Medicare Advantage Plans in Orlando for 2027: Lower Premiums, Fewer Plans, and One Hospital Question

October 27, 2026Russell Rogers

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If your mom or dad is on a Medicare Advantage plan in the Orlando area, the news they will hear this month is that premiums are falling. Nationally, that is true. In Florida, it is not.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published its 2027 plan landscape on September 28. The national headline was good: the weighted average Advantage premium drops from $14.37 a month to $12.00, a decline of 16.5 percent. Then there is the state-level detail, in CMS's own fact sheets, and Florida goes the other way. The average moves from $1.83 a month to $2.13, a 30 cent increase, or about 16 percent. That is almost exactly the size of the national decline, pointed in the opposite direction.

Thirty cents is not the thing that should worry you. The thing that should worry you is a hospital contract that expires on December 31, and a plan that can look fine on paper while the hospital your parent actually uses drops out of its network on January 1.

Here is what changed for Orlando, and what is worth an hour before December 7.

What CMS actually reported for Florida

The 2027 landscape numbers for Florida, from the CMS state fact sheet dated September 28, 2026:

560 Medicare Advantage plans are available in Florida for 2027, down from 611 in 2026. That is a net loss of 51 plans.
The average monthly Advantage premium rises from $1.83 to $2.13.
100 percent of people with Medicare in Florida still have access to an Advantage plan, and 100 percent have access to one with a $0 monthly premium.
11 stand-alone Part D drug plans are available, with the lowest at $5.30 a month.
52.69 percent of Floridians with a stand-alone drug plan have access to one with a lower premium than they paid in 2026, and 23.50 percent of them get Extra Help. Florida has 5,334,437 people enrolled in Medicare, so none of this is happening at the margins.

Read the first two together. Florida still has an unusually cheap Advantage market, which is why the average is $2.13 and not $12.00. Plenty of plans around the state will cost your parent nothing a month. What changed is the selection: fewer plans, a slightly higher average, and a market that rewards checking over assuming.

Nationally the picture is the same shape at a different size. KFF's analysis of the CMS landscape files found the average beneficiary has 28 Advantage drug plans in 2027, down from 32, and that UnitedHealth Group is leaving 228 counties and entering 9, while Humana is leaving 62 and entering 4. That is a trimming, not a collapse, and it lands unevenly by county.

What we could not confirm for Orange County

First, no public source we could reach gives a clean count of Advantage plans lost in Orange County itself. CMS publishes plan counts at the state level and releases raw landscape files, not a county-by-county 2026 versus 2027 table a family could read. The Florida county exits that have been reported and documented are Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Lee and Collier. Orange County was not named in the exit reporting we could verify. That is limited reassurance: we did not find evidence your county is on a published exit list, which is not the same as every plan existing in January.

Second, we could not find a published Florida county list for Humana's 2027 cuts. If your parent is on a Humana plan, do not assume silence means safety.

The only authoritative word on your parent's plan is the Annual Notice of Change, which should already be in the house. If it is not, that is the first call.

The Orlando question that matters more than the premium

AdventHealth describes itself as a network of 18 hospitals and more than 100 extended service locations across Central Florida, including AdventHealth Orlando on East Rollins Street.

AdventHealth says UnitedHealthcare terminated its contract with the health system, and that the current agreement ends December 31, 2026. If the two sides reach no new deal by then, AdventHealth hospitals and clinicians will be out of network for United members starting January 1, 2027. AdventHealth's contract notice says that affects United members with Medicare Advantage, exchange, commercial and Medicaid plans. Coverage is unchanged for now, and as of October 27 we found no announced deal.

United's account, as given to the Ocala Gazette, is that it issued the notice earlier this year as part of renegotiation, and that it believes AdventHealth's costs are the most expensive in Florida. AdventHealth says it is not asking for increases above inflation and is focused on prior authorization and denial practices. United says its goal is to renew the relationship, and the two sides are reported to be in active talks.

For a family, the mechanics matter more than the blame:

Emergency care is not the risk. Federal rules require Medicare Advantage plans to cover emergency care whether or not the hospital is in the plan's network. If your parent has chest pain on January 5, go.
Continuity of care is the safety valve. In network disputes like this one, insurers often let members in active treatment for a serious condition keep seeing their doctors at in-network cost for a limited time, and the plan decides who qualifies. We have not confirmed the terms for this dispute, so ask United directly. If your parent is mid-treatment for cancer or has seen the same specialist for years, make that call in December, not January.
The quiet risk is the rehab bed. A hospital stay for a hip fracture or a stroke is usually followed by a skilled nursing stay, and which nursing homes are in network can decide where your parent goes. Our Orlando facility directory lists every licensed facility in the city with its inspection record and staffing, and our list of top rated nursing homes in Florida shows which hold five stars from CMS. Look before the hospital decides for you at 6 p.m. on a Friday.

