2027 Medicare Advantage Changes Texas

Q: Is my Medicare Advantage plan going away in 2027?

If you are in a CHRISTUS Health Plan or Memorial Hermann Health Plan Medicare Advantage plan, yes. Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Centene, and HCSC are also ending specific plans in some counties. If your plan is ending, you received a non-renewal letter in early October.

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2027 Medicare Advantage Changes in Texas: What’s Different This AEP

For 2027, Texas Medicare Advantage premiums are mostly flat or lower, but the plans underneath them are changing more than the premiums show. Two Texas-based carriers are leaving Medicare Advantage entirely, the national carriers are trimming counties and PPO plans, and the most a plan can charge you out of pocket goes up.

The short version for Texans:

CHRISTUS Health Plan and Memorial Hermann Health Plan are leaving Medicare Advantage. If you’re in one of their plans, you must pick new coverage.
The out-of-pocket ceiling rises to $9,850 in-network and $14,800 combined for PPOs.
Fewer PPOs, more HMOs and special needs plans nationally, which matters if you see doctors outside a narrow network.
Average premiums drop, but many plans are paying for that with higher deductibles, higher out-of-pocket limits, and smaller extras.
Part D’s yearly cap rises to $2,400 and the standard deductible to $700.

Annual Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026. Coverage you pick starts January 1, 2027. If you do nothing and your plan continues, it renews automatically, changes and all.

Premiums Are Down, but Read Past the Premium

CMS projects the weighted average Medicare Advantage premium will fall from $14.37 a month in 2026 to $12.00 in 2027, a 16.5% drop. For plans with drug coverage, the average drug portion of the premium falls from $11.32 to $7. CMS also says about 8 in 10 Medicare Advantage members can stay in their current plan at the same or a lower premium.

That’s the headline. Here’s what it leaves out:

The average is pulled down by special needs plans, which tend to carry lower premiums. Analysts reviewing the 2027 landscape found general-market plans with drug coverage showing higher deductibles, higher out-of-pocket limits, and smaller dental and Part B giveback benefits.
A $0 premium can be bought with your benefits. Some plans use rebate dollars to lower the premium while raising what you pay when you actually use care.
Star ratings dropped overall for 2027. A plan you picked for its rating last year may not carry the same rating now.

The premium is the smallest number on your Annual Notice of Change. The copays, the deductible, and the out-of-pocket maximum are where 2027 costs show up.

The Out-of-Pocket Maximum Goes Up $600

The most any Medicare Advantage plan can make you pay for covered in-network medical care in 2027 is $9,850, up from $9,250. Your plan can set its limit lower, and most do, but the typical plan is moving up too.

Out-of-pocket limit	2026	2027
CMS ceiling, in-network	$9,250	$9,850
CMS ceiling, in- and out-of-network combined (PPO)	$13,900	$14,800
Typical plan with drug coverage, in-network	$5,900	$6,500

About six in ten returning plans with drug coverage raised their in-network limit for 2027. Drug costs don’t count toward this number; Part D has its own cap.

This matters most in a bad year. A hospital stay, surgery, or cancer treatment is how people reach their out-of-pocket maximum, usually through daily inpatient copays. If a $6,500 or $9,850 year would hurt, that’s the conversation to have now, while you’re healthy. Hospital indemnity and cancer plans can help cover that exposure, but they’re underwritten, and after a diagnosis they may no longer be available to you.

Two Texas Carriers Are Leaving Medicare Advantage

Eleven insurers nationwide are leaving the individual Medicare Advantage market for 2027, and two of them are based in Texas. Both are hospital-system health plans.

Carrier	Texas footprint in 2026	Plans ending	Who’s affected
CHRISTUS Health Plan	36 Texas counties, plus 8 in New Mexico	CHRISTUS Health Medicare Complete, Medicare Plus, and Medicare Guardian (HMO, contract H1189)	Mostly East Texas, including Bowie, Cass, and Red River counties. About 9,000 members across both states.
Memorial Hermann Health Plan	6 Houston-area counties	All individual Medicare Advantage plans	Houston-area members. The plan is also closing its commercial business.

