Medicare Advantage

Wellcare Medicare Advantage in Texas for 2027: 26 Plans, County by County

AUSTIN — Texans comparing Medicare Advantage coverage for 2027 will see Wellcare, which CMS groups under Centene (WellCare), fielding 26 plans across the state. That total, drawn from the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File for CY2027, counts each plan once statewide. Because Medicare Advantage is sold county by county, any plan on the statewide list may or may not be offered where a specific reader lives. This article is published by an independent Medicare education site; it is not the government, not affiliated with Medicare, and not the carrier.

2027 plan lineupTexas

What Wellcare offers statewide in Texas for 2027

According to the CMS Landscape file for 2027, Wellcare is offering 26 Medicare Advantage plans in Texas. Of those, 25 are HMOs and 1 is an HMO-POS. All 26 plans include drug coverage.

Seventeen of the 26 are Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs), designed for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid. Wellcare is not listing any Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) or Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs) in Texas for 2027.

For context, the CMS Landscape file shows 20 other carriers offering Medicare Advantage in Texas for 2027, and 421 Medicare Advantage plans in total across the state when every carrier is counted. Wellcare is one option within that larger field.

Wellcare's plans with the widest county reach

Reach — how many Texas counties a plan is sold in — varies widely across Wellcare's lineup. The table on this page lists each 2027 plan with its county count. A few points worth calling out, based strictly on that data:

• Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Reserve Value (HMO D-SNP), new for 2027, has the widest county footprint on Wellcare's Texas list.
• Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Reserve (HMO D-SNP) and Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Access (HMO D-SNP) are also among the widest-reaching D-SNPs.
• On the general (non-SNP) side, Wellcare Simple Value (HMO) — also new for 2027 — and Wellcare Patriot Simple (HMO) show the broadest county reach.
• Several plans share the "Wellcare Simple (HMO)" or "Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP)" naming but are filed as separate plans serving different sets of counties.

A statewide county count does not tell you whether a plan is available at your specific address. That has to be checked on Medicare.gov.

What's new, what's not returning

The CMS year-over-year comparison between the CY2026 and CY2027 Landscape files shows four Wellcare plans are new for 2027 in Texas: Wellcare Simple Value (HMO), Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Liberty (HMO D-SNP) in one 21-county filing and another 3-county filing, and Wellcare Superior HealthPlan Dual Reserve Value (HMO D-SNP).

Several D-SNPs have been renamed. Plans previously filed as Wellcare Dual Access, Wellcare Dual Liberty, Wellcare Dual Liberty Sync, and Wellcare Dual Reserve are listed for 2027 under names that begin with "Wellcare Superior HealthPlan." The CMS file flags these as renames, not brand-new plans.

Sixteen Wellcare plans from the prior year are not returning for 2027. If you are currently enrolled in a Wellcare plan, check your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) mailed by the plan, and look up your plan on Medicare.gov to see whether it is being offered again in 2027, has been renamed, or is being discontinued. Members in a discontinued plan have specific rights to choose another plan.

Checking whether a plan is offered in your county — and covers your doctors and prescriptions

Because Medicare Advantage plans are sold at the county level, the single most important step is to confirm availability by ZIP code. Here is a straightforward way to do that:

1. Go to medicare.gov and open the Plan Finder. 2. Enter your ZIP code and, if asked, your county. 3. Add the prescriptions you take and the pharmacies you use. 4. Filter by carrier to see which Wellcare plans show up for your location. 5. Open each plan's details to review its provider network, drug formulary, and the plan's own Evidence of Coverage.

For doctor and hospital networks, confirm with the plan directly or in the plan's provider directory, since networks change during the year. For prescriptions, use the plan's formulary; the names on the Landscape file do not tell you which drugs are covered or at what tier.

If you prefer to do this by phone, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What to do before December 7

The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026. A plan selected during that window takes effect January 1, 2027. A short checklist:

• Read the ANOC from your current plan if you have one.
• Make a list of your doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions, including dosages.
• Compare plans on Medicare.gov using your ZIP code.
• Verify your providers are in-network for any plan you are considering.
• Confirm your prescriptions are on the plan's formulary.
• Enroll on Medicare.gov, by calling 1-800-MEDICARE, or directly with the plan.

There is no need to rush a decision; the deadline is simply the date, December 7, 2026.

Where to get free help

Free, official help is available at any time:

• Medicare.gov — Plan Finder, Evidence of Coverage links, and enrollment.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048, 24/7.

Primary sources for the figures in this article: CMS — MA Landscape Source File (plan-level availability by county) and CMS — MA Landscape Source Files, current and coming plan year, for the CY2026-to-CY2027 comparison. Enrollment-period dates come from CMS — Medicare enrollment periods on medicare.gov.