This is the same story that played out in Lee and Collier counties this year, where Lee Health and NCH gave notice they would be out of network with certain Advantage plans on January 1. We covered it in which Florida counties are losing Advantage plans for 2027. Orlando is one of the largest metros with an open version of that question.

What to check, in the order that saves the most pain

You need three answers, from three calls, and one number to keep handy.

Does the plan exist in 2027, and does it still work where your parent lives? Open the Annual Notice of Change and read the first page, which says whether the plan continues. Then run the Plan Finder on Medicare.gov for your parent's ZIP code and 2027, using their real drugs and pharmacy. A $0 plan that does not cover a drug your parent takes costs more than a $40 plan that does.
Is the hospital in network for 2027, not 2026? Call the number on the back of the card, ask about AdventHealth for plan year 2027, and ask for the answer in writing. The 2027 provider directory is the only list that counts. A plan saying "nothing has changed" is describing today, not January 1.
Would Original Medicare be better? In Orlando it is worth pricing, especially if a parent is likely to need hospital care next year, because a hospital dispute with one insurer does not change what Original Medicare covers. One caution: buying a Medigap policy is not automatic. Insurers can ask health questions outside your guaranteed issue windows, so ask what applies before giving up the Advantage plan.

The number to keep handy is SHINE, Florida's counseling program run by the Department of Elder Affairs, whose counselors do not sell plans: 1-800-963-5337. If a parent is overwhelmed, make the call together, on speaker, with the medication list in front of you.

For the larger picture, our guide to plan exits and non-renewal covers what happens when a plan disappears, and the 2027 star ratings post covers how to read the quality grade. The Part B premium post covers the part of the bill that does not move with the plan.

The bottom line

The 30 cents is noise. The 51 missing plans are worth a look. The AdventHealth contract is worth a phone call this week, while you still have six weeks to act on the answer.

If they settle in December, you lost an hour on hold. If they do not, and your parent is mid-treatment at an AdventHealth hospital with a United card in their wallet, that hour was the most useful of the year. Open enrollment ends December 7. Nothing here has to be decided tonight. It does have to be decided before the calendar turns.

Sources: CMS, "Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Programs Expected to Remain Stable in 2027," September 28, 2026; CMS, 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape State-by-State Fact Sheets (Florida), September 28, 2026; KFF, "Medicare Advantage Plan Availability Varies Widely by County for 2027" (October 9, 2026) and "The Average Medicare Beneficiary has 28 Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan Options for 2027" (October 1, 2026); AdventHealth, UnitedHealthcare Contract Update notice, as reported by WFTV (2026); Ocala Gazette, "Seniors: It's that time again," including a UnitedHealthcare statement (2026); WINK News coverage of the Lee Health and UnitedHealthcare dispute (2026); Florida Department of Elder Affairs, SHINE program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Medicare Advantage premiums going up or down in Florida for 2027?

Up slightly. CMS reports Florida's average monthly Advantage premium rises from $1.83 in 2026 to $2.13 in 2027, while the national weighted average falls from $14.37 to $12.00. Every Floridian with Medicare still has access to an Advantage plan with a $0 monthly premium.

How many Medicare Advantage plans are available in Florida for 2027?

CMS lists 560 Medicare Advantage plans available in Florida for 2027, down from 611 in 2026, a net loss of 51 plans. The count varies by county, so check the Medicare Plan Finder with your parent's ZIP code.

Will AdventHealth be out of network for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage in 2027?

It might be. AdventHealth says UnitedHealthcare terminated their contract and that it ends December 31, 2026. If no new agreement is reached, AdventHealth hospitals and clinicians will be out of network for United members starting January 1, 2027. Coverage is unchanged for now, and the two sides are reported to be negotiating.

What happens to emergency care if a hospital leaves my parent's Medicare Advantage network?

Emergency care is still covered. Federal rules require Medicare Advantage plans to cover emergency services whether or not the hospital is in the plan's network. The risk is non-emergency care, such as specialist visits, planned surgeries and rehab stays, which could cost more or not be covered.

How do I check whether my parent's Medicare Advantage plan still covers their hospital in 2027?

Read the first page of the Annual Notice of Change, then call the number on the back of the plan card and ask whether the specific hospital and doctors are in network for plan year 2027. Ask for the answer in writing, and check the plan's 2027 provider directory.

When does Medicare open enrollment end for 2027 coverage?

Open enrollment runs October 15 through December 7, 2026, and changes take effect January 1, 2027. Florida's SHINE program offers free, unbiased help at 1-800-963-5337.