Medicare Advantage

21 New Medicare Advantage Plans in Virginia for 2027: The List

RICHMOND — For plan year 2027, Virginia's Medicare Advantage menu picks up 21 plans that were not offered in the state for 2026, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for the current and coming plan years. Those 21 are part of a statewide total of 148 Medicare Advantage plans available for 2027. Each new plan is sold county by county, so one listed on the statewide roster may or may not appear on a given reader's local Medicare Plan Finder results.

How many plans are new statewide, and from which carriers

Of the 148 Medicare Advantage plans on offer in Virginia for 2027, 21 are new — meaning they were not available anywhere in the state for 2026. They are spread across four carriers: Aetna (CVS Health) with 2 new plans, Devoted Health with 6, Humana with 4, and UnitedHealthcare with 9. The full list, with county reach for each plan, appears in the table on this page.

A note on counting: in the CMS source files for Virginia, Humana's "DaVita Kidney Care" chronic-condition PPO shows up as two distinct new plan records, each reaching 120 counties. Both are reflected in the carrier count above and in the table.

The new plans with the widest county reach

County reach varies widely across the 21 new plans. At the broad end of the range, Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP) is listed in 133 Virginia counties, and the Humana DaVita Kidney Care (PPO C-SNP) entries are each listed in 120 counties. HumanaChoice H7617-125 (PPO) is listed in 92 counties.

From UnitedHealthcare's new lineup, AARP Medicare Advantage Essentials from UHC VA-11 (HMO-POS) and AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC VA-0012 (HMO-POS) each show reach in 43 Virginia counties, while AARP Medicare Advantage Direct Plus from UHC VA-25 (HMO-POS) and AARP Medicare Advantage Extras from UHC VA-29 (HMO-POS) are each listed in 31 counties.

From Aetna (CVS Health), Aetna Medicare Enhanced Plus (PPO) is listed in 29 counties and Aetna Medicare Prime Elite (HMO) in 10. Devoted Health's six new entries — three HMO C-SNP plans and three HMO plans — range from 15 to 23 Virginia counties each.

Wider county reach is not the same thing as "better." It only means the plan is listed on the Medicare Plan Finder in more Virginia counties. The table on this page shows every new plan and its county count.

What "new" means for 2027

A Medicare Advantage plan listed as new for 2027 is one that CMS shows on the 2027 Landscape but not on the 2026 Landscape. Because the plan has no prior service history under that contract-plan combination, it does not yet have an overall Medicare Star Rating, and it does not have the kind of year-over-year track record that returning plans have. That is a factual limitation of brand-new plans, not a judgment about them. Over time, as claims and member experience data accumulate, CMS can assign ratings.

For returning plans, Star Ratings and other details appear in the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov.

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

Statewide availability does not guarantee local availability. A plan listed in 23 counties, for example, may not be sold in yours. Before considering any plan — new or returning — Virginia readers can take three steps:

1. Enter your ZIP code at medicare.gov to see which plans, including any of the 21 new ones, are offered where you live. 2. For each plan you are weighing, open its provider directory and confirm the doctors, hospitals, specialists and facilities you want to use are in-network for that specific plan. Networks differ even among plans from the same carrier. 3. Open the plan's drug list (formulary) and confirm each of your prescriptions is covered, at what tier, and with any restrictions such as prior authorization or step therapy.

Premiums, deductibles, copays, extra benefits and Star Ratings for any specific plan should be read from the Medicare Plan Finder, the plan's Summary of Benefits, or its Evidence of Coverage — not from a news article.

What to do before December 7

The Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 coverage runs October 15 – December 7, 2026. A plan selection made in that window takes effect January 1, 2027. Some practical steps to take at your own pace:

• Make a current list of your prescriptions (name, dose, frequency) and the providers and pharmacies you want to keep.
• Review the Annual Notice of Change your current plan sent, if you are already in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, to see what is changing for 2027.
• Use the Medicare Plan Finder to compare the plans — returning and new — available in your county side by side.
• If a new 2027 plan interests you, call the carrier to confirm your providers' network status and your drugs' formulary status for that specific plan.
• Keep your Medicare card, drug list and provider list in one place while you decide.

Mid-year, you also have the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31, 2027) if you enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan and want to make one change.

Free help

Two no-cost, non-sales resources are available to every Virginian with Medicare:

• Medicare.gov — the official Plan Finder, plan documents and enrollment tools.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — 24/7, including TTY 1-877-486-2048.

Both can answer questions about any of the 21 new plans, confirm what is offered in your county, and walk through enrollment.