News · October 15, 2026 · San Diego County, California
Medicare Open Enrollment Is Open: Sharp Members in San Diego
The 2027 enrollment window opened this morning. For the Sharp Direct Advantage members whose plan ends December 31, today is the first day a choice can be made, and a choice made today starts January 1.
SAN DIEGO, October 15, 2026. Medicare's Annual Enrollment Period for 2027 opened today and runs through December 7. It is the same window every Medicare beneficiary gets each fall. For one group in San Diego County it carries more weight than usual. Sharp Health Plan's four individual Sharp Direct Advantage HMOs, Gold, Platinum, VIP and VIP Plus, have no listing in the CMS 2027 plan file, and their non-renewal letters went out dated October 2. CMS counted 19,868 people in Sharp Health Plan's Medicare contract in September, 17,247 of them on those four individual plans in San Diego County. Until this morning, those members could read about their options. Starting today, they can choose one.
We have spent the past ten days on the details, from what the CMS file shows to every date through March 4. This post covers what changed today and a plan for the next seven days.
Opening day, in five lines
- The window is open: October 15 to December 7, 2026. A plan you choose in it starts January 1, 2027.
- Sharp Direct Advantage ends December 31, 2026. It pays claims normally until then. Sharp's hospitals and doctors are not closing, and nobody is losing Medicare.
- You can change your mind until December 7. The last choice the plan receives is the one that takes effect.
- Doing nothing means Original Medicare on January 1, with no drug coverage and no out-of-pocket cap.
- CalPERS members: your group version continues for 2027. Read the CalPERS post instead of this one.
What opened this morning
Three things became possible today that were not possible yesterday.
You can enroll in a 2027 plan. Under Medicare.gov's Open Enrollment rules, a Medicare Advantage plan or stand-alone drug plan you join between October 15 and December 7 starts January 1. For a Sharp member that is the day after the old plan ends, so there is no gap.
A choice now is not final. CMS's 2027 enrollment guidance says the last enrollment choice made, judged by the date the plan receives it, is the one that becomes effective. Enrolling in week one protects you if November gets busy. If your doctor's office gives you a different answer in three weeks, you can still switch.
The comparison tools now show the plans you will choose from. Medicare's Plan Finder lists the 2027 plans for your ZIP code with your drugs priced at your pharmacy. The CMS plan file has been public since late September. What is new today is that you can act on it.
What a Sharp member can do, starting today
There are three routes, and each one has something you can start this week.
- Join another Medicare Advantage plan. Enroll any day through December 7 for a January 1 start. Your Sharp coverage still ends on December 31; you do not cancel it first. UnitedHealthcare of California carries three plans with Sharp in the name for 2027. They are a different insurer under a different CMS contract, and nobody is moved into them automatically. The line-by-line comparison is in Sharp Direct Advantage vs. UHC Sharp Medicare Advantage.
- Original Medicare with a Medigap policy and a drug plan. The drug plan can be chosen today for January 1, like any Part D plan during this window. For Medigap, the federal no-health-questions window opens 60 days before your plan ends, on November 1. California's own rule, Insurance Code § 10192.12, opens it on the day you received the October 2 letter. The plan letters and the California birthday rule are in can I get Medigap in California without health questions?
- Original Medicare with a drug plan only. This has the lowest premium, but there is no yearly cap on your 20% share. Choose the drug plan by December 7 so it starts January 1.
Want the first week done for you?
Brian Penner has worked with Medicare clients for more than 22 years and is licensed in California. On one phone call we confirm which Sharp plan you hold, check your doctors and prescriptions against the 2027 plans we offer in San Diego County, and price the Medigap route next to them. It costs nothing and there is no pressure. We do not offer every plan available in your area.
Book a phone appointment →The San Diego County shelf on opening day
Here is how many plans you have to choose from, straight from the CMS files and matched plan by plan, not by name:
| San Diego County | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage (not Special Needs Plans) | 54 | 41 |
| Companies offering them | 17 | 14 |
| Of those plans, $0 monthly premium | 45 | 32 |
| Sharp Direct Advantage plans (individual) | 4 | 0 |
| UHC plans carrying the Sharp name (general, with drug coverage) | 2 | 3 |
| Stand-alone drug plans sold in California | 12 | 10 |
Source: CMS CY2026 and CY2027 landscape files. The 2027 UHC Sharp count includes CA-026P (H0543-225), which was an AARP-branded plan in 2026. Listing a plan is not a recommendation.
