Chaperone Health Insurance Plus
2027 Medicare Advantage Changes in South Florida
Reviewed October 2026 · Covers the 2027 plan year
Every fall, Medicare Advantage plans change, but the Medicare changes for 2027 are bigger than usual in South Florida. Some plans are leaving Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties, others are merging, and many that stay are adjusting their extra benefits, copays, and networks. I’m Roxroy Ashley, an independent licensed agent with HealthMarkets, based in Fort Lauderdale. I’ve spent the last 8 of my 14 years in insurance focused on Medicare, and this guide explains what’s changing for 2027, what’s driving it, and how to check whether your own plan is affected.
The Annual Enrollment Period is open now, from October 15 to December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027. If your plan sent you an Annual Notice of Change or a non-renewal letter and you’re not sure what it means for you, book a free plan review and I’ll get back to you personally within 24 to 48 hours.
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Get a Free Quote From a Medicare Broker Who Reviews Your Medicare Advantage 2027 Options
A plan that fit in 2026 can look very different in 2027, so before I recommend anything, I check:
- Your current plan’s 2027 changes against the other options in your county
- Your doctors and hospitals against each plan’s network, including HCA Florida, Memorial, and Baptist Health
- Your full-year cost, not only the premium
If anything is unclear, I call your doctor’s office to confirm it. Your quote is free, with no obligation to enroll. Get your free quote and I’ll do the research for you.
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Why Choose Me When Your Medicare Advantage Plan Changes
When your plan is changing or leaving for 2027, here’s what to look for in an agent, and what you can expect from me.
I Read the Fine Print With You: I go through your Annual Notice of Change or non-renewal letter line by line and explain each change in plain language, so you know exactly what’s different in 2027.
Your Doctors, Hospitals, and Prescriptions Checked First: I know how South Florida’s health systems, including HCA Florida, Memorial Healthcare System, and Baptist Health, fit into local plan networks. Before I recommend any plan, I check your doctors, hospitals, and every prescription against its network and drug list, including your pharmacy. If something is unclear, I’ll call your doctor’s office myself.
Every Question Answered, at Your Pace: A plan change can feel urgent, and most people spend less than an hour choosing a replacement. I take as long as you need, explain each piece in plain language, and answer every question until it makes sense. There’s no pressure and no obligation to enroll.
The Plan That Costs Less for You: The lowest premium isn’t always the lowest cost. I calculate your full-year cost for every plan, including copays, drug costs, and your out-of-pocket maximum, based on your health needs, before you choose.
My Help Costs You Nothing Extra: Insurers pay my commission, and plan premiums are generally the same whether you enroll through me or directly, so you get personal guidance and ongoing support at no additional charge.
Both Paths, Side by Side: If your plan is leaving, I lay out your Medicare Advantage options and the Original Medicare and Medigap path, including what you’d gain and give up with each, so you decide with the full picture.
I Handle the Paperwork: If you choose a plan, I complete the application with you, confirm your enrollment window, and follow it through to approval, so the process is as simple as a conversation.
Licensed and Verified: I’m licensed in 33 states, I complete AHIP’s annual Medicare certification, and I’m certified for the 2027 plan year. You can verify my license (Florida License #W323530, NPN #17946070) anytime through your state’s insurance department.
I Stay Your Agent After You Enroll: Work with me directly, in person, by phone, on Zoom, or at your home in Broward, Miami-Dade, or Palm Beach, and I reply within 24 to 48 hours. I review your coverage every Annual Enrollment Period, so next year’s changes don’t catch you off guard, and I help with claims and billing in between.
You can read all 25 reasons we should work together on my Why Choose Me page.
What CMS Changed for Medicare Advantage 2027
Several federal decisions made in 2026 shape the Medicare Advantage 2027 plans you’re seeing now. None of them changes your rights or your enrollment dates, but they help explain why plans look different.
