Medicare Advantage

Before You Renew: Read Your Chesapeake ANOC Letter

People in Chesapeake can choose from 70 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 67 this year. Three of this year’s plans are gone, 6 are new to Chesapeake city, and 45 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 16 of them under a new name.

Fall 2026 — Chesapeake residents on Medicare have from October 15 through December 7, 2026 to pick the Medicare Advantage plan that will cover them in 2027. The lineup in Chesapeake city is a little bigger next year, with a few plans leaving, a few new ones arriving, and others keeping their coverage but changing their names, benefits or drug lists. Here is a plain-English way to compare what is on offer before the deadline.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are offered in Chesapeake for 2027?

Chesapeake is in Chesapeake city, where CMS lists 70 Medicare Advantage plans from 6 carriers for 2027. By plan type, that breaks down to 18 HMO, 20 HMO-POS, 30 PPO and 2 PFFS plans, and 61 of the 70 include Part D prescription drug coverage.

Six of those 70 plans are new for 2027, and 3 plans offered in 2026 are not returning. The six carriers selling plans in the county next year, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health) with 6 plans, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 12, Humana with 34, Lifeworks Advantage with 2, Sentara Medicare with 2, and UnitedHealthcare with 14. The table below lists every plan.

What Special Needs Plans are available in Chesapeake city in 2027?

Chesapeake city has 28 Special Needs Plans (SNPs) for 2027: 15 Dual Eligible SNPs (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, 8 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNPs) for people with specific long-term conditions like diabetes or heart failure, and 5 Institutional SNPs (I-SNPs) for people who live in a nursing home or need that level of care.

SNPs have eligibility rules a general Medicare Advantage plan does not. If you think one might fit, call the carrier or 1-800-MEDICARE to confirm you qualify before you enroll.

What is new for Chesapeake Medicare Advantage plans in 2027?

Three things are new for Chesapeake in 2027: six plans are brand new, three plans will not be offered again, and the national Part D rules have changed. The Part D 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 (up from $615 in 2026). The optional Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which lets you spread drug costs across the year, is still available.

A number of plans that are returning have been renamed or restructured. If your plan letter looks unfamiliar or the plan ID changed, that is why — the plan itself may still exist under a new name, with different details. The 2027 Part B premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets have not been published yet; CMS normally releases those figures in the fall, usually in November.

What should Chesapeake residents compare before December 7, 2026?

Before December 7, 2026, Chesapeake residents should check six things on each plan they are considering: their doctors, their hospitals, their prescriptions, their pharmacies, the Annual Notice of Change from their current plan, and total yearly cost on the Medicare Plan Finder. Working through them in order keeps the comparison honest.

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). If you are already in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, your carrier mailed (or emailed) an ANOC in September. It spells out what is changing for 2027 — premium, deductible, copays, drug tiers, extra benefits and the provider network. If everything still works for you, you do not have to do anything; your plan renews January 1.

2. Check your doctors and hospitals. Call each doctor's office and ask, by plan name and plan ID, whether they will be in-network in 2027. Networks change every year, and the online directory can lag. Chesapeake-area hospitals and specialists are not automatically in every plan.

3. Check your prescriptions. Enter each drug — name, dose and how often you take it — into the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. The tool shows each plan's formulary, which tier your drug sits on, and whether there is a prior-authorization or step-therapy rule.

4. Check your pharmacy. The same tool shows whether your pharmacy is "preferred," "standard" or out of network for each plan. A preferred pharmacy usually costs less than a standard one on the same plan.

5. Look at total yearly cost, not just the premium. Add the monthly premium, the deductible, the drug costs the Plan Finder estimates, and the plan's maximum out-of-pocket limit. A plan with a lower premium can cost more over a year, and the opposite is also true.

6. Match the plan type to how you use care. HMO plans ask you to use in-network providers and often need a referral for specialists; HMO-POS allows some out-of-network use; PPO plans let you go out of network at a higher cost; PFFS plans work with any provider who agrees to the plan's terms. Chesapeake city has all four types for 2027.

How do I use the Medicare Plan Finder for Chesapeake?

Go to medicare.gov/plan-compare, enter your Chesapeake ZIP code, and choose "Medicare Advantage Plan." You will be asked to add your drugs and your preferred pharmacies — do this step; it is what makes the cost estimates accurate for you. The Plan Finder will then list every Medicare Advantage plan available in Chesapeake city, with estimated yearly cost, star rating, and links to each plan's benefit summary.

You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a representative will walk through the same comparison with you. If you have a secure medicare.gov account, your drug list and pharmacy preferences are saved from year to year.

What happens in Chesapeake if I do nothing by December 7, 2026?

If you do nothing by December 7, 2026, and your current plan is being offered again in Chesapeake for 2027, you stay in it automatically on January 1, 2027 — with whatever changes your ANOC describes. If your current plan is one of the 3 Chesapeake plans not returning for 2027, your carrier will send a non-renewal notice and you have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan.

You also get a second window: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 through March 31, 2027. During that window, if you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan once or return to Original Medicare (and add a standalone Part D plan).