Medicare Open Enrollment for 2027
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Medicare Open Enrollment!
From October 15 through December 7, Medicare beneficiaries have the opportunity to review next year’s Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plan options. This is the time to compare plans, consider any upcoming changes, and choose the coverage that best fits your needs for the year ahead.
If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan for 2026, you should have received an Annual Notice of Change from your insurance company or HMO. This notice outlines any changes to your benefits for 2027 and lets you know if your current plan will no longer be available. If your Medicare Advantage plan will continue in 2027, some details could still change. It’s important to review your plan every year – to make sure the monthly premium, copayments, and the doctor and hospital network in the plan still work for you.
In 2027, seven insurance companies or HMOs will offer Medicare Advantage plans to anyone on Medicare, including people who qualify for a Special Needs Plan (SNP), in Maryland. Aetna will no longer offer any Medicare Advantage plans in the state. All others will make changes to the plans they offer, so everyone with a Medicare Advantage plan should review the details of their plan. Examples of Medicare Advantage plan changes in 2027 include:
- Aetna (owned by CVS) is discontinuing its Medicare Advantage plans in Maryland, so anyone with Aetna Medicare Advantage will need to select a new plan.
- Kaiser is offering the same Medicare Advantage plans in 2027. Alterwood, UnitedHealthcare, Johns Hopkins Health Plan, and Humana are offering some but not all of the same plans in 2027.
- CareFirst and Johns Hopkins each added at least one new Medicare Advantage plan for 2027.
- HealthSpring (formerly Cigna) is moving individuals from its HealthSpring Alliance HMO into its Preferred Plus plan. There are no other changes to their plan offerings for 2027.
All of the companies that provide Medicare Advantage plans in Maryland in 2027 will offer at least one $0 premium option. There will be no significant provider network changes for any of the plans offered in 2027. All of the companies except UnitedHealthcare have revised the cost-sharing amounts in their 2027 Medicare Advantage plans, with most of the changes increasing out-of-pocket costs for enrollees.
Certain Medicare Advantage Plans will have different geographic service regions in 2027, while others will remain the same as 2026.
- Kaiser will continue to offer the same plans as they did in 2026, with no change in the geographic areas served.
- UnitedHealthcare will continue to offer two D-SNP plans and discontinue six Medicare Advantage plans. In 2027, the I-SNP (PPO) plan will no longer be offered in Carroll County, but will begin to cover Allegany, Garrett, and Worcester counties.
- Alterwood will continue five of the six Medicare Advantage plans they offered in 2026, with the geographic service areas remaining the same in 2027.
- Johns Hopkins Health Plans will discontinue one Medicare Advantage PPO and add two Medicare Advantage plans: a D-SNP (HMO) in Baltimore City and a PPO in Caroline and Dorchester counties. The geographic service areas for the other Medicare Advantage plans they will continue to offer remain unchanged.
- CareFirst will offer a new Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan in addition to the Medicare Advantage plans they offered in 2026. In 2027, the two Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans they offered in 2026 will no longer serve Carroll, Frederick, Kent, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s, and Worcester counties.
- Humana will offer six Medicare Advantage plans and discontinue five plans. The geographic service areas will change for each of the six plans. It will no longer offer any D-SNP plans. None of their Medicare Advantage plans will be offered in Baltimore City, Carroll, Garrett, or Worcester counties in 2027.
- HealthSpring will move individuals from its HealthSpring Alliance HMO into its Preferred Plus plan, with no change in the geographic areas served.
For the first time, in 2027 some Medicare Advantage plans will be allowed to stop taking new members once they hit a cap that has been approved by the federal government. Therefore, there is an advantage to signing up early for plan coverage and securing a plan before a cap is reached. In Maryland, Alterwood, CareFirst, and Johns Hopkins Health Plans will limit the number of new members on some of their plans.
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