Medicare Advantage

How to compare Milwaukee's 2027 Medicare Advantage plans before Dec. 7

People in Milwaukee can choose from 52 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 52 this year. Six of this year’s plans are gone, 6 are new to Milwaukee County, and 31 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 12 of them under a new name.

Milwaukee, fall 2026 — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in Milwaukee, this is the stretch of the year when it pays to slow down and actually read the mail. The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027. In Milwaukee County, the 2027 lineup includes 52 Medicare Advantage plans from 7 carriers, with 6 new plans and 6 that are not returning. Here is a plain, step-by-step way to compare them.

What Milwaukee has to choose from in 2027

Medicare Advantage availability is set by county, so Milwaukee is in Milwaukee County, where the 2027 CMS Landscape shows 52 plans from 7 carriers. By plan type: 6 HMO, 16 HMO-POS, 28 PPO, 1 PFFS and 1 MSA. All 52 include drug coverage.

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are a big part of the local picture: 13 Dual-Eligible (D-SNP), 4 Chronic Condition (C-SNP) and 2 Institutional (I-SNP) plans for 2027. D-SNPs serve people with both Medicare and Medicaid; C-SNPs are built around specific chronic conditions; I-SNPs serve people who live in nursing homes or need that level of care.

The seven carriers offering plans in Milwaukee County for 2027, in alphabetical order, are Aetna (CVS Health) with 6 plans, Centene (WellCare) with 3, Elevance Health (Anthem) with 5, Humana with 17, Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin with 2, Network Health Medicare Advantage Plans with 5, and UnitedHealthcare with 14. The table below lists every plan by carrier.

What is new for 2027

Three things to know before you start comparing:

• 6 plans are new in Milwaukee County for 2027.
• 6 plans are not returning for 2027. If yours is one, you will get a non-renewal letter and a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else.
• 12 plans have been renamed. Same plan under the hood in many cases, but a new name can be confusing. The ANOC will spell this out.

Beyond local changes, two program-wide 2027 numbers are already set by CMS: the Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (from $2,100 in 2026), and the Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 (from $615 in 2026). The 2027 Part B premium and deductible and the 2027 IRMAA brackets have not been announced yet — CMS typically publishes those later in the fall.

Step 1: Read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)

If you are already in a Medicare Advantage plan, your carrier sent (or will send) an Annual Notice of Change by late September. It compares your plan's 2026 terms to its 2027 terms — premium, deductible, copays, drug tier changes, network changes and extra benefits.

Flag anything that moved. If a drug you take jumped to a higher tier, or your primary care doctor's copay changed, that is your starting point for whether to shop around.

Step 2: Check your doctors and hospitals

A Medicare Advantage plan's network can change every January 1. Before you fall in love with a plan on paper:

• Call each doctor you want to keep and ask if they are in-network for the specific 2027 plan you are considering (give them the plan name and contract number).
• Do the same for the hospital system you use. In the Milwaukee area, that often means Froedtert, Aurora/Advocate, Ascension or the Milwaukee VA — ask the plan which systems are in-network for 2027.
• If you travel or spend part of the year out of state, ask about out-of-network coverage. PPO and PFFS plans generally allow out-of-network care; HMO plans usually do not except for emergencies.

Step 3: Check your prescriptions and pharmacy

This is where people get surprised. Each plan has its own formulary (drug list) and its own preferred pharmacies.

The easiest way to compare is the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Log in, enter every prescription you take with the exact dose and quantity, and add the pharmacies you actually use. The tool will show each 2027 plan's estimated yearly drug cost based on your list, along with any restrictions (prior authorization, step therapy, quantity limits).

If your out-of-pocket drug costs are uneven across the year, ask about the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads Part D costs into monthly bills.

Step 4: Match the plan type to how you use care

• HMO — lower cost structure, but you generally need to stay in-network and get referrals.
• HMO-POS — an HMO with limited out-of-network coverage for certain services.
• PPO — more flexibility to see out-of-network providers, usually at a higher share of cost.
• PFFS — any provider who accepts the plan's terms can treat you.
• MSA — a high-deductible plan paired with a medical savings account; no drug coverage is built in.
• SNP — only for people who meet the eligibility (dual Medicaid, a listed chronic condition, or institutional-level care).

Step 5: Use the Medicare Plan Finder the right way

At medicare.gov/plan-compare, create or sign in to your account so your drug list and pharmacies save. You can line up three plans side by side and see premium, deductible, drug costs, maximum out-of-pocket, and extras like dental, vision and hearing. Print or save the comparison. If a plan looks right, confirm the details one more time with the carrier before you enroll — benefits displayed in the Plan Finder reflect what the carrier filed with CMS.

If you prefer to talk to a person, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7.

If you do nothing

Nothing happens on December 8 to a person who does nothing. Your current plan renews for 2027 if it is being offered, with the changes in its ANOC. If your plan is one of the 6 not returning, you will get a letter and a Special Enrollment Period. And from January 1 through March 31, 2027, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period lets anyone already in an MA plan make one change.