If you’re in either plan, you should already have a non-renewal letter. Your plan ends December 31, 2026. You have to choose new coverage, and you have more options than most people realize. See If Your Plan Is Ending below.

There’s one new Texas entrant: MedCare Partners Health Plan of Texas will offer three plans in Harris County for 2027, one HMO and two chronic condition special needs plans.

The Big Carriers Are Cutting PPOs and Counties

Every major carrier selling in Texas is trimming something for 2027. These are national figures; whether your county is affected is spelled out in your Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare Plan Finder.

Carrier	2027 move (national)	What Texans should check
Humana	Plan exits affecting about 600,000 members, mostly plans rated 3.5 stars or lower. Exits are by plan, not whole states.	Whether your specific Humana plan is on the non-renewal list. Letters went out in early October.
UnitedHealthcare	Leaving about 140 counties; cutting 34 PPOs while adding 40 special needs plans. Shifting toward HMOs.	Whether your AARP or UHC PPO continues, or was replaced by an HMO.
Aetna	Pulling standard plans from 123 counties; cutting 20 PPOs and adding 29 chronic condition plans.	PPO members: confirm the plan still exists in your county.
HCSC (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, and HealthSpring)	Cutting 48 PPOs and 35 HMOs; standard-plan footprint roughly halved nationally.	Blue Cross and HealthSpring members: read your notice closely for plan or network changes.
Centene (Wellcare)	Leaving 344 counties; plan count down nearly a third. Steepest average out-of-pocket increase among major carriers, about 16%.	Wellcare members: compare your 2027 out-of-pocket limit to 2026.
Devoted Health	Expanding: entering 342 new counties, plans up from 427 to 740.	Whether Devoted is newly available in your county.

If your plan is being replaced, the carrier may move you into a “crosswalk” plan automatically. That replacement plan can have a different network, different copays, and a different out-of-pocket limit. Being moved automatically is not the same as being in the right plan.

Part D Drug Coverage in 2027

Whether your drugs come through a Medicare Advantage plan or a standalone Part D plan, the yearly cap on what you pay for covered drugs rises for 2027.

Part D	2026	2027
Yearly out-of-pocket cap	$2,100	$2,400
Standard deductible (maximum)	$615	$700
Average standalone Part D premium	$35.09	about $36
Average drug premium inside Medicare Advantage plans	$11.32	$7

Standalone drug plan premiums are close to flat on average, but CMS ended a temporary subsidy to standalone plans, so some members could see bigger increases. Formularies change every year. A drug that was Tier 2 in 2026 can be Tier 3 or off the list in 2027, so run your actual prescriptions through Plan Finder rather than trusting last year’s results.

If you’d rather spread drug costs across the year, the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you pay in monthly amounts instead of all at once at the pharmacy.

What It Means Where You Live in Texas

In Texas, the hospital system matters as much as the carrier. Networks are where most Texans actually feel a plan change.

Austin, Round Rock, and Central Texas

Baylor Scott & White Health Plan left Medicaid and the ACA marketplace in 2026 to focus on Medicare Advantage and employer plans. Its BSW SeniorCare Advantage HMO-POS and PPO plans each carried 4 stars for 2026; check the 2027 rating before you renew.
Ascension Seton faced a possible exit from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas networks, including Medicare Advantage, at the end of 2025. Contract fights like that can happen mid-year, which is why your hospital matters as much as your doctor.
If you use St. David’s, Ascension Seton, or Baylor Scott & White, confirm the hospital, not just your doctor, is in your 2027 network.

Houston

Memorial Hermann Health Plan is leaving Medicare Advantage for 2027.
Memorial Hermann hospitals left Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Medicare Advantage networks on January 1, 2026, and previously dropped Humana’s Medicare Advantage network. If Memorial Hermann is your hospital, network status is the first thing to check.
MedCare Partners Health Plan of Texas is new in Harris County.

East Texas

CHRISTUS Health Plan is leaving Medicare Advantage in all 36 Texas counties it served. Members in Bowie, Cass, Red River, and surrounding counties need new coverage for January 1.

Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and the Rest of Texas

No Texas-based carrier is leaving these markets, but the national PPO and county cuts above apply statewide. Read your Annual Notice of Change for the words “network,” “service area,” and “maximum out-of-pocket.”

If Your Plan Is Ending: Your Three Options

If you got a non-renewal letter, you have three paths. The one most people miss is the second.

Pick a different Medicare Advantage plan. Choose by December 7 and it starts January 1. Because your plan is ending, you also get a special enrollment period that runs through the end of February.
Go back to Original Medicare and add a Medicare Supplement with no health questions. When a Medicare Advantage plan leaves Medicare, federal law gives you a guaranteed-issue right to buy certain Medigap plans, including Plan G, without medical underwriting. You can apply as early as 60 days before your plan ends and up to 63 days after. This right only applies if you go back to Original Medicare. It does not apply if you move to another Advantage plan.
Do nothing. You land in Original Medicare on January 1 with no drug coverage and no supplement. That’s the one option to avoid.

Why option 2 matters in Texas: Texas has no “birthday rule” or yearly window to switch Medigap plans freely. Outside a guaranteed-issue situation, a Medigap application in Texas can be declined based on your health. A plan exit may be the only no-questions-asked door you get, and it closes 63 days after your plan ends.

Your Checklist Before December 7

Find your Annual Notice of Change. It came in September. It’s the only document that lists what your plan changes for 2027.
Check for a non-renewal letter. If your plan is ending, start with the three options above.
Compare your 2027 out-of-pocket maximum to 2026. Write both numbers down.
Confirm your doctors and your hospital are in the 2027 network. Ask the office directly; online directories lag.
Run every prescription through Medicare Plan Finder using 2027 data, including dose and pharmacy.
Look at the inpatient hospital copay. Daily copays for the first days of a hospital stay are where a bad year starts.
Check the 2027 star rating of the plan you’re in and the one you’re considering.
Decide by December 7. After that, your options narrow to the January 1 to March 31 Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period, which allows one change, and only if you’re already in an Advantage plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my Medicare Advantage plan going away in 2027?

If you’re in a CHRISTUS Health Plan or Memorial Hermann Health Plan Medicare Advantage plan, yes. Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Centene, and HCSC are also ending specific plans in some counties. If your plan is ending, you received a non-renewal letter in early October.

Are Medicare Advantage premiums going up in Texas for 2027?

On average, no. CMS projects the national average premium falls from $14.37 to $12.00 a month. Many plans are offsetting that with higher deductibles, higher out-of-pocket limits, or smaller extra benefits, so compare total costs, not just the premium.

What is the Medicare Advantage out-of-pocket maximum for 2027?

The CMS ceiling is $9,850 for in-network care and $14,800 combined for PPOs that cover out-of-network care. Your plan can set a lower limit; the typical plan with drug coverage sits around $6,500.

Can I switch from Medicare Advantage back to a Medigap plan in Texas?

You can always return to Original Medicare during Annual Enrollment, but a Medigap insurer in Texas can ask health questions and decline you. The exception is a guaranteed-issue right, such as your Medicare Advantage plan leaving Medicare, which lets you buy certain Medigap plans with no health questions.

What happens if I do nothing during open enrollment?

If your plan continues in 2027, it renews automatically with its 2027 changes. If your plan is ending and you do nothing, you go to Original Medicare on January 1 without drug coverage or a supplement.

When is the deadline to change plans for 2027?

Annual Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, and new coverage starts January 1, 2027. If your plan is ending, you also have a special enrollment period through the end of February.

Get a Second Set of Eyes on Your 2027 Plan

A plan that looks the same on the premium line can cost you very differently in 2027. If you want someone local to walk through your Annual Notice of Change, your doctors, your hospital, and your prescriptions, call me at 512-844-3983. There’s no cost for the review.

Book a Medicare Review

Written and reviewed by Scott Bowling, independent Medicare broker, Trusted SR Solutions, Round Rock, Texas. Texas license #2882146. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent [X] organizations which offer [X] products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or the Texas Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) to get information on all of your options. Trusted SR Solutions is not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program.