Medicare Advantage

What’s Changing in Texas Medicare Advantage for 2027: 102 Plans Leaving, 105 Changing

AUSTIN — Texas Medicare Advantage shoppers will see a reshuffled board when the Annual Enrollment Period opens this fall. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage Landscape files, Texas has 423 Medicare Advantage plans listed for 2026 and 421 for 2027. Beneath that near-steady headline, there is real movement: 102 plans offered somewhere in Texas for 2026 will not be offered anywhere in the state for 2027, 100 plans are new for 2027, 105 plans continue but with at least one change, and 216 continue unchanged. Every one of Texas's 254 counties sees at least one plan leave or change.

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What the statewide numbers mean

CMS publishes a Landscape file every year that lists each Medicare Advantage plan offered in each county. Comparing the 2026 file to the 2027 file is how you tell what is actually changing on paper.

For Texas, each plan is counted once statewide, regardless of how many counties it serves. CMS considers a plan "leaving" when it is offered somewhere in Texas for 2026 but not offered anywhere in Texas for 2027. A plan is "changing" when it is offered both years but differs on premium, drug deductible, plan type or plan name in at least one county. A plan is "new" when it appears for 2027 but not 2026, and "continuing unchanged" when those identifying fields match across both files.

For 2027 in Texas: 102 plans are leaving, 105 are changing, 100 are new, and 216 are continuing unchanged. According to CMS filings, the carriers with no Texas plans listed for 2027 are American Health Advantage of Texas, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of IL, NM, OK, TX, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NM, TX, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of OK, TX, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, CHRISTUS Health Advantage, and Memorial Hermann Health Plan. One carrier is new to Texas for 2027: MedCare Partners Health Plan of Texas.

If your plan is leaving

If your current Medicare Advantage plan is among the 102 not offered anywhere in Texas for 2027, your plan carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice. You will have options.

First, you can use the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare, with coverage starting January 1, 2027. Second, because your plan is not renewing, you also get a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that runs through the end of February. That SEP gives you time past December 7 to make a different choice.

If you do nothing, you cannot stay in a plan that no longer exists. In most cases, you will be returned to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027, unless you actively enroll in another Medicare Advantage plan. That is why the non-renewal letter matters — it is the trigger to act.

If your plan is changing

If your plan is one of the 105 continuing with changes, you will receive an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) from your carrier, typically by the end of September. The ANOC is the document that spells out the specifics of what is different between your 2026 plan and your 2027 plan in your county.

CMS flags a plan as "changing" when the premium, drug deductible, plan type or plan name differs in at least one county. That does not tell you the direction or size of any change — only that a change exists. Read the ANOC carefully; it is written to show you, side by side, what will be different about your coverage on January 1, 2027.

If you do nothing, you stay enrolled in your current plan and the changes described in the ANOC take effect automatically on January 1, 2027.

The counties with the most change

All 254 Texas counties see at least one plan leave or change. These counties are among those with the highest counts, per the CMS Landscape comparison:

• Harris County: 37 leaving, 27 changing
• Collin County: 37 leaving, 21 changing
• Fort Bend County: 33 leaving, 20 changing
• Montgomery County: 29 leaving, 19 changing
• Dallas County: 29 leaving, 22 changing
• Bexar County: 28 leaving, 25 changing
• Tarrant County: 28 leaving, 22 changing
• Comal County: 26 leaving, 21 changing

If you live in one of these counties, there is a higher-than-average chance your plan is affected in some way.

What to do before December 7

A short checklist for Texas members:

1. Watch the mail in September and October for two documents: either an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) if your plan is continuing, or a non-renewal letter if your plan is leaving. 2. Read whichever letter you receive, in full, and compare it to how you actually used your plan in 2026 — doctors, prescriptions, pharmacies. 3. If you want to compare options, use Medicare.gov's Plan Finder to see every 2027 plan available in your ZIP code. 4. Make any change during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026, for a January 1, 2027 effective date. 5. If your plan is not renewing, remember that your Special Enrollment Period runs through the end of February if you need more time.

Where to get free help

You do not have to sort this out alone, and you do not have to pay anyone to help you.

• Medicare.gov is the official federal site for comparing plans in your ZIP code.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is staffed around the clock.
• The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) offers free, unbiased, one-on-one Medicare counseling in every state, including Texas.