Plan payments: In its 2027 Rate Announcement on April 6, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized an average 2.48% increase in what Medicare pays Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. The American Hospital Association reported that this comes to more than $13 billion above 2026. Payment levels influence what plans can offer, but each insurance company still decides its own benefits, premiums, and service areas, so a higher payment rate doesn’t guarantee richer benefits in any one plan.
The Contract Year 2027 final rule: CMS released its 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule on April 2, 2026. According to CMS’s fact sheet, it makes the Part D drug benefit redesign permanent in federal regulations, tightens rules on supplemental benefit debit cards (they must be linked to covered items and services and limited to the plan year), and requires plans to post their eligibility rules for supplemental benefits offered to people with chronic illnesses. It also ends the requirement that plans mail a mid-year notice reminding members about unused supplemental benefits. For 2027, that means it’s worth keeping track of your own dental, vision, and other extra benefits during the year, since you may not get that reminder.
Star Ratings measures: The same rule removes 11 Star Ratings measures that CMS says focused on administrative processes, and adds a new depression screening and follow-up measure starting with the 2027 measurement year. Those changes affect future ratings, not the ratings you see this fall.
Plan choices nationally: In its September 28, 2026 announcement, CMS said there will be about 5,532 Medicare Advantage plans nationwide in 2027, compared with 5,553 in 2026, and that about 8 in 10 current members can keep their plan at the same or a lower premium. KFF, an independent health policy research group, found that the average person with Medicare can choose from 28 Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage in 2027, down from 32 in 2026.
Medicare Advantage 2027 Benefit Changes to Watch in South Florida
National totals barely moved, but Florida is seeing more Medicare Advantage changes than any other state. Based on CMS data reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel and Becker’s Payer Issues, Florida has 560 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, down from 611 in 2026, the largest drop in the country.
Fewer plans in each county: The Sun Sentinel reported on October 15, 2026, that Broward County has 106 plans from 15 parent companies for 2027, down from 119 in 2026, and Palm Beach County has 111 plans from 15 parent companies, down from 121 in 2026. Both counties still have more choices than most of the country.
Members affected by exits and mergers: In an analysis of CMS’s 2026 and 2027 plan files cited by the Sun Sentinel, about 81,000 members in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach are in plans that are ending or merging for 2027. Of those, 42,289 are in plans that will no longer be offered in their county, and 38,738 are in plans being combined with another plan from the same company. If your plan is merging, you’ll usually be moved to the new plan automatically, but its network, drug list, and costs may differ from what you have now.
Carrier changes reported for South Florida: The Sun Sentinel and Florida Trend reported that Humana and UnitedHealthcare are each ending some plans or shifting some PPO plans to HMO plans. Humana still has the most plans in Broward and Palm Beach, with 32 in each county, and the Sun Sentinel’s cited analysis found UnitedHealthcare has the most South Florida members in plans that are merging. The Sun Sentinel also reported that Aetna PPO plans in Palm Beach County are being discontinued, and that HealthSpring is ending both of its individual Medicare Advantage plans in South Florida, with none offered in the three counties for 2027.
Fewer PPOs: The shift toward HMOs matters if you see doctors outside a network or split your year between Florida and another state. According to the Sun Sentinel’s review of the CMS 2027 plan listings, Broward has 17 PPO plans for 2027 and Palm Beach has 21, plus a handful of Special Needs PPOs in each county. My guide to Medicare Advantage HMO vs. PPO in Broward County explains how referrals and out-of-network coverage differ.
Trimmed extras and new cost sharing: The Sun Sentinel and the Associated Press both reported that some plans are reducing extra benefits for 2027, such as dental, vision, hearing, fitness memberships, and Part B premium reductions, or lowering the maximum amount those benefits pay. Some plans are also raising specialist copays, adding a premium to a plan that had none, or changing a flat copay to a percentage of the cost (coinsurance). These Medicare Advantage 2027 benefit changes vary from plan to plan, so the only way to know what’s changing for you is to read your own plan’s notice.
