Medicare Advantage

What changes in Norfolk's 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup?

Norfolk city has 68 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 3 plans are not coming back, 6 are new, and 44 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 16 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Norfolk, not which plan to pick.

Norfolk, Va. — Fall 2026 — The Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 Medicare coverage opened October 15 and runs through December 7, 2026. For Norfolk residents weighing a Medicare Advantage plan for next year, that window is the time to pull up your current plan's Annual Notice of Change, compare it against what else is being offered in the city, and make any switch you want to take effect January 1, 2027.

Norfolk is in Norfolk city, Virginia, where CMS lists 68 Medicare Advantage plans from 6 carriers for 2027 — a slightly bigger lineup than this year, with 6 plans new for 2027 and 3 not returning. The sections below walk through how to compare them without getting lost in the brochures.

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

Norfolk city has 68 Medicare Advantage plans from 6 carriers available for 2027, according to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source File. That is up from 65 plans this year from the same 6 carriers.

By plan type, the 2027 lineup includes 18 HMO plans, 19 HMO-POS plans, 29 PPO plans and 2 PFFS plans. Fifty-nine of the 68 plans include prescription drug coverage; the rest are medical-only, often designed to pair with separate drug coverage or VA benefits.

The six carriers offering plans in Norfolk city for 2027, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health) with 6 plans, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 10, Humana with 34, Lifeworks Advantage with 2, Sentara Medicare with 2 and UnitedHealthcare with 14. The full roster, with plan names and types, is in the table below.

What is new in Norfolk's Medicare Advantage lineup for 2027?

Six plans are new in Norfolk city for 2027, and three plans are not returning. CMS also shows a batch of plans that are being renamed rather than discontinued, which can make a familiar plan harder to spot on the Plan Finder.

If your plan is one of the three not returning, your carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice and you will have a Special Enrollment Period to pick a new plan. If your plan is simply being renamed, the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mailed in September will spell out the new name and any benefit or cost changes.

Program-wide, there are two 2027 drug-coverage numbers to know: the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 for 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible is $700 for 2027 (up from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B standard premium and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets have not yet been announced; CMS typically publishes them in November.

What are Special Needs Plans and who qualifies in Norfolk?

Of the 68 Medicare Advantage plans available in Norfolk city for 2027, 28 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs): 15 D-SNPs for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid, 8 C-SNPs for people with certain chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease, and 5 I-SNPs for people who live in a nursing home or need a nursing-home level of care.

SNPs are only open to people who meet the eligibility rules, and they generally tailor the drug list, provider network and extra benefits around that group. If you think you may qualify — for example, if you have full Medicaid as well as Medicare — the Plan Finder will show you the SNPs for which you are eligible once you enter your ZIP code and situation.

Carriers with D-SNPs in Norfolk city for 2027 include Aetna (CVS Health), Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Sentara Medicare and UnitedHealthcare. The specific plan names appear in the table below.

How should I compare Medicare Advantage plans in Norfolk step by step?

The clearest way to compare is to go in a set order, so you are not reading brochures side by side and trying to hold five numbers in your head at once.

1. Start with the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) from your current plan. It arrived by late September 2026 and lists, in a single document, what is changing about your plan for 2027 — premium, deductible, copays, drug tiers, provider network, extra benefits. If everything in the ANOC still works for you, you may not need to switch at all.

2. Make a list of your doctors, hospitals and regular prescriptions. Include dosage and how often you fill each drug. Note which pharmacy you actually use — a plan's price for a drug can differ sharply between a preferred and a standard pharmacy.

3. Open the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your ZIP code, add your drugs and your pharmacy, and the tool will show plans available in Norfolk city with your estimated yearly drug cost and the plan's premium and deductible. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

4. Check the provider network for each plan on your short list. Look up your primary care doctor, any specialists you see, and the hospital you prefer — on the plan's own online directory or by calling the plan. HMOs generally require you to stay in network except for emergencies; PPOs let you go out of network at a higher cost; PFFS plans have their own rules about which providers accept the plan.

5. Check the drug list (formulary) for each plan. Even if the Plan Finder shows a low total, confirm your drugs are on the plan's formulary at the tier you expect, and look for prior-authorization or step-therapy requirements.

6. Compare extra benefits last. Dental, vision, hearing, fitness and over-the-counter allowances can be useful, but they are tie-breakers, not the main event. A plan whose network does not include your doctor is not a bargain, no matter the extras.

What happens if I do nothing by December 7 in Norfolk?

If you do nothing by December 7, 2026, and your current Medicare Advantage plan is being offered again in Norfolk city for 2027, you stay in it automatically — with whatever changes the ANOC describes.

If your plan is one of the three not returning in Norfolk city for 2027, you will not be left without coverage, but you do need to act: you will get a notice from your plan, you can pick a new Medicare Advantage plan, and you also have a guaranteed right to return to Original Medicare and, in many cases, buy a Medigap policy.

Medicare Advantage members get a second window — Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, January 1 through March 31, 2027 — to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan or drop back to Original Medicare with a Part D plan. That window is a safety valve, not a substitute for comparing now.