Medicare Advantage

Medicare Options in Upper Darby: 2027 Plans

Medicare in Upper Darby: how many plan options are available in Delaware County for 2027, plus key dates and program figures.

UPPER DARBY, Pa. — If you're turning 65, helping a parent sort through mail, or just rethinking your coverage for 2027, you have a lot to look at. Upper Darby sits in Delaware County, where roughly 100 Medicare Advantage plans were offered for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plan landscape data. The 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

That's a big menu — enough to feel overwhelming. This guide walks you through what those numbers mean, how the choices break down, and where to get free, unbiased help before the December 7 deadline.

How many Medicare choices are on the table here

Medicare plan availability is set at the county level, not the city level. Upper Darby is in Delaware County, so residents of the township — along with neighbors in Drexel Hill, Clifton Heights, and Lansdowne — all shop from the same pool.

For the 2026 plan year, the CMS landscape files showed:

• About 100 Medicare Advantage plans available in Delaware County.
• 15 different carriers offering Medicare Advantage plans that include prescription drug coverage (MA-PD).
• A separate lineup of stand-alone Part D drug plans is also sold across Pennsylvania for people who stay with Original Medicare.

With more than 100,000 residents age 65 or older in Delaware County, that's a lot of shoppers looking at a lot of options — which is exactly why it pays to slow down.

What "100 plans" actually means

A hundred plans doesn't mean a hundred different companies. Many carriers sell several versions of a plan in the same county — often an HMO, a PPO, and one or more Special Needs Plans (SNPs) built for people with certain chronic conditions or for those who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid.

So the real question isn't "Which of the 100 is best?" It's:

• Which plan type fits how I like to get care (HMO vs. PPO)?
• Are my doctors and hospitals in the network?
• Are my prescriptions on the plan's drug list?
• What are the total out-of-pocket costs I could face in a bad year, not just the monthly premium?

Those answers are personal, and no article can make them for you.

The Original Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage choice

Every person on Medicare in Upper Darby is really making two decisions:

1. Original Medicare (Parts A and B), usually paired with a stand-alone Part D drug plan — and often a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy to help with the 20% that Part B doesn't cover. 2. A Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) — a private plan that bundles Parts A, B, and usually D, and often adds extras like dental, vision, or hearing.

Both paths are legitimate. The right one depends on your health, your budget, whether you travel, and how important a specific doctor or hospital is to you.

Star Ratings, briefly

You'll see "Star Ratings" on Medicare.gov when you compare plans. CMS scores plans from 1 to 5 stars each year based on things like customer service, member complaints, and how well the plan manages chronic conditions.

Stars are a useful data point — not a verdict. A lower-rated plan may still be a good fit if it covers your doctors and drugs well, and a highly rated plan can still be wrong for your situation. Use ratings as one input among several.

Program-level numbers to know for 2026 and 2027 and 2027

These figures apply nationwide, not just in Delaware County, and they matter no matter which plan you choose:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap on covered prescription drugs: $2,100 in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027. Once you hit the cap, you pay nothing for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• Maximum Part D deductible a plan can charge: $615 in 2026 and $700 in 2027.
• The coverage gap ("donut hole") is gone. Part D now has three phases: deductible, initial coverage, and catastrophic.
• Medicare Prescription Payment Plan — an optional program that lets you spread your yearly drug costs into monthly payments instead of paying big amounts 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 (higher for joint filers).

Key dates for Upper Darby residents

• October 15 – December 7, 2026: Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. This is when most people can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027.
• January 1 – March 31: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get one chance during this window to switch to a different MA plan or return to Original Medicare.

Miss those windows and you generally have to wait until the next Annual Enrollment Period, unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (for example, if you move or lose other coverage).