Medicare Advantage

Before you pick a Medicare Advantage plan in San Antonio: the 2027 carriers and plan types

Bexar County has 98 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 28 plans are not coming back, 26 are new, and 36 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 11 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for San Antonio, not which plan to pick.

Medicare AdvantageSan Antonio, TX

For San Antonio residents weighing Medicare Advantage for 2027, the first question isn't usually "which plan?" It's "what am I even looking at?" The lineup includes big national names, smaller regional insurers, and several different plan types — HMO, HMO-POS, PPO, PFFS, and a group of Special Needs Plans built for specific situations. Knowing what those letters mean, and which carriers use them, is the fastest way to narrow the field.

San Antonio sits in Bexar County, where CMS lists 87 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 from 15 carriers, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. That's a lot of choices — so let's break down who offers what, and how the plan types actually differ.

Who sells Medicare Advantage plans in San Antonio

Fifteen carriers offer Medicare Advantage plans in Bexar County for 2027. In alphabetical order, they are: Aetna (CVS Health), Alignment Health Plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), Centene (WellCare), Clover Health, Community First, Devoted Health, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Molina Healthcare of Texas, ProCare Advantage, Provider Partners Health Plans, SCAN Health Plan, Texas Independence Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare. Compared with 2026, American Health Advantage of Texas is not offering plans in the county, and Alignment Health Plan is new to the county. Of the plans overall, 61 continue from 2026, 26 are new, 28 are not returning, and 11 have been renamed; 25 of the continuing plans change something in their terms, which the plan's Annual Notice of Change spells out.

Some carriers offer just one plan in the county; others offer more than a dozen. The full table below this article lists each plan by carrier, plan type, and whether it includes drug coverage. All 87 plans in Bexar County include Part D drug coverage for 2027.

HMO plans: the biggest group

An HMO — Health Maintenance Organization — asks you to pick a primary care doctor and generally stay inside the plan's network for care. Referrals are often required to see a specialist. In exchange, HMOs tend to have simpler structures.

HMO is the most common plan type in Bexar County, with 52 of the 100 plans built this way. Carriers offering HMO plans in the area include Aetna, American Health Advantage of Texas, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Centene (WellCare), Community First, Devoted Health, Humana, Molina, Provider Partners, SCAN Health Plan, and Texas Independence Health Plan.

HMO-POS: an HMO with a side door

HMO-POS stands for "Point of Service." It's an HMO that lets you go out of network for certain services, usually at a higher share of cost. If you like the structure of an HMO but want a little flexibility, this is the middle ground.

Carriers using the HMO-POS type locally for 2027 include Elevance Health (Anthem, marketed as Wellpoint), ProCare Advantage, and UnitedHealthcare.

PPO plans: more flexibility, different trade-offs

A PPO — Preferred Provider Organization — lets you see any provider who accepts Medicare, though you'll pay less if you stay in network. You generally don't need referrals. PPOs may have higher premiums or different cost-sharing than HMOs; the trade-off is broader access.

Carriers offering PPOs locally for 2027 include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Centene (WellCare), Clover Health, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.

PFFS plans: a smaller category

PFFS stands for Private Fee-for-Service. These plans set their own payment terms with providers, and any Medicare provider who agrees to those terms can treat you. PFFS plans are a small slice of the market in Bexar County for 2027, offered by Humana.

Special Needs Plans (SNPs): built for specific situations

Special Needs Plans are only open to people who meet certain criteria. There are three types you'll see in San Antonio:

• D-SNP (Dual Eligible): For people who have both Medicare and Medicaid.
• C-SNP (Chronic Condition): For people with a specific qualifying condition, such as diabetes, chronic heart failure, or end-stage kidney disease.
• I-SNP (Institutional): For people who live in a nursing home or need a similar level of care at home.

Of the 100 Bexar County plans, 41 are Special Needs Plans. If you qualify for one, it can be worth a close look — SNPs are designed around the needs of that specific group. If you don't qualify, you can't enroll.

How to decide which type fits you

Plan type is usually the first filter, not the last. A few plain questions can help:

• Do you already have doctors you want to keep, and are they in a specific network?
• Do you travel or split time between cities, where a PPO's out-of-network access could matter?
• Do you qualify for Medicaid, have a chronic condition, or live in a facility? An SNP may apply.
• Do you want drug coverage bundled in? In Bexar County, every 2027 MA plan includes it.

From there, you can compare specific plans on medicare.gov's Plan Finder, which shows premiums, cost-sharing, drug coverage details, and provider networks side by side.

A few 2027 Part D facts worth knowing

Even though this article is about Medicare Advantage plan types, the drug side matters because every MA plan in Bexar County includes Part D coverage. For 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,100 in 2026 ($2,400 in 2027).
• The Part D maximum deductible is $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027).
• The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") is gone; Part D now has three phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly amounts.
• IRMAA surcharges begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Dates to keep in mind

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7. That's when most people join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the following year.

If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1, you get one more window — the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, January 1 through March 31 — to switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare.