Medicare Advantage

Wichita Falls 2027 Medicare: Nearby Options

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — If you're turning 65 soon, helping a parent sort through mail, or just trying to figure out what your Medicare choices look like next year, it helps to start with a simple question: what's actually offered where you live?

Medicare plan availability across the Wichita Falls area

Medicare Advantage and Part D plan availability is set county by county. That means your options in Wichita Falls can look different from options a short drive away in Archer, Clay, or Wilbarger County. Here's a plain-language snapshot of the local landscape based on the most recent CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Landscape files for 2026; the 2027 lineup is in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

Wichita County, at a glance

Wichita Falls sits inside Wichita County, so that's the county whose plan lineup applies to most people in the city.

For 2026, Wichita County residents have 18 Medicare Advantage plans available, offered by 3 carriers with Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plans in the area. According to CMS data for 2026, Texas has 12 stand-alone Part D plans for 2026, sold statewide, and no contracts serving the area carry a Star Rating of 4 or higher for the 2026 plan year. The 2027 lineup is detailed in each plan's ANOC and on Medicare.gov's Plan Finder.

That last point isn't a warning — it's just information. Star Ratings can shift year to year as CMS updates its scoring, and a rating measures a contract's performance across many measures, not whether a plan is right for you personally.

About 20,006 people age 65 or older live in Wichita County, so this lineup serves a sizable local Medicare population.

What "available in the area" actually means

A few things worth knowing when you look at county-level counts:

• Plans are sold at the county level. Two neighbors in different counties may see different plan menus, even if they shop at the same pharmacy.
• Carriers vs. plans are different numbers. One carrier can offer several plans in the same county, which is why 3 carriers can add up to 18 MA-PD choices.
• Availability doesn't equal fit. A plan being offered in your ZIP code doesn't mean it covers your specific doctors, hospitals, or medications. That's a personal check, not a headline number.

If you drive across a county line for work or care, the plans available at home are what count for enrollment.

Program changes that apply everywhere

Regardless of which county you live in, some big Medicare rules are the same across the country in 2026:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap of $2,100 in 2026 ($2,400 in 2027). Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that amount, you pay $0 for covered prescriptions the rest of the year.
• Maximum Part D deductible of $615 in 2026 ($700 in 2027). Plans can set a lower deductible, but not higher.
• 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 optional program lets you spread your drug costs across the year in monthly payments instead of paying big amounts at the pharmacy counter.
• IRMAA surcharges for higher-income beneficiaries kick in above $109,000 in income for a single filer in 2026.

These apply whether you have 3 plans to choose from or 30.

Key dates for Wichita Falls beneficiaries

Two enrollment windows drive most decisions:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7, 2026. This is when anyone with Medicare can join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for 2027 coverage that starts January 1.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31. If you're already in a Medicare Advantage plan and it isn't working, you get one chance to switch to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare.

If you miss AEP and don't qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, you may be stuck with your current coverage for the year.

How to compare what's offered near you

The most reliable place to see the full list for your address is the official Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov/plan-compare. You can enter your ZIP code, add your prescriptions, and see every plan available in Wichita County — not a filtered subset.

For personalized help at no cost, Texans can call the Texas Health Information, Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP), the state's SHIP, at 1-800-252-9240. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) any time, 24/7.