Medicare Advantage

Milwaukee Medicare Advantage 2027: 6 plans leaving, 6 new, 12 renamed

People in Milwaukee can choose from 40 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 52 this year. Six of this year's plans are gone, 6 are new to Milwaukee County, and 19 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 12 of them under a new name.

Medicare AdvantageMilwaukee, WI

MILWAUKEE — If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in Milwaukee, this fall's mail is worth opening. When the 2027 plan year begins on Jan. 1, six Medicare Advantage plans sold in Milwaukee County will no longer be offered, six new plans will take their place, and a dozen more will show up under new names. Another 19 continuing plans will look a little different on paper — a change to the premium, deductible, plan type or name — while 34 plans continue with no such change flagged in Medicare's records.

Milwaukee is in Milwaukee County, where these year-over-year plan changes are set. If your plan is on the "leaving" list, you have extra time to switch and you will not be left without coverage — but you do need to act.

What's actually changing in Milwaukee County

Medicare's 2027 Landscape file shows 40 Medicare Advantage plans available in Milwaukee County from seven carriers: Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Elevance Health (Anthem), Humana, Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin, Network Health Medicare Advantage Plans and UnitedHealthcare. The same seven carriers that sold plans this year are selling plans next year — no carrier is exiting Milwaukee County, and no new carrier is entering.

What is changing is the mix of plans inside those carriers. The table below lists every 2027 plan by carrier. Here is how to read it against what you have today.

The six plans leaving after 2026

If you are enrolled in one of these, your plan will not be offered in 2027 and you will need to pick a new plan (or return to Original Medicare):

• Anthem Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — Elevance Health (Anthem)
• Anthem Full Dual Advantage 2 (HMO D-SNP) — Elevance Health (Anthem)
• Humana USAA Honor Giveback (PPO) — Humana
• AARP Medicare Advantage CareFlex from UHC WI-18 (HMO-POS) — UnitedHealthcare
• UHC Dual Complete WI-D003 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — UnitedHealthcare
• UHC Dual Complete WI-D3 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — UnitedHealthcare

Your carrier is required to mail you a non-renewal notice. Keep it — it is your proof of the Special Enrollment Period described below.

Six new plans for 2027

Six plans are new to Milwaukee County next year:

• Anthem Dual Advantage Plus (HMO D-SNP) — Elevance Health (Anthem)
• Anthem Full Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — Elevance Health (Anthem)
• Humana Value Choice (PPO) — Humana
• HumanaChoice - Diabetes and Heart (PPO C-SNP) — Humana
• UHC Complete Care WI-21 (HMO-POS C-SNP) — UnitedHealthcare
• UHC Dual Complete WI-S1 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — UnitedHealthcare

Several of these are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which are limited to people who qualify — for example, people with both Medicare and Medicaid (a D-SNP) or people with certain chronic conditions (a C-SNP).

Twelve plans with new names — same plan underneath

A renamed plan is not a new plan. It is the same contract with a new label, and if you are already enrolled you stay enrolled unless you change it yourself. The renames in Milwaukee County for 2027:

• Wellcare MHS Health Wisconsin Dual Liberty Sync (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was Wellcare Dual Access Sync (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• Wellcare MHS Health Wisconsin Dual Select (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was Wellcare Dual Reserve (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• Humana Essentials Plus Giveback (PPO) — was HumanaChoice Giveback H7617-011 (PPO)
• Humana Full Access (PPO) — was Humana Full Access H5216-410 (PPO)
• Humana Full Access (PPO) — was Humana Full Access H7617-020 (PPO)
• Humana Total Complete (HMO) — was Humana Gold Plus H6622-001 (HMO)
• Humana Value Choice (PPO) — was HumanaChoice H5216-253 (PPO)
• Molina My Choice Dual Advantage (HMO D-SNP) — was My Choice Wisconsin Medicare Dual Advantage Plan (HMO D-SNP)
• Molina My Choice Partnership (HMO D-SNP) — was My Choice Wisconsin Partnership Plan (HMO D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Advantage WI-V1 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete WI-V001 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Advantage WI-V2 (PPO D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete WI-D001 (PPO D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete WI-Q1 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete WI-D002 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

Even so, read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) that arrived in September. Sometimes a rename comes with real changes to the plan.

What "changing" means on 19 other plans

Medicare's file flags 19 continuing Milwaukee County plans as different in 2027 on at least one of four things: premium, deductible, plan type or name. We are not going to tell you which — the ANOC your carrier sent you is the authoritative source, and it lists the specific changes for your plan. If you cannot find yours, ask the carrier to resend it or view it in your online account.

What to do about it

If your plan is on the leaving list. You get a Special Enrollment Period because your plan is not renewing. It runs through the end of February 2027, so if you do nothing during the fall Annual Enrollment Period you still have time — you can pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D drug plan and return to Original Medicare. If you take no action at all, you will typically be moved to Original Medicare on Jan. 1 without drug coverage.

If your plan is continuing (renamed or flagged as changed). The Annual Enrollment Period, Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, is the main window to switch plans for a Jan. 1 start. After that, the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, Jan. 1 through March 31, lets someone already in a Medicare Advantage plan switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or drop back to Original Medicare one time.

Either way, check three things: whether your doctors and hospitals are still in-network, whether your prescriptions are still on the formulary and at the same tier, and whether any supplemental benefits you use are still included.

The Part D backdrop for 2026 and 2027 and 2027

Part D — the drug coverage baked into every Medicare Advantage plan in Milwaukee County that includes drugs — has a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap for 2026 and a maximum deductible of $615. The old coverage gap ("donut hole") was eliminated in 2025, so there are now three phases instead of four. If your drug bills come in big lumps, you can ask any Part D plan to enroll you in the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which spreads what you owe over the calendar year. IRMAA income surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.