Medicare Advantage Plans in Lincoln, NE for 2027

About 35% of Lancaster County's Medicare beneficiaries, 21,154 of 60,420, were in a Medicare Advantage or similar plan in June 2026 (CMS). If you are one of them, or thinking about joining, 2027 brings a different lineup. This page covers the Lancaster County market specifically. For how Medicare Advantage works in general (networks, out-of-pocket limits, extras), read the statewide Medicare Advantage guide.

Which companies offer Medicare Advantage in Lancaster County for 2027?

Seven companies, the same number as 2026, but not the same seven. Medica leaves and Devoted Health arrives. The table counts standard plans only, from the CMS 2027 landscape file released in September 2026.

Two details stand out. Wellcare drops all of its PPO plans statewide, so Lincoln members of a Wellcare PPO will see a different kind of plan if they stay. And Lancaster is one of only five Nebraska counties (with Cass, Douglas, Sarpy and Washington) where UnitedHealthcare still offers AARP Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage for 2027.

The county also has 15 special needs plans, up from 12. If you have Medicare and Medicaid, the D-SNP guide explains those. Which plans you can buy, and their premiums, networks and benefits, vary by county and change every year.

What should Medica members in Lincoln do before January 1, 2027?

Choose new coverage on purpose instead of letting the calendar choose for you. You have three paths:

1. Join another Medicare Advantage plan between October 15 and December 7, 2026, for coverage starting January 1.
2. Go back to Original Medicare and add a Medigap policy plus a Part D plan. Because Medica is leaving your area, you have a guaranteed issue right to buy certain Medigap plans without health questions. The Lincoln Medicare Supplement page has the deadlines.
3. Decide later. Medicare gives people in a non-renewing plan a special window from December 8 through the last day of February.

How do Bryan Health and CHI Health fit into a Lincoln plan choice?

They are the two big hospital systems in town, and no Medicare Advantage plan should be chosen without checking how it treats the ones you use. Lincoln's 26 standard plans split into 15 PPOs and 11 HMO or HMO-POS plans. HMOs generally cover only in-network care outside emergencies. PPOs pay out of network, usually at a higher cost. The HMO vs PPO comparison covers the rules.

Here is the order that works:

1. Open the plan's 2027 provider directory, not the 2026 one.
2. Search every doctor by name: primary care, each specialist, and your cardiologist (Bryan Heart and CHI Health Nebraska Heart are different organizations).
3. Search the hospitals you would use: Bryan Medical Center East or West, CHI Health St. Elizabeth, CHI Health Nebraska Heart, and Madonna if rehab after a stroke or surgery is likely.
4. Call each doctor's office and ask whether they will be in network with that exact plan in 2027. Directories can be out of date.

Prior authorization also matters here, because plans can require it for services like rehab stays and imaging. Since January 1, 2026, Medicare Advantage plans must decide standard requests within 7 calendar days and urgent ones within 72 hours, and they must give a specific reason for a denial.

What does a "$0 premium" plan cost once you pay Part B?

It means the plan charges no extra monthly premium of its own. You still pay your Part B premium ($202.90 a month in 2026; the 2027 amount is expected in November). CMS says 97.69% of Nebraskans can get a $0 premium Medicare Advantage plan for 2027, with the Part B premium still due. The average Nebraska Medicare Advantage premium falls to $14.14 a month from $20.65.

A low premium is the least informative number on the page. Compare the yearly out-of-pocket maximum, the hospital copay per day, the drug deductible and how your medications are tiered. That is where two plans with the same premium can end up hundreds or thousands of dollars apart.

Do Medicare Advantage plans without drug coverage make sense in Lincoln?

For a small group, yes. Four of Lancaster County's 26 standard plans have no Part D drug coverage (one each from Aetna and Humana, two from UnitedHealthcare). They mainly make sense for people with creditable drug coverage somewhere else, such as veterans who get prescriptions through the VA and the Lincoln VA Clinic on Victory Park Drive.

Know the catch before you join one. Medicare says that if you join an HMO or PPO that does not cover drugs, you cannot add a separate Part D plan. If your VA coverage ever changes, you would need a different plan, and only during an allowed window.

How do you check 2027 Star Ratings and get a second opinion in Lincoln?

Medicare.gov is set to post 2027 Star Ratings on or around October 8, 2026. They rate each contract on quality and service, and the Star Ratings guide explains what the stars do and do not tell you.

For an unbiased second look, Lincoln has several options:

• Aging Partners, 600 S 70th St. Its benefits counselors are certified SHIP counselors who cover Medicare Advantage for people 60 and older. Call 402-441-7070.
• Nebraska SHIP (formerly SHIIP), 1-800-234-7119. It is part of the Nebraska Department of Insurance and does not sell plans.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), Medicare's own help line, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. TTY: 1-877-486-2048.

Bill compares Lancaster County plans from multiple carriers at his office on S 68th Street Place. If the plan that fits you is with a company he doesn't represent, he'll say so. To see the statewide picture first, read Medicare Advantage in Nebraska for 2027, or talk to Bill with your Annual Notice of Change letter in hand.