Medicare Advantage

Seattle's 2027 Medicare Advantage map: a new carrier arrives, 27 plans bow out

King County has 59 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 27 plans are not coming back, 18 are new, and 31 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 10 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Seattle, not which plan to pick.

SEATTLE — Fall 2026 is Medicare shopping season, and the 2027 plan lineup for King County looks noticeably different from the one on the shelf today. One new carrier is entering the market, 18 plans are new, 27 are leaving, and roughly a third of returning plans carry a change the Annual Notice of Change will spell out for current members.

Seattle is in King County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set and reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Based on the latest CMS Landscape files, people on Medicare here will have 68 Medicare Advantage plans from 10 carriers to compare for 2027, including a first-year lineup from Devoted Health.

What the 2027 lineup looks like in King County

For 2027, King County residents can choose from 68 Medicare Advantage plans across 10 carriers. By plan type, the mix is 24 HMOs, 15 HMO-POS plans and 29 PPOs. All 68 include prescription drug coverage, and 31 are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) designed for people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, live in an institution, or have certain chronic conditions.

The carriers offering plans in King County for 2027 are, in alphabetical order: Aetna (CVS Health), AgeRight Advantage, Centene (WellCare), Community Health Plan of WA Medicare Advantage, Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina Healthcare of Washington, Inc., Regence BlueShield, and UnitedHealthcare. The full roster — every plan by carrier and type — is in the table below.

What's new for 2027

Eighteen plans are new to King County for 2027. The biggest headline is the arrival of Devoted Health as a carrier here; its 2027 Seattle-area debut includes DEVOTED CORE 001 WA (HMO), DEVOTED GIVEBACK 002 WA (HMO), DEVOTED GIVEBACK EXTRAS 022 WA (HMO), DEVOTED C-SNP ENHANCED 003 WA (HMO C-SNP), DEVOTED C-SNP GIVEBACK EXTRAS 004 WA (HMO C-SNP) and DEVOTED C-SNP PLUS 005 WA (HMO C-SNP).

Other carriers are also launching new plans. Aetna (CVS Health) adds Aetna Medicare Chronic Care (HMO C-SNP) and Aetna Medicare Eagle (HMO). Elevance Health (Anthem) is listing Wellpoint Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP), Wellpoint Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP) and Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP). Molina Healthcare of Washington, Inc. adds Molina Medicare Elect (HMO D-SNP). Regence BlueShield introduces Regence BlueAdvantage HMO (HMO) — its first HMO option in a county where it has previously offered only PPOs. UnitedHealthcare adds AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC WA-18 (PPO), AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx WA-MA02 (HMO-POS), AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No RX WA-MA3 (PPO), UHC Complete Care Support WA-1A (HMO-POS C-SNP) and UHC Complete Care Support WA-3A (HMO-POS C-SNP).

What's not returning after 2026

Twenty-seven plans will not be offered in King County in 2027. If you are enrolled in one of them, your coverage ends December 31, 2026, and you'll need to pick something else.

The non-renewing plans are: Aetna Medicare Signature Advantage (HMO); Wellcare Dual Access Open (PPO D-SNP), Wellcare Dual Liberty Sync Open (PPO D-SNP), Wellcare Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP), Wellcare Giveback (HMO-POS), Wellcare Patriot Giveback Open (PPO) and Wellcare Simple (HMO-POS) from Centene (WellCare); Wellpoint Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) and Wellpoint Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) from Elevance Health (Anthem) (note that Elevance is relaunching plans under those names for 2027 — a current member should still read the ANOC and the new plan documents carefully); Humana Gold Plus H5619-059 (HMO), Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H1036-324 (HMO D-SNP), Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H5619-167 (HMO D-SNP), Humana Together in Health (PPO I-SNP), HumanaChoice H5216-426 (PPO) and HumanaChoice H7617-019 (PPO); Molina Medicare Complete Care Select (HMO D-SNP); Regence MedAdvantage + Rx Primary (PPO); and from UnitedHealthcare, AARP Medicare Advantage Access from UHC WA-11 (PPO), AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC WA-0002 (PPO), AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC WA-0004 (PPO), AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC WA-0010 (HMO-POS), AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC WA-12 (PPO), AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC WA-16 (PPO), AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx WA-MA01 (PPO), UHC Complete Care WA-13 (HMO-POS C-SNP), UHC Dual Complete WA-S5 (PPO D-SNP) and UHC Dual Complete WA-S6 (HMO-POS D-SNP).

If your plan is on that list, you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period because of the non-renewal. That SEP lets you join another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and pick up a stand-alone Part D plan outside the normal October 15–December 7 window. Act before December 31, 2026 to avoid a gap in coverage.

Renamed plans — same plan, new label

Ten plans are returning under a new name. If you don't see your plan on the 2027 list, check whether it was simply renamed before assuming it's gone. The renames include Aetna Medicare Signature (PPO) (previously Aetna Medicare Signature Extra (PPO)); Wellcare Coordinated Care Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP) and Wellcare Coordinated Care Dual Liberty Sync (HMO D-SNP); Humana Dual Select H5619-166 (HMO D-SNP) and Humana Value Choice (PPO); and several AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC and UHC Dual Advantage plans. Twenty-one other continuing plans are changing on at least one of premium, deductible, type or name — the specifics are in each plan's ANOC, which arrives by late September.

How to decide for 2027

A few questions do most of the sorting work:

• Is my plan returning? Check your ANOC. If your plan is on the leaving list above, use the Special Enrollment Period.
• Are my doctors and hospitals in network? Networks can change between plan years. Confirm directly with the plan or your providers before you enroll.
• Are my prescriptions covered, and at what tier? The 2027 Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), and the maximum Part D deductible rises to $700 (from $615 in 2026). Formularies and tiers still vary plan by plan.
• HMO, HMO-POS or PPO? HMOs usually require you to use the plan's network and get referrals. PPOs give more out-of-network flexibility, typically at a higher cost. HMO-POS plans sit in between.
• Do I qualify for a Special Needs Plan? D-SNPs serve people with both Medicare and Medicaid; C-SNPs serve people with specific chronic conditions; I-SNPs serve people living in nursing facilities.

CMS announces the 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, later in the fall (usually in November). Until those are published, don't rely on any projection you see online.

Dates to put on the fridge

• October 15, 2026 — Annual Enrollment Period opens.
• December 7, 2026 — Last day to make an AEP change for coverage starting January 1, 2027.
• January 1, 2027 — New coverage begins.
• January 1 – March 31, 2027 — Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment, when a Medicare Advantage member can switch to one other Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare.

If you do nothing and your plan is being offered again in 2027, it simply renews with the changes described in your ANOC. If your plan is leaving, you need to act.