Medicare Advantage

Seven new Medicare Advantage plans land in Lubbock for 2027: how to vet one before Dec. 7

Lubbock County has 38 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 19 plans are not coming back, 7 are new, and 24 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 Lubbock, not which plan to pick.

LUBBOCK, Texas — Seven Medicare Advantage plans that were not sold in Lubbock County this year will be on the shelf for 2027, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files comparing the current and coming plan years. They come from four carriers, and most are built for people who also have Medicaid. Shoppers have from October 15 through December 7, 2026, to pick one, keep what they have, or switch to something else for coverage that starts January 1, 2027.

Which Medicare Advantage plans are new in Lubbock for 2027?

Seven plans are new in Lubbock County for 2027. In alphabetical order by carrier, they are:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare QMB Only Care (HMO D-SNP), with drug coverage
• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Reserve Value (HMO D-SNP), with drug coverage
• Elevance Health (Anthem): Wellpoint Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP); Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage Aligned (HMO D-SNP) — all with drug coverage
• Humana: Humana Gold Plus H4461-084 (HMO) and Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP), both with drug coverage

The table below lists every 2027 plan, with its type and whether it includes Part D drug coverage. Lubbock is in Lubbock County, where plan availability is set, so these choices apply countywide.

Which carriers are adding plans in Lubbock County for 2027?

Four carriers are adding plans for 2027: Aetna (CVS Health) with one new plan, Centene (WellCare) with one, Elevance Health (Anthem) with three, and Humana with two. The county's broader lineup for 2027 includes 38 Medicare Advantage plans overall, with 7 new, 9 renamed and 19 not returning from 2026, per the CMS Landscape files.

If your current plan is one of the 19 not returning, you will get a non-renewal letter and a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else. If your plan is renaming or renewing, the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your carrier mailed in September spells out what is different for 2027.

What plan types are the new Lubbock plans, and are they Special Needs Plans?

Six of the seven new plans are Special Needs Plans, meaning they are limited to people who meet certain conditions. Five are Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid, and one — Humana Together in Health — is an Institutional Special Needs Plan (I-SNP) for people who live in or need the level of care provided in a long-term care setting.

By plan type, five of the new plans are HMOs (all D-SNPs), one is an HMO plan that is not a Special Needs Plan (Humana Gold Plus H4461-084), and one is a PPO (Humana Together in Health, an I-SNP). If you are not dual-eligible and do not meet an I-SNP's criteria, those Special Needs Plans are not options for you — the Plan Finder will filter them out when you enter your situation.

Do the new 2027 Lubbock plans include drug coverage?

Yes. All seven of the new plans for 2027 include Part D prescription drug coverage built in. That matters because the Part D rules change again next year: the out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge rises to $700 (up from $615 in 2026), per CMS.

Each plan still sets its own formulary, tiers and pharmacy network inside those limits, so two plans with "drug coverage" can treat the same prescription very differently.

How is a new plan different from a renewing one?

A brand-new plan has no track record yet. CMS Star Ratings are built from past performance — member experience, customer service, health outcomes, drug plan accuracy — so a plan in its first year does not have its own rating. Some new plans show the rating of a related contract; others show no rating at all. That is a program fact, not a reason to pick or skip a plan.

A renewing plan, by contrast, has at least one year of data behind it, and its ANOC tells you exactly what is changing from 2026 to 2027. With a new plan, you only have the plan documents themselves — the Summary of Benefits, the Evidence of Coverage, the formulary and the provider directory — to go on.

How do I check a 2027 Lubbock plan against my doctors and prescriptions before December 7?

Use the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your Lubbock ZIP code, add every prescription you take with the dose and how often you fill it, and add the pharmacy you actually use. Plan Finder will show each 2027 plan's estimated yearly drug costs, which drugs are covered and on what tier, and whether your pharmacy is preferred, standard or out of network.

For doctors and hospitals, do not rely only on Plan Finder. Call the plan directly using the number on medicare.gov, or call your doctor's office and ask whether they will be in-network for that specific 2027 plan — contracts can shift between plan years. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for help comparing options. The deadline to choose coverage that starts January 1, 2027 is December 7, 2026.