More Special Needs Plans: The Sun Sentinel reported that about two-thirds of Florida’s 2027 plans are Special Needs Plans (SNPs), which are a type of Medicare Advantage plan for specific groups, such as people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid or who live with certain chronic conditions. If you may qualify for one, I’ll explain how it would work with your other coverage.
Many headlines frame these as Medicare changes 2027 for seniors, but Medicare isn’t only for people 65 and older. People under 65 who qualify because of a disability or certain medical conditions are affected by the same plan changes, and the same review applies to them.
How Part D Changes Affect Medicare Advantage Plans With Drug Coverage
Most Medicare Advantage members get their drug coverage through their plan, so Part D changes show up inside Medicare Advantage too. For 2027, the standard Part D deductible can be no higher than $700 (up from $615 in 2026), and the yearly out-of-pocket limit for covered drugs rises to $2,400 (up from $2,100 in 2026), according to CMS’s 2027 figures as reported by the Associated Press. Once you reach that limit, you pay nothing more for covered Part D drugs for the rest of 2027, whether your drug coverage is a standalone plan or part of a Medicare Advantage plan. Covered insulin still costs no more than $35 for a month’s supply.
You may also have read about the end of the Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration. That was a temporary program that helped hold down premiums for standalone Part D plans in 2025 and 2026. CMS confirmed in July 2026 that it won’t continue in 2027. It applied to standalone drug plans, not to drug coverage inside Medicare Advantage plans, so its end matters most for people who pair Original Medicare with a separate Part D plan. CMS also set the 2027 national base beneficiary premium, which is used to calculate the Part D late enrollment penalty, at $41.33, up from $38.99 in 2026.
Starting January 1, 2027, Medicare’s negotiated prices also take effect for 15 more drugs, including Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy, according to the Associated Press. How much that changes your own costs depends on your plan’s coverage and the drug’s tier. For more detail on each drug cost stage, see my guide to 2027 Medicare Part D costs or my Medicare Part D page.
What Happens if Your Medicare Advantage Plan Is Leaving
If your plan is ending, it was required to send you a non-renewal letter by October 2, 2026, at least 90 days before December 31. That letter gives you a Special Enrollment Period to choose new coverage. According to KFF and the Center for Medicare Advocacy, you can pick a new plan from October 15, 2026, through the last day of February 2027. Choosing by December 7, 2026, means your new coverage starts January 1, 2027, with no gap. If you choose later, coverage starts the first day of the month after you enroll.
If you don’t choose anything, you’ll be moved to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027. That keeps your hospital and medical coverage, but it doesn’t include Part D drug coverage or a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plan, so you’d need to add those yourself unless you have drug coverage from another source, such as Extra Help, the VA, or a former employer.
You generally have two paths. You can choose another Medicare Advantage 2027 plan, from the same company or a different one, which keeps you in a plan with an out-of-pocket maximum and often extra benefits, but you’ll want to confirm your doctors, hospitals, and drugs in its network. Or you can return to Original Medicare, where a plan leaving your area may give you a guaranteed issue right to buy certain Medigap plans without medical questions, for up to 63 days after your current coverage ends. Medigap lets you see any provider nationwide that accepts Medicare, but you’d usually pay a separate monthly premium for the Medigap plan and another for a Part D plan, and you’d give up the extra benefits, like dental or vision, that many Medicare Advantage plans include. Neither path is right for everyone, and outside a guaranteed issue window, Medigap insurers in Florida can generally ask health questions before accepting you.
For what each part of your notice means, see my guide to what your 2027 Medicare ANOC or non-renewal notice means. For the guaranteed issue rules and timing, see switching from Medicare Advantage to Medigap without underwriting.
How to Review Your Plan Before December 7, 2026
Even if your plan isn’t leaving, your Medicare Advantage 2027 plan changes are worth checking line by line. These are the steps I walk through with every client this fall. My 2027 Medicare open enrollment checklist for Florida covers them in more detail.
