Medicare Advantage

Huntington-Area Medicare Plan Choices for 2026: A Local Look

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — If you live in the Huntington metro and are thinking about your Medicare coverage for 2027, one of the most useful things to know is simply this: how many plan options are on the table where you live? Availability is set county by county, which means your neighbors across the river or one town over may see a different lineup than you do.

A snapshot of plan availability around Huntington

Here's a plain-English look at what's available in the local area, along with the deadlines and program facts you'll want to keep handy this fall.

Huntington sits in Cabell County — here's what that means

Huntington is in Cabell County, and that's where your Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability is officially counted. For 2026, Cabell County had 52 Medicare Advantage plans available, offered by 8 carriers providing Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). The 2027 lineup is detailed in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

For stand-alone Part D, West Virginia has 12 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide. If you rely on Original Medicare and need drug coverage, it's worth checking Medicare.gov's Plan Finder for your ZIP code, since availability can shift and Plan Finder shows the current, personalized list.

About 18,550 people age 65 and older live in Cabell County, so it's a sizable Medicare community — and the plan choices reflect that.

How availability can differ just a short drive away

Medicare plan availability doesn't stop at the Cabell County line. Huntington sits close to Wayne County to the south, Lincoln County to the east, and just across state borders into Lawrence County, Ohio, and Boyd County, Kentucky. Each of those counties has its own plan lineup, its own carrier mix, and its own count of Medicare Advantage and Part D options.

That matters for a few reasons:

• If you move — even a few miles — your plan options may change.
• Snowbirds and part-year residents should confirm what's available in each county where they spend meaningful time.
• Adult children helping parents in different counties shouldn't assume the same plans are offered in each place.

For county-by-county details, Medicare's Plan Finder at Medicare.gov lets you enter any ZIP code and see the current list.

What "52 plans" really tells you (and what it doesn't)

A big number like 52 Medicare Advantage plans in Cabell County can feel overwhelming. Here's how to think about it calmly:

• The number counts plan variations, not carriers. Eight carriers offer MA-PD locally, and each may offer several plan designs.
• More plans on paper doesn't automatically mean more of what you personally need. What matters is whether your doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions fit a specific plan.
• Star Ratings (CMS's 1-to-5 quality measure) can help you gauge a contract's overall performance, but they're one input among many. In this snapshot, under CMS's 2026 Star Ratings, of the 16 Medicare Advantage contracts offering plans in Cabell County, 14 have a 2026 Star Rating and 4 are rated 4 stars or higher — a data point to note, but not the whole story. Ratings can change year to year.

2027 program-wide facts every Huntington reader should know

No matter which county you're in, these federal Medicare rules apply for 2027:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your covered drug costs hit that amount, you pay nothing for covered Part D drugs the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027. Plans can charge less, but not more.
• No more "donut hole." As of 2025, Part D has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. This optional program lets you spread your drug costs across the calendar year in monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA surcharges for higher-income beneficiaries begin above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates to circle

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7. This is when most people compare and change Medicare Advantage and Part D plans for the following year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare.