 ANOC review checklist for Dallas County

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 Irving, not which plan to pick.

IRVING, Texas — The mail that landed in Irving mailboxes in late September is the single most important piece of paper this Medicare season. It is called the Annual Notice of Change, or ANOC, and it tells you exactly how your current Medicare Advantage or Part D plan will look in 2027. If you do nothing, that plan renews on January 1, 2027 with every change the ANOC lists. The Annual Enrollment Period to switch runs October 15 through December 7, 2026.

What is the ANOC and why does it matter in Irving for 2027?

The ANOC (Annual Notice of Change) is the document your Medicare Advantage or stand-alone Part D plan must send you each fall listing what will be different about the plan next year. For 2027 coverage, plans had to deliver it by September 30, 2026, so Irving residents should already have it in hand — on paper or in a plan portal.

It is the only document that compares your plan this year to the same plan next year, line by line: premium, deductible, copays, drug tier placement, extra benefits, and the provider and pharmacy network. If something you use is changing, the ANOC is where you will see it first.

What should Irving residents check in the ANOC before December 7, 2026?

Walk through the ANOC with four lists next to you — your doctors, your hospitals, your prescriptions, and the pharmacy you actually use. For each one, confirm it is still in network and still covered for 2027.

Specifically:

• Doctors: Call your primary care physician and any specialists you see at Baylor Scott & White, Texas Health, Methodist or another Irving-area system, and ask whether they will be in your plan's 2027 network. Networks can change on January 1 even if the plan name does not.
• Hospitals: Confirm the hospital you would want to use is in-network for 2027. The ANOC will not list every hospital — the plan's Evidence of Coverage and online provider directory will.
• Prescriptions: Check each drug against the 2027 formulary. A drug can move to a higher tier, require prior authorization, or drop off entirely.
• Pharmacy: Your preferred pharmacy's status (preferred, standard, or out-of-network) can shift year to year and change what you pay at the counter.
• Extra benefits: Dental, vision, hearing, over-the-counter and transportation allowances are the benefits that most often change quietly.

If anything on your lists is affected, that is your signal to compare other plans before December 7, 2026.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Dallas County for 2026?

Irving is in Dallas County, where CMS lists 93 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for 2026. By plan type, that includes 36 HMO, 20 HMO-POS, 35 PPO and 2 PFFS plans; 35 are Special Needs Plans, and 81 include Part D drug coverage.

The 12 carriers serving the county are Aetna (CVS Health), American Health Advantage of Texas, Baylor Scott & White Health Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Molina Healthcare of Texas, ProCare Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, UnitedHealthcare, and Verda Health Plan of Texas. The table below lists every plan available in the county. The 2027 county lineup publishes on Medicare's Plan Finder in October 2026 — compare using the Plan Finder once the new year's plans are live.

What 2027 figures are already confirmed, and what is still pending?

CMS has confirmed the Part D numbers that affect anyone with Medicare drug coverage: the out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The Part D national base beneficiary premium for 2027 is $41.33 — that is a formula input, not what any individual plan charges.

Still pending: the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets. CMS typically announces those in the fall, usually November. If a Part B figure is part of your decision, wait for the official release and then confirm on medicare.gov.

How do I compare plans and make a change by the December 7 deadline?

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code, your prescriptions, and your preferred pharmacy, and the tool will show every plan available in Dallas County with the 2027 costs and star ratings side by side. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Three deadlines to know:

• December 7, 2026 — last day of the Annual Enrollment Period. A change made in the window takes effect January 1, 2027.
• January 1, 2027 — new coverage begins. If you did nothing, your current plan renews with its ANOC changes.
• January 1 – March 31, 2027 — Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan and the fit is wrong, you have one chance to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare.

What happens if I do nothing by December 7?

Nothing dramatic — your current plan renews on January 1, 2027, exactly as the ANOC describes it, as long as the plan is still offered in Dallas County. That is the quiet risk: a plan that worked all through 2026 can have a different formulary, network or copay structure in 2027, and the only way to catch it is to read the ANOC.

If your plan is being discontinued, you will get a separate non-renewal notice, and you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan.