If you have a Medicare Advantage plan in Texas, check your mail. Several plans that many Texans rely on will not be offered in 2027. That includes plans from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX), CHRISTUS Health Plan and Memorial Hermann Health Plan. Change can feel stressful, but there is time, there are options, and free help is available. Here is a plain-language overview.
What is changing for 2027
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. BCBSTX says that starting January 1, 2027, it will no longer offer its Blue Cross Medicare Advantage plans. Its parent company’s announcement also covers its Blue Cross MedicareRx (PDP) drug plans and its Dual Care Plus (HMO D-SNP) plans. News reports say BCBSTX offered Medicare Advantage in about 227–228 of Texas’s 254 counties in 2026. The parent company, HCSC, still offers Medicare Advantage under its HealthSpring brand, but in far fewer Texas counties (reported at about 47).
CHRISTUS Health Plan. CHRISTUS Health Plan is ending its Medicare Advantage plans (Guardian, Plus and Complete HMOs) on December 31, 2026. Reports say it offered them in 36 Texas counties. CHRISTUS says clearly that CHRISTUS Health is not going away. Its hospitals, physicians and clinics stay open. You can still see CHRISTUS providers if your new plan includes them, or if you choose Original Medicare.
Memorial Hermann Health Plan. Memorial Hermann is closing its Memorial Hermann Advantage HMO, which served six Houston-area counties and about 14,000 members. Coverage stays in place through December 31, 2026. As with CHRISTUS, this is the health plan closing, not the hospital system.
Other plan changes. CMS data compiled by independent sites show other insurers also discontinued certain Texas plans for 2027, while many of those same insurers still offer other plans. Your plan’s Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) or non-renewal letter is the best source for your situation.
An important clarification: None of this means these hospitals are leaving Medicare. It means some insurance plans are ending. Your Part A and Part B coverage is not affected.
Your key dates
- October 15 – December 7, 2026: Medicare Open Enrollment. Choose a new plan by December 7 so coverage starts January 1, 2027.
- Special Enrollment Period: If your plan is ending, you generally have a special period to choose a new health or drug plan, and it runs past December 7. Memorial Hermann, for example, lists February 28, 2027. Check your own letter for the exact date.
- If you do nothing: you will generally go back to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027. You may not have Part D drug coverage unless you choose a plan, and a late-enrollment penalty for Part D can apply later.
Original Medicare, Medigap and Part D: what to know
Some people may decide to switch from Medicare Advantage to Original Medicare. If you do, there are three things to know:
- Medigap guaranteed issue. When your Medicare Advantage plan leaves your area, Texas law gives you a guaranteed-issue right to buy certain Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans without medical underwriting. This right generally lasts 63 days from the later of the date of your notice or the date your coverage ends. CHRISTUS lists March 4, 2027 as its members’ Medigap deadline. Keep your plan’s termination letter. It is your proof.
- Texas has no “birthday rule.” Once that window closes, switching Medigap plans later usually means answering health questions. That makes the timing of your decision important.
- Part D. Original Medicare does not include drug coverage, so plan to choose a stand-alone Part D plan.
Will I be able to find doctors who take Original Medicare?
This is a fair question, and the data are mostly reassuring. In a KFF analysis of federal survey data, 89% of non-pediatric office-based physicians were accepting new Medicare patients in 2019. That is about the same as for private insurance (91%). Newer federal data from 2021 put the figure at about 89%. Fewer than 2% of physicians in most states have formally opted out of Medicare. With Original Medicare, you can generally see any provider in the country who accepts Medicare, without a network.
It’s not equal everywhere, though:
- Primary care (83%) and especially psychiatry (60%) had lower rates of accepting new Medicare patients than surgical specialties (96%).
- Payment pressure is real. CMS’s proposed 2027 Physician Fee Schedule would lower the main payment rate by about 1.2–1.7% compared with 2026, mostly because a one-year 2.5% boost expires. This is a proposal; the final rule usually comes out in November. Over time, payment rates that don’t keep up with practice costs can affect how many new patients some practices take, especially in rural areas.
- Local availability depends on your area and specialty. These surveys don’t measure wait times. We could not find a reliable Texas-specific acceptance rate for 2025–2026, so we won’t guess.
The practical tip: before you choose, call the specialists you see most and ask, “Do you accept Original Medicare, and are you taking new patients?” If you are choosing a new Medicare Advantage plan, ask whether they’re in that plan’s network.
How to choose with confidence
- Read your ANOC or non-renewal letter.
- List your doctors, specialists, hospitals and prescriptions.
- Compare plans at Medicare.gov/plan-compare or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7.
- Get free, unbiased counseling from Texas HICAP (the Health Information Counseling and Advocacy Program, Texas’s SHIP): 1-800-252-9240.
- Don’t wait until December 7.
Learn more about direct primary care.
Learn more about telehealth visits.
How Innovative Primary Care can help
At Innovative Primary Care, part of Privia Medical Group, we are fully enrolled in Medicare and focused on primary care with purpose and accessibility for teens and adults ages 15 and older in San Antonio, Bandera and Rockport. A steady primary care home can make a coverage change easier. We can review your care needs, keep your records organized, and help coordinate referrals to specialists.
Plan networks vary, so if you are choosing a Medicare Advantage plan, call us to check whether we’re in your plan’s network. We’re happy to help you sort out the care side so you can make your coverage decision with confidence.
Learn more or schedule at www.innovativeprimarycaretx.com.
Sources
- BCBSTX Medicare Advantage notice: https://www.bcbstx.com/medicare/member/medicare-advantage
- KERA, Oct 20, 2026: https://www.kera.org/2026/10/20/blue-cross-blue-shield-texas-will-no-longer-offer-medicare-advantage-plans-2027/
- Medical Daily (citing Dallas Morning News and Becker’s): https://www.medicaldaily.com/blue-cross-texas-medicare-advantage-exit-2027-480280
- CHRISTUS Health Plan, “Changes to your Medicare Advantage Coverage for 2027”: https://www.christushealthplan.org/member-resources/changes-to-your-medicare-advantage-coverage-for-2027
- Memorial Hermann Health Plan, “Program Closing”: https://healthplan.memorialhermann.org/medicare-advantage/resource-center/program-closing
- Becker’s Hospital Review, health system insurers exiting MA in 2027: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/10-payers-exiting-medicare-advantage-in-2027/
- Texas Department of Insurance, Medicare supplement guide: https://tdi.texas.gov/pubs/consumer/medsup.html
- KFF, physician acceptance of new Medicare patients: https://www.kff.org/medicare/most-office-based-physicians-accept-new-patients-including-patients-with-medicare-and-private-insurance/
- CDC/NCHS NAMCS 2021: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/namcs/2021-P3P4-NAMCS-Provider-Data-Dictionary-COVID-Dashboard-RDC-Researcher-Use-508.pdf
- CMS, CY 2027 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/calendar-year-cy-2027-medicare-physician-fee-schedule-proposed-rule
Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal, insurance or medical advice, and is current as of October 28, 2026. Plan details vary by county and can change. Confirm your options with your plan, 1-800-MEDICARE, Medicare.gov or Texas HICAP. Innovative Primary Care does not sell or recommend insurance plans.
