Medicare Advantage

Medicare in Ocala, FL: 2027 Plan Choices

OCALA, Fla. — If you're shopping for Medicare coverage in Ocala this fall, you have a lot to sort through. Marion County residents had 109 Medicare Advantage plans to choose from for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Landscape files; the 2027 lineup is described in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. That's a big menu — and knowing how it's built can make the decision feel a lot less overwhelming.

What "109 plans" actually means

Medicare plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level. Ocala sits inside Marion County, so every Ocala ZIP code sees the same slate of Medicare Advantage options that the rest of the county sees.

Those 109 Medicare Advantage plans in Marion County come from 12 different carriers offering Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage (MA-PD). In other words, a dozen insurance companies are competing for your enrollment, and each one typically offers several plan designs — HMOs, PPOs, special needs plans, and so on.

A large plan count doesn't mean you should look at all 109. Most people narrow the list quickly once they factor in their doctors, their prescriptions, and how they like to get care.

What about stand-alone drug plans?

Here's something worth knowing: Florida has 10 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide through the CMS Part D Landscape. Stand-alone Part D plans (PDPs) are sold on a regional basis, so if you have Original Medicare and want drug coverage, you'll be able to shop PDPs through Medicare's Plan Finder at medicare.gov. The tool will show you every PDP available for your ZIP code.

If you're leaning toward Medicare Advantage instead, drug coverage is usually bundled into the plan itself (that's the "MA-PD" part).

Star Ratings in the area

CMS publishes Star Ratings each year to help people compare plan quality. Under CMS's 2026 Star Ratings, of the 26 Medicare Advantage contracts offering plans in Marion County, 24 have a 2026 Star Rating and 16 of those are rated 4 stars or higher. Star Ratings can shift year to year, and a contract can cover plans across many states, so it's worth checking the current rating on any plan you're seriously considering. Ratings are one input — not the whole picture.

Medicare facts to know before you pick

Whichever direction you go, a few program-wide numbers apply to everyone on Medicare:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that amount, you pay nothing for covered prescriptions the rest of the year.
• Part D maximum deductible: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027 (plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher).
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone as of 2025. Part D now has three phases instead of four.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan: an optional program that lets you spread your drug costs across monthly payments instead of paying at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA: higher-income surcharges on Part B and Part D premiums start above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates for Ocala shoppers

• Annual Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7. This is when you can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for the following year.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance to switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare.

Marion County has one of Florida's larger senior populations — roughly 114,789 residents age 65 and over — so local SHINE counselors and Social Security offices tend to get busy in the fall. Don't wait until the first week of December.