Medicare Advantage

Medicare Plan Options Near Queen Creek 2027

Maricopa County has 92 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 13 plans are not coming back, 17 are new, and 33 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 13 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Queen Creek, not which plan to pick.

A snapshot of Medicare Advantage availability around Queen Creek for 2027, with Maricopa County plan and carrier counts.

QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. — If you live in or near Queen Creek and are sorting through Medicare choices, it helps to know what the broader metro looks like on paper. Because Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are offered county by county, the availability picture in Queen Creek is really the Maricopa County picture — and a peek at nearby counties across the Phoenix metro can add useful context as you weigh your options.

Why "nearby areas" matters in the metro

Queen Creek straddles the far southeast corner of the Phoenix metro. Most of the town sits in Maricopa County, and a smaller portion reaches into Pinal County. That matters because Medicare plan availability is decided by the county where you live, not the city. Two neighbors on opposite sides of a county line can see different plan menus, even if they shop at the same grocery store.

For Queen Creek residents in Maricopa County, the current landscape includes 88 Medicare Advantage plans offered by 16 carriers with drug coverage built in. Stand-alone Part D plan counts are tracked separately by CMS and can shift year to year.

# What "79 plans" actually means

A big number can feel overwhelming, but it doesn't mean you need to compare all 79. Many plans in a county are variations from the same carrier — for example, an HMO version and a PPO version — aimed at different needs. In practice, most people narrow the list quickly once they factor in:

• Which doctors and hospitals they want to keep
• Which prescriptions they take
• Whether they travel and need out-of-area coverage
• Whether they qualify for Extra Help or a Medicare Savings Program

The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov lets you enter your ZIP code and drug list to shrink the choices to a manageable shortlist.

Program-level rules that apply everywhere

No matter which county you live in around the metro, these program rules apply for 2027:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027. Once you hit that on covered drugs, you pay nothing for the rest of the calendar year.
• Part D deductible: No plan can charge more than $700 in 2027.
• Coverage gap: The old "donut hole" is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: You can choose to spread your drug costs into monthly payments across the year rather than paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA: Higher-income beneficiaries pay a Part B and Part D surcharge. For a single filer in 2026, IRMAA kicks in above $109,000 in income.

About Star Ratings

CMS rates Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts on a 1-to-5 scale to reflect things like customer service, member complaints, and how well plans manage chronic conditions. Ratings can change every year, and a contract's rating is one input among many — not a substitute for checking whether your own doctors and drugs are covered.

How to decide from here

A reasonable path for a Queen Creek resident looks like this:

1. Confirm your county (Maricopa or Pinal) using your mailing address. 2. List your current doctors, hospitals, and medications. 3. Use medicare.gov's Plan Finder to filter the county's plans against that list. 4. Call 1-800-MEDICARE or Arizona's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for free, unbiased help. 5. Mark the enrollment windows on your calendar: Oct. 15–Dec. 7 for Annual Enrollment and Jan. 1–March 31 for Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment.

With more than 742,000 Arizonans 65 and older in Maricopa County, you are far from alone in working through this — and free help is available.