How many Medicare Advantage plans are there in Los Angeles County for 2026?
There are 121 Medicare Advantage plans in Los Angeles County for 2026: 74 open to general enrollment (52 HMO, 14 HMO POS, and 8 PPO, offered by 17 parent organizations) plus 47 Special Needs Plans for people who qualify by condition, institution, or dual Medicare and Medi-Cal eligibility. We counted them directly in the CMS CY2026 Landscape file, the government's official plan inventory, last revised in August 2026. Broker sites usually quote the 74 figure; the two numbers are not interchangeable, because SNPs are only available to those who qualify. The full breakdown is in the table below.
| Measure (Los Angeles County, 2026) | Value |
|---|---|
| Medicare Advantage plans open to general enrollment | 74 (52 HMO, 14 HMO POS, 8 PPO) |
| Plans with a $0 monthly plan premium | 65 of 74 |
| Special Needs Plans (SNPs) | 47 |
| Parent organizations offering plans | 17 |
| Average consolidated monthly premium | $5.79 (national average: $14.00, CMS) |
| Average in network out of pocket maximum | $2,428 (median $1,700, range $199 to $9,250) |
| Average Part D deductible inside MA plans | $230 (27 plans at $0) |
| County Medicare beneficiaries | 1,710,694 (May 2026) |
| Share in Medicare Advantage or other plans | About 57 percent (national: 55 percent, KFF) |
Goulson Insurance analysis of the CMS CY2026 Landscape file (release 202608) and CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment (May 2026). Free to republish with credit under CC BY 4.0.
$0 premium is common here. It is the wrong number to shop on
In Los Angeles County, 65 of the 74 general enrollment plans charge a $0 monthly plan premium, and the average consolidated premium across all 74 is just $5.79, far below the $14.00 national average CMS projects for 2026. When almost every plan is free on the premium line, the premium tells you almost nothing. The real differences live in the drug list, the provider network, and the out of pocket maximum, which is exactly where the next section goes. Everyone still pays the Medicare Part B premium, $202.90 per month in 2026, on top of any plan premium.
The number that matters: out of pocket maximums run from $199 to $9,250
Every Medicare Advantage plan caps your annual in network medical spending, but the cap is set plan by plan. Across LA County's 74 general enrollment plans in 2026, our analysis of the CMS file puts the average in network maximum at $2,428 and the median at $1,700, with a range from $199 at the most protective plan to $9,250 at the least. That means two plans with identical $0 premiums can be separated by thousands of dollars in a hard health year. Part D drug costs carry their own separate protection: capped at $2,100 out of pocket in 2026 and $2,400 in 2027 (CMS, April 2026). The average Part D deductible inside the county's MA drug plans is $230, and 27 plans charge no drug deductible at all.
Who is enrolled: 57 percent of 1.7 million beneficiaries
Los Angeles County had 1,710,694 Medicare beneficiaries as of May 2026, and about 57 percent of them, 979,292 people, were enrolled in Medicare Advantage or other Medicare health plans, with 731,402 on Original Medicare (CMS Medicare Monthly Enrollment). That puts LA County slightly above the national picture, where 55 percent of eligible beneficiaries are in Medicare Advantage (KFF, 2026). Enrollment share matters to you for one practical reason: plans compete hardest where enrollment is dense, which is why LA County gets 74 general enrollment options while many American counties see a fraction of that.
Numbers first, then a human
This page exists because the plan choice in Los Angeles County is genuinely wide and the advertised numbers hide the ones that matter. Bring your doctors, your medication list, and your priorities, and we will put these county figures to work on your specific situation, at no cost and in English, Spanish, or Hebrew.
Compare your options against these numbers, free: Lara (818) 472-5484.
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