Read your Annual Notice of Change: Plans had to mail it by September 30, 2026. Look for changes to the premium, the out-of-pocket maximum, copays for specialists and hospital stays, and extra benefits.
Confirm your doctors and hospitals: Check that your primary care doctor, specialists, and preferred hospital are in the plan’s 2027 network, not only the 2026 network. If your plan is changing from a PPO to an HMO, ask whether you’ll need referrals.
Re-check every prescription: Drug lists and tiers can change each year. Check each medication’s 2027 tier and any new rules, such as prior authorization, and confirm your pharmacy is still in network.
Compare your full-year cost: Add up the premium, expected copays, and drug costs, and note the out-of-pocket maximum. A $0 premium plan isn’t automatically the lowest-cost plan for you.
Weigh what you’d give up: If you’re considering a change, list what your current plan does well, such as a doctor you’d keep or a benefit you use, so you can see what a new plan would and wouldn’t replace.
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Frequently Asked Questions About 2027 Medicare Advantage Changes
What Are the Biggest Medicare Advantage Changes for 2027?
In South Florida, the biggest Medicare Advantage changes for 2027 are fewer plans, plan mergers, a shift from PPO to HMO plans, and trimmed extra benefits in some plans. Florida has 51 fewer plans than in 2026, based on CMS data reported by the Sun Sentinel and Becker’s Payer Issues. Nationally, the Part D out-of-pocket limit rises to $2,400 for 2027, and CMS made several Part D and supplemental benefit rules permanent in its Contract Year 2027 final rule.
How Do I Find My Medicare Advantage 2027 Plan Changes?
Your plan’s Annual Notice of Change, mailed by September 30, 2026, lists every change to your costs, benefits, and coverage for 2027. If your plan is ending, you should have received a separate non-renewal letter by October 2, 2026, at least 90 days before December 31. You can also compare 2027 plans on Medicare.gov. If you can’t find your notice, call your plan, or book a free plan review and I’ll help you review it.
Is My Medicare Advantage Plan Leaving South Florida in 2027?
Some are. Your plan was required to notify you by mail by October 2, 2026, if it won’t be offered in your county in 2027. If you didn’t get a non-renewal letter, your plan is most likely continuing, though it may be merging with another plan or changing its benefits, so check your Annual Notice of Change.
What Are the 2027 Medicare Advantage Star Ratings?
Every year, Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-star rating system. CMS released the 2027 Star Ratings on October 8, 2026, and they appear on Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder for plans offered in the 2027 plan year. According to CMS, the average 2027 rating for Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage is 3.99 out of 5 stars, weighted by enrollment, and about 71% of members in those plans are in contracts rated 4 or more out of 5 stars. A plan’s Star Rating is one useful signal, but I also check how well it fits your doctors, drugs, and budget.
When Can I Change My Medicare Advantage Plan for 2027?
The Annual Enrollment Period runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, with changes starting January 1, 2027. If your plan is leaving, your Special Enrollment Period runs through the last day of February 2027. People already in a Medicare Advantage plan on January 1 also have the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31, 2027, which allows one change to another Medicare Advantage plan or to Original Medicare. Other Special Enrollment Periods may apply after certain life events, such as moving.
Do You Offer Every Medicare Advantage Plan in My Area?
No. We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 8 organizations which offer 65 products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to get information on all of your options. In Florida, you can also get free Medicare counseling through SHINE, the state’s SHIP program, at 1-800-963-5337.
Book a Free Plan Review
Not sure how the 2027 changes affect your plan? Pick a time for a free 15-minute call by phone or video. Bring your Annual Notice of Change or non-renewal letter, your list of doctors, and your medications, and I’ll walk through what’s different. My help never costs you anything extra.
Call or text: (954) 410-3710
Email: contact@chaperonehealthinsuranceplus.com
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We talk about you
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I check the details
Doctors, hospitals, prescriptions and pharmacy, checked against each plan.
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We compare real costs
A full-year estimate for each option, explained in plain language.
4
You decide, I enroll you
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