The three UHC Sharp plans, CA-001P, ValueRx CA-12P and CA-026P, are all $0 HMO-POS plans with a $4,450 in-network out-of-pocket cap and a $355 drug deductible in the 2027 file. Sharp Direct Advantage's cap was $2,900. The CMS file does not include copays, drug tiers or networks, so read each plan's Summary of Benefits before relying on a plan name. Sharp Health Plan is one of three companies with no general plan in the county for 2027. The other two are Central Health Medicare Plan and Molina Healthcare of California. The full list of 22 plans that left and 8 that arrived is in which Medicare Advantage plans are ending in San Diego County?
If you do nothing
On January 1, 2027 you will be in Original Medicare. Medicare.gov states it plainly: you are enrolled in Original Medicare if you do not join another Medicare Advantage plan before your current one ends. You keep Part A and Part B. You will have no drug coverage and no yearly cap, and the Part D late-penalty clock starts. A safety net does exist: 42 CFR § 422.62(b)(1) gives you a Special Enrollment Period from December 8 through February 28. But the start date moves back: a January request starts February 1 and a February request starts March 1. The arithmetic is in what if I do nothing when Sharp Direct Advantage ends?
How to compare by doctor and prescription
A plan's premium is the first thing you see and the least useful thing to compare. Check things in this order:
- Your medical group first. In San Diego, a Sharp doctor usually practices through Sharp Rees-Stealy or Sharp Community Medical Group, and the two contract separately. Sharp's accepted-plans page is a starting point. The doctor's own office is the final answer. Ask about January 1, 2027, not about today.
- Each prescription, at your dose, at your pharmacy. Enter them in the 2027 Plan Finder. The same drug can sit on different tiers in different plans, and a preferred pharmacy can change the cost. Our Sharp prescriptions post covers the drug side.
- The cap and the deductible. For a year with a hospital stay, the out-of-pocket cap matters more than any copay. Compare $2,900 last year with the 2027 cap on each plan you are considering.
- Then the premium. Thirty-two of the 41 general plans with drug coverage are $0 for 2027. A $0 premium is not the same as $0 in cost.
The doctor-by-doctor version, including how to read a 2027 directory, is in can I keep my Sharp doctors?
Your first seven days
Here is a realistic plan for opening week, one task a day, at kitchen-table speed:
| Day | Task |
|---|---|
| Thursday, Oct 15 | Find the October 2 letter and your plan card. Write down which plan you hold: Gold, Platinum, VIP or VIP Plus. |
| Friday, Oct 16 | List every doctor by name, with their medical group (Sharp Rees-Stealy, Sharp Community Medical Group, or another), and every prescription with dose and pharmacy. |
| Saturday, Oct 17 | Open Medicare's Plan Finder with your ZIP code. Set the year to 2027. Enter your drugs and pharmacy and save the list. |
| Sunday, Oct 18 | Look at the three UHC Sharp plans and the other 2027 plans on the shelf, and note the out-of-pocket cap and drug deductible on each. |
| Monday, Oct 19 | Call each doctor's office and ask one question: "Which Medicare Advantage plans will you be in network with on January 1, 2027?" |
| Tuesday, Oct 20 | Price the Medigap route next to the Medicare Advantage route, so you are choosing between two real numbers. |
| Wednesday, Oct 21 | Narrow to one or two choices. Enroll this week or next. Anything you pick now starts January 1, and you can still change your mind until December 7. |
If you would rather do Monday through Wednesday in a single phone call, that is what our review covers. Either way, you set the pace. The dates are fixed.
The dates after this week
- November 1, 2026: the federal Medigap guaranteed-issue window opens (Plans A, B, D, G, K, L; C or F if you were eligible for Medicare before 2020).
- December 7, 2026: open enrollment closes. This is the last day a plan can receive your choice under this window.
- December 8 to 31, 2026: the non-renewal Special Enrollment Period begins. Requests received by December 31 still start January 1.
- December 31, 2026: the last day of Sharp Direct Advantage coverage.
- January 1, 2027: your new plan starts. If you chose nothing, you are in Original Medicare.
- February 28, 2027: the Special Enrollment Period closes. A February request starts March 1.
- March 4, 2027: the Medigap guaranteed-issue window closes, 63 days after December 31.
Sources: Medicare.gov, Joining a plan; CMS CY 2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance; 42 CFR § 422.62(b)(1); Medicare.gov, When can I buy a Medigap policy?; California Insurance Code § 10192.12.
Where each detail lives
This post is the opening-day summary. Each topic below has its own detailed post in the Sharp series:
- Is Sharp Direct Advantage ending in 2027? The plan exit and the three routes.
- The Sharp non-renewal letter: what it must say and what it means.
- Can I keep my Sharp doctors?
- Sharp Direct Advantage ending: prescriptions and Part D
- Medigap in California without health questions
- Sharp Direct Advantage vs. UHC Sharp Medicare Advantage
- What if I do nothing?
- Every date to March 4
- 2027 Star Ratings for San Diego plans
How we know all this: the Medicare On Main Data Desk frames every article with public data. For this post that means the CMS CY2026 and CY2027 Medicare Advantage landscape files, re-run for San Diego County on October 15, 2026 and matched by contract and plan ID; the CMS September 2026 enrollment files by contract and by contract, plan and county; 42 CFR § 422.62; the CMS CY 2027 Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance; Medicare.gov's Joining a plan, Special Enrollment Periods and When can I buy a Medigap policy? pages; California Insurance Code § 10192.12; and Sharp HealthCare's accepted-plans page. Carrier, plan and health-system names are factual reporting, not endorsement. The plan is being discontinued, and no member is losing Medicare. This is education, not advice; confirm your own dates with your plan, a licensed agent or Medicare.gov. We take no payment from any carrier to feature a plan.
Frequently asked questions
When does Medicare open enrollment start and end for 2027?
It opened on October 15, 2026 and closes on December 7, 2026. A Medicare Advantage or Part D plan you choose in that window starts on January 1, 2027, as long as the plan receives your request by December 7. For a Sharp Direct Advantage member, whose plan's last day is December 31, 2026, that means a choice made any day in the window starts the day after the old plan ends, with no gap.
Can I change my plan more than once during open enrollment?
Yes. You can change your choice as often as you like until December 7. CMS's enrollment guidance says the last enrollment choice made, judged by the date the plan receives it, is the one that takes effect on January 1. So picking a plan in the first week does not lock you in. It just means you are covered if life gets busy later in the fall.
Do I need to cancel my Sharp Direct Advantage plan before I enroll in a new one?
No. Joining a new Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone drug plan for January 1 ends your old plan's coverage automatically, and Sharp Direct Advantage ends on December 31, 2026 in any case. Keep paying any Sharp premium and keep using the plan normally through December. It pays claims until its last day.
What happens if I don't do anything during open enrollment?
If your plan is being discontinued, you are moved to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027. You keep Part A and Part B, but you have no drug coverage, no yearly out-of-pocket cap, and nothing moves you into the UnitedHealthcare plans that carry the Sharp name. A Special Enrollment Period runs to February 28, 2027, but a January request starts February 1 and a February request starts March 1.
Can I keep my Sharp doctors in 2027?
Possibly, but it depends on the plan and on your medical group, not on the hospital name. UnitedHealthcare of California has three Sharp-named HMO-POS plans in San Diego County for 2027, and Sharp Rees-Stealy and Sharp Community Medical Group contract separately. Original Medicare with a Medigap policy has no network at all, so any doctor who accepts Medicare can see you. Ask each office which 2027 plans it will take before you enroll.
Is Medicare On Main affiliated with Sharp, and do you offer every plan?
No to both. Medicare On Main is a licensed independent insurance agency, licensed in California, and works with San Diego County members by phone. We are not affiliated with Sharp Health Plan, Sharp HealthCare or UnitedHealthcare. We do not offer every plan available in your area; any information we provide is limited to the plans we do offer in your area. For all of your options, contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE.
Sources
- CMS — CY2026 Medicare Advantage / Part D Landscape file (zip) and CMS — CY2027 Medicare Advantage / Part D Landscape file (zip): four H5386 rows in San Diego County for 2026, none for 2027; county shelf counts.
- CMS — Monthly Enrollment by Contract/Plan/State/County, September 2026 (zip): 17,247 members on the four individual Sharp Direct Advantage plans in San Diego County.
- Medicare.gov — Joining a plan (Open Enrollment Period October 15 – December 7; coverage starts January 1).
- Medicare.gov — Medicare Plan Finder (2027 plans, drug and pharmacy lookup).
- CMS — CY 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance (PDF; last choice by receipt date; § 30.6.10.A non-renewal SEP effective dates).
- 42 CFR § 422.62(b)(1) — Special Enrollment Period when a plan is discontinued in your area (Cornell LII).
- Medicare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods (Original Medicare if you join nothing before your plan ends).
- Medicare.gov — When can I buy a Medigap policy? (60 days before to 63 days after your Medicare Advantage plan ends).
- California Insurance Code § 10192.12 — guaranteed issue of Medicare supplement policies (california.public.law mirror).
- Sharp HealthCare — Medicare plans accepted by Sharp in San Diego.
- Medicare Plan Compare (Medicare.gov).
