Adams County Medicare Advantage 2027: What Changed

How many Medicare Advantage plans does Adams County have for 2027?

Adams County has 36 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027 in the CMS landscape file, not counting Special Needs Plans. That is down from 43 for 2026. The count includes plans with and without drug coverage: 31 of the 36 include Part D.

A smaller menu does not always mean a worse one. The plans that remain come in the same three types: HMO, HMO with a point-of-service option (HMO-POS) and PPO. What matters is whether the plans that remain still fit your doctors, your hospital and your prescriptions.

Which carriers offer Medicare Advantage in Adams County for 2027?

10 carriers file plans in Adams County for 2027. Humana has the most, with 9 plans, followed by UnitedHealthcare, Aetna Medicare and Devoted Health. Clear Spring Health, which had a plan here in 2026, is no longer in the county, and no new carrier entered. Clear Spring Health is the only carrier the CMS crosswalk lists as leaving.

A carrier name tells you very little by itself. Two plans from one carrier can have different doctor networks, different drug lists and different caps. We do not rank carriers, and no carrier is better for everyone. The useful question is always whether a particular plan works for your doctors and your medicines.

Which Adams County plans are new for 2027, and which are gone?

32 plans continue from 2026 to 2027, 11 appear only in the 2026 file, and 4 appear only in the 2027 file. A plan that is gone is not always a plan that ended. CMS sometimes moves members into a similar plan, and a carrier may relaunch a plan under a new plan number. Your notice of change says which of those applies to you.

HealthSpring Preferred (HMO) shows up on both lists because its plan number changed, so the name continues even though the plan record is new. That is one reason to read your own letter rather than rely on a plan name.

Did out-of-pocket maximums go up in Adams County for 2027?

Yes, for most plans. The in-network out-of-pocket maximum is the most you pay for covered Part A and Part B services from in-network providers in a year. Across Adams County it now ranges from $3,300 to $9,850, with an average of $6,142 and a median of $6,200. In 2026 the average was $5,518.

Of the 32 plans that continue, 21 raised their maximum and only 1 lowered it. The cap is a ceiling, not a bill: most people never reach it. It matters most in the year you have a hospital stay, a surgery or a cancer diagnosis.

PPO plans have the highest caps on average and the widest range of doctors, because you can see providers outside the network at a higher cost. HMO-POS plans have the lowest average cap and HMO plans sit in between. A lower cap is not automatically better: it can come with a narrower network or a premium.

What happened to $0 premium plans and drug deductibles?

30 of the 36 Adams County plans charge a $0 monthly plan premium for 2027, compared with 35 of 43 for 2026. 25 of the $0 plans include drug coverage and 5 do not. You keep paying your Part B premium, which is $202.90 a month in 2026, whatever plan you choose.

Drug costs moved too. For 2027 the Part D deductible can be as high as $700, up from $615, and the out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises from $2,100 to $2,400. Only 6 of the 36 plans have no Part D deductible, against 14 in 2026.

What about Special Needs Plans in Adams County?

Special Needs Plans (SNPs) are Advantage plans built for people with a specific situation. Adams County has 28 for 2027, the same number as in 2026. 19 are for people who have both Medicare and Medicaid (in Colorado, Health First Colorado), 5 are for people with certain chronic conditions and 4 are for people who live in a facility. 18 of the 28 charge a $0 premium.

You can only join a SNP if you qualify for it, and the rules differ for each type. If you have both Medicare and Health First Colorado, the right plan can change what you pay for dental, vision and over-the-counter items, and the wrong one can leave you with a surprise. This is a conversation to have one on one.

How do 2027 star ratings fit into the plan choice?

CMS published the 2027 Star Ratings on October 8, 2026. The plan figures in this guide still use each plan's 2026 rating, because our data snapshot was pulled on October 14 and carries the 2026 ratings for plans whose number existed last year. Treat the ratings below as a starting point. Lisa checks each plan's 2027 rating with you before you enroll.

