San Diego County Medicare Advantage Plans for 2027: What Changed

Reviewed by Anthony Howe, Licensed Insurance Agent, NPN #20649362. Published October 23, 2026, from CMS’s 2027 plan data.

Every fall, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes a landscape file listing every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan approved for the coming year, county by county. We compared the 2027 file (updated October 18, 2026) with the 2026 file for San Diego County. The short version: there are fewer plans to choose from in 2027, one local health plan has left Medicare Advantage entirely, and out-of-pocket limits and drug plan premiums have moved up.

Unless noted, the counts below are Medicare Advantage plans open to anyone with Medicare in San Diego County. Special Needs Plans, which are limited to people with certain conditions or with Medi-Cal, are counted separately, and employer group plans aren’t in the file.

San Diego County at a glance

Sharp Health Plan isn’t offering Medicare Advantage for 2027

Sharp Health Plan offered four Sharp Direct Advantage HMO plans in San Diego County for 2026 (Gold, Platinum, VIP and VIP Plus). None of them appear in the 2027 file. Molina’s Central Health Medicare plans and its Molina Medicare Choice Care plan also don’t return for 2027, though Molina keeps one Special Needs Plan in the county.

It’s worth separating the health plan from the health system. Sharp Health Plan is the insurance company; Sharp’s hospitals and doctors are still in Medicare, and Sharp-affiliated medical groups work with other Medicare Advantage plans. Whether your Sharp doctor is in a particular 2027 plan’s network is a separate check, by name and by plan.

If your plan isn’t renewing, federal rules give you some room:

• Your plan sends a non-renewal notice in the fall explaining your options.
• You can choose a new plan during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 to December 7, 2026, and you also get a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February 2027.
• If you don’t pick a plan, you return to Original Medicare on January 1. You’d want a Part D plan to keep drug coverage, and you have a guaranteed right to buy certain Medigap policies for a limited time after your plan ends, without health questions.

Fewer PPOs

PPO plans, which cover out-of-network care at a higher cost, dropped from 8 to 4. Aetna’s three San Diego PPOs from 2026 aren’t in the 2027 file, and Aetna’s general plans in the county fell from seven to three. The four 2027 PPOs come from Humana (two USAA Honor Giveback plans, one without drug coverage) and Alignment Health (two). If you travel often or see doctors in more than one network, the narrower PPO list is worth knowing about before you compare.

Higher out-of-pocket maximums, fewer $0 deductibles

Every Medicare Advantage plan has a yearly in-network out-of-pocket maximum. In San Diego County, the median rose from $2,900 in 2026 to about $3,475 in 2027. Twenty of the 46 plans set it at $4,000 or more, and only 12 are at $2,000 or less (18 were in 2026). Plan limits range from $295 to $9,850, the highest a plan can set for 2027.

Drug deductibles are moving the same way. Twelve of the 41 plans with drug coverage charge no drug deductible, down from 19. The rest charge one, up to the new $700 maximum. A $0-premium plan with a higher out-of-pocket maximum can cost more over a year than a plan with a small premium, depending on how much care you use, so the yearly total is a better comparison than the premium alone.

New plan names for 2027

Some plan IDs are new in the 2027 file, including Blue Shield Advantage (HMO) and Blue Shield Value Advantage Plan (HMO), SCAN Costco Medicare Advantage (HMO), a new Humana Gold Plus HMO, Aetna Medicare Eagle (HMO), and new Alignment Health HMO and PPO plans. Blue Shield of California now has four general plans in the county, up from two. Insurers sometimes fold an old plan into a new one, so a new name doesn’t always mean new benefits; your Annual Notice of Change says which 2027 plan you’ll be moved to, if any.

Special Needs Plans grew

Special Needs Plans went from 33 to 39. Thirty-two are Chronic Condition SNPs, most of them for people with diabetes, heart failure or cardiovascular disease, with others for chronic kidney disease, lung disorders and mental health conditions. Seven are Dual-Eligible SNPs for people who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal. Eligibility is verified, so these plans are only an option if you qualify.

Stand-alone Part D plans in California cost more

If you have Original Medicare, with or without a Medigap plan, your drug coverage comes from a stand-alone Part D plan, and those are priced statewide. California has 10 for 2027 from five insurers (Blue Shield of California, HealthSpring, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and Wellcare), down from 12 plans and six insurers; Aetna’s SilverScript plan isn’t offered for 2027. The median monthly premium rose from about $107 to about $151, and there’s no $0-premium Part D plan in California for 2027 (there was one in 2026). Premiums range from $5.30 to $252.60 a month, and seven of the 10 charge the full $700 deductible.

Every plan, at any premium, caps what you pay for covered drugs at $2,400 for 2027. Our drug coverage guide explains how the cap and deductible work together.

What this means for your 2027 review

• Read your Annual Notice of Change. With 14 fewer general plans, more people than usual are being moved to a different plan or losing theirs.
• Check doctors by plan, not by insurer. Networks in San Diego County run through medical groups, and two plans from the same insurer can include different groups. Doctors and medical groups moving between plans is the issue we hear about most this year.
• Compare the yearly total. Look at the premium, the drug deductible and the out-of-pocket maximum together.
• If you’re on Original Medicare, re-check your Part D plan: premiums and deductibles changed more than usual.

For the full checklist, see our Annual Enrollment Period guide and our San Diego County Open Enrollment guide. The Medicare Plan Finder shows each plan’s benefits, and California’s free HICAP counselors are at 1-800-434-0222. Rock Meadow compares plans from the insurers we represent at no charge; call (760) 654-6760.

About this data

Figures come from CMS’s public Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan landscape files for 2026 (September 2026) and 2027 (October 18, 2026 update), filtered to San Diego County, California. “Plans open to anyone” excludes Special Needs Plans; employer group plans aren’t in the files. Plans that are new or ended were identified by plan ID, so a plan that was renumbered can show up as both. Premiums are the combined monthly Part C and Part D premium and don’t include the Part B premium. CMS notes that the data can change as contracts are finalized. Benefits, networks and drug lists aren’t in the landscape file; the Medicare Plan Finder and each plan’s Evidence of Coverage have those.

Sources

• CMS, Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plan landscape files: CY2026 (September 2026) and CY2027 (October 18, 2026 update), the source of every plan count, premium and out-of-pocket figure above.
• Medicare.gov, Medigap: guaranteed-issue rights when a Medicare Advantage plan leaves Medicare.

Photo: “San Diego Skyline” by Cindy Devin, licensed under CC BY 2.0.