Medicare Advantage

Counting Medicare plans available in Bethlehem for 2026

Medicare in Bethlehem: how many Medicare Advantage plans are listed in Northampton County for 2026, and where to check 2027.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — If you're shopping for Medicare coverage in the Lehigh Valley this fall, you have a lot to sort through. Bethlehem is in Northampton County, where 102 Medicare Advantage plans were on the shelf for 2026, offered by 12 different carriers. The 2027 lineup is laid out in each plan's Annual Notice of Change and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. That's a wide field for the county's roughly 64,743 residents age 65 and older to compare before the Annual Enrollment Period closes on December 7.

How many Medicare options do Bethlehem residents actually have?

For 2026, Northampton County showed 102 Medicare Advantage plans available, spread across 12 carriers offering MA-PD (Medicare Advantage with prescription drug coverage). These counts come from the CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape files, which set plan availability at the county level. The 2027 county list is published in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder. So while we say "Medicare in Bethlehem," the underlying menu is the same anywhere in Northampton County — Easton, Nazareth, Hellertown and Bethlehem residents all see the same list.

That's a lot of choice. It's also a lot to compare, which is why the tools and help lines below matter.

What about stand-alone Part D drug plans?

Pennsylvania has 12 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide. In practice, many people who want drug coverage in Northampton County get it built into a Medicare Advantage plan (an "MA-PD"). If you stay with Original Medicare and want drug coverage, you'll want to confirm your Part D options directly at Medicare.gov's Plan Finder, which pulls the full national list of stand-alone Part D plans available to Pennsylvania residents.

A quick word on Star Ratings

You'll see Medicare "Star Ratings" attached to plans on Medicare.gov. These are CMS quality scores, from 1 to 5 stars, based on things like customer service, member complaints and preventive care. Under CMS's 2026 Star Ratings, of the 32 Medicare Advantage contracts offering plans in the area, 30 have a 2026 Star Rating and 18 of those are rated 4 stars or higher. Ratings can shift year to year, and a rating alone doesn't tell you whether a plan fits your doctors, your prescriptions or your budget — it's one data point among several.

What's new for 2027

A few program-wide changes apply no matter which plan you look at:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027. Once your prescription spending hits that amount during the year, you pay nothing more for covered drugs the rest of the year. The cap was $2,100 in 2026.
• Part D deductible: up to $700 in 2027. Individual plans can charge less, but not more. The cap was $615 in 2026.
• No more "donut hole." The old coverage gap was eliminated in 2025. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. This is an optional program that lets you spread your drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA. Higher-income beneficiaries pay extra for Part B and Part D. The surcharge starts above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

Key dates to circle

• October 15 – December 7: Annual Enrollment Period. You can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan. Changes take effect January 1.
• January 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period. 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.

Where to get unbiased help in Bethlehem

With more than 100 Medicare Advantage plans on the local menu, comparing them one by one is a real project. A few no-cost options:

• Medicare.gov Plan Finder lets you enter your ZIP code and prescriptions to narrow the list.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is staffed 24/7.
• APPRISE, Pennsylvania's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), offers free one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who don't sell insurance. You can reach APPRISE at 1-800-783-7067.