18 of the 36 plans carry a 2026 rating of 4 stars or higher. Star ratings measure things like member satisfaction, how well a plan manages chronic conditions and how well it answers the phone. They are useful, but a 4.5-star plan with the wrong network is still the wrong plan for you.

How should I decide before December 7?

Annual Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026, and any change you make takes effect on January 1, 2027. Work through the same short list every year, in this order:

1. Read the notice of change. It lists what changes in your current plan, from copays to the drug list.
2. Check your doctors and your hospital. A network can lose a provider between years.
3. Check every prescription. Tier, deductible and pharmacy matter more than the premium.
4. Compare the out-of-pocket maximum with what a bad year would cost you.
5. Add up the year, not the month. Premium plus expected copays plus the Part D deductible.
6. Decide whether you still want Advantage. Some people move to a Medicare Supplement plan, which has its own rules and may require health questions.

What could a plan really cost me in a year?

Add up three things: the Part B premium, the plan premium and what you pay for care. The Part B premium is $202.90 a month in 2026, which is $2,434.80 over twelve months, and it comes out of your Social Security first whichever plan you choose. Medicare has not yet announced the 2027 amount, so we use the 2026 figure and label it that way.

The out-of-pocket maximum then sets the ceiling on what you can pay for covered care in the plan year. The table shows the worst case for three real points in the Adams County range: the lowest cap, the median and the highest. These are ceilings for a year with very high medical use, not predictions.

The gap between the lowest and the highest cap is $6,550. That is a lot of room, and it is the reason a plan that looks the same on the monthly premium line can be a very different plan in a hospital year. A plan with a lower cap can have a narrower network or a premium, so the real answer depends on who you see and how often.

What should Brighton, Commerce City, Thornton and Henderson residents check first?

Plans are filed by county, so every town in Adams County sees the same list of plans. What differs from town to town is which clinics, specialists and hospitals you actually use. A Brighton resident who sees a primary care doctor in town and a specialist in the Denver metro needs a plan whose network covers both, and a plan that looks great on paper can leave one of them out.

Ask about the clinic you already use, the hospital you would be taken to, and the pharmacy you fill at. If you split your year between Colorado and another state, ask how the plan covers care away from home, because an HMO is built around a local network and a PPO is more flexible. Your zip code can also change the plan list if you cross a county line, as parts of Brighton and Lochbuie do along the Adams and Weld County line, so confirm your county before you compare.

• Is my primary care doctor in the 2027 network, and are they taking new patients?
• Which hospital would I go to in an emergency, and is it in the network?
• Are my specialists in the network, and do I need referrals?
• Is each of my prescriptions on the 2027 drug list, at what tier and with what deductible?
• Which pharmacies give the lowest price on my drugs?
• What is the cap, and does it count everything I pay for covered care?
• What happens if I travel or spend part of the year outside Colorado?
• Does the plan include dental, vision and hearing, and what are the limits?

What if I miss December 7 or want to change after January 1?

If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get a second window: the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period from January 1 to March 31, 2027. During those months you can switch to a different Advantage plan or go back to Original Medicare, once. You generally cannot use it to move from Original Medicare into an Advantage plan.

Some life events open a special enrollment period at any time, such as moving, losing other coverage or your plan leaving the area. Do not wait on a bill to find out your plan changed. January is when the first refill and the first specialist visit show what the new year really costs.

The bottom line

Adams County has fewer Advantage plans for 2027, higher caps and a higher Part D deductible, but there are still 30 plans with a $0 premium and a clear deadline: December 7, 2026. Read your notice of change, check your doctors and drugs against the 2027 plan, and call Lisa at (303) 887-8584 if anything looks off. There is no obligation, and her service is never a cost to you.

Sources

1. CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape, Contract Year 2027 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
2. CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape, Contract Year 2026 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
3. CMS CY2026 to CY2027 county report and plan crosswalk Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
4. CMS Calendar Year 2027 Rate Announcement, Part D parameters Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
5. 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings fact sheet Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
6. CMS: Joining a plan (enrollment periods) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services