Medicare Advantage

Compare 148 Virginia Medicare Advantage Plans for 2027 From 10 Carriers

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginians who use Medicare Advantage will have 148 plans to look at for 2027, offered statewide by 10 carriers, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for CY2027. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any choice made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027.

Because Medicare Advantage is sold county by county, a plan listed in the statewide total may not be available where you live, and the plans available on your street may look different from those just one county over. The goal of this guide is to help you compare what's actually offered in your own ZIP code before December 7.

The statewide numbers for 2027

For contract year 2027, CMS lists 148 Medicare Advantage plans in Virginia from 10 carriers. All 148 include drug coverage. Compared with 2026, there are 21 plans new for 2027 and 16 plans not returning for 2027. Those year-over-year changes are one reason to review your current plan rather than assume it will look the same next year — even a returning plan can change what it covers.

The statewide counts above come from the CMS MA Landscape Source Files for CY2026 and CY2027. They describe what is on the shelf across the Commonwealth. What's on the shelf in your county is a smaller list, and that's the list that matters.

Plan types and Special Needs Plans

Virginia's 148 plans break out by type as follows: 48 HMO, 53 HMO-POS, 44 PPO and 3 PFFS. Plan type affects how you use the plan — whether you need a primary care referral, whether out-of-network care is covered, and how a point-of-service option works — so it is worth knowing which type a plan is before you look at anything else.

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are a separate category for people who meet specific eligibility rules. For 2027, Virginia has 18 Dual-Eligible SNPs (D-SNP) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, 19 Chronic Condition SNPs (C-SNP) for people with certain qualifying conditions, and 5 Institutional SNPs (I-SNP) for people who live in or receive a certain level of long-term care. If you think you might qualify for a SNP, confirm the eligibility rules with the plan or at 1-800-MEDICARE before enrolling.

The carriers offering plans in Virginia for 2027

Ten carriers are listed in the CMS files for Virginia in 2027. In alphabetical order, with statewide plan counts: Aetna (CVS Health), 15; Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC), 3; Devoted Health, 16; Elevance Health (Anthem), 16; Humana, 49; Johns Hopkins Advantage MD, 1; Kaiser Permanente, 7; Lifeworks Advantage, 2; Sentara Medicare, 2; and UnitedHealthcare, 37. The full carrier and plan tables on this page show which plan types each carrier offers and how many D-SNPs each carrier has in Virginia.

A larger statewide plan count does not mean a carrier is "bigger" in your county, and a smaller count does not mean a carrier is unavailable to you. Several carriers in the list — for example, Johns Hopkins Advantage MD, Kaiser Permanente, Lifeworks Advantage and Sentara Medicare — operate in specific service areas, so what's available to you depends on your address.

A step-by-step way to compare plans in your own county

Use this order to keep the comparison manageable:

1. List your doctors and hospitals. Write down the primary care doctor, specialists, hospitals and facilities you want to keep using. 2. List your prescriptions. Include each drug name, dose and how often you take it. 3. List your pharmacies. Note the pharmacies you prefer, including any mail-order option. 4. Read your current plan's Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). It arrives by late September and shows how your current plan is changing for 2027 — premium, cost sharing, drug list, network and extra benefits. 5. Open the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code and your prescriptions. The tool will show the Medicare Advantage plans actually available in your county for 2027, with their costs, drug coverage and star ratings straight from CMS. 6. Check networks and formularies plan by plan. For each plan you're considering, confirm your doctors and hospitals are in-network and your drugs are on the plan's formulary at a tier you can afford. The Evidence of Coverage and provider and pharmacy directories on the plan's own website are the authoritative source. 7. Narrow to a short list, then compare side by side. Look at monthly premium, deductibles, copays for the care you actually use, out-of-pocket maximum, and any extras that matter to you.

What to do before December 7

You have from October 15 through December 7, 2026 to enroll in, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage plan for a January 1, 2027 effective date. A practical path:

• Gather your Medicare card, your drug list and your provider list.
• Read your ANOC when it arrives.
• Run your personalized comparison on the Medicare Plan Finder.
• Call the plans on your short list with specific questions about your doctors and drugs.
• Enroll by December 7, 2026 if you decide to make a change.

If you do nothing and your current plan is returning for 2027, you generally stay in it with the 2027 terms described in your ANOC. If your plan is one of the 16 not returning for 2027, you'll receive a non-renewal notice from the plan explaining your options.

Free help

Two no-cost, unbiased resources are available to every person with Medicare in Virginia:

• Medicare.gov — the official site, including the Medicare Plan Finder, plan documents and enrollment.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; TTY 1-877-486-2048.