A 5-minute read

Choosing the Right Alignment Plan Start With Your Doctors

Several plans, one real difference: the doctors. Pick your county, match the plan to your care.

Start With Your Doctors

Check the doctors first.

Then compare the premium, the yearly maximum, and the extra benefits among the plans that include them.

The easiest way: our plan comparison tool. Pick your doctors, medications, and pharmacy — and see every plan in your ZIP code that covers them.

What's Available in Your County

Choose your county. The plan list changes — your doctors decide which one fits. Alignment serves San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, and Yolo counties in 2027.

PlanMonthlyPCP visitYearly maxMedical groups

Alignment Health Platinum + Instacart 016 (HMO-POS)

H3815-016-0. OTC $25/mo; $100/quarter groceries via Instacart; 24 transport trips/yr; dental $2,000/yr max.

$0$0$1,100Brown and Toland Health Services Inc

Central Health Harmony 031 (HMO)

H3815-031-0. OTC $25/mo; 26 transport trips/yr; $30/mo Essentials Allowance.

$0$0$3,400Alignment Health Plan Network, Brown and Toland Health Services Inc, Brown and Toland Physicians, North East Medical Services, Optum Care Network-Greater Bay Area, Santa Clara County IPA

Alignment Health Sutter Advantage +More 023 (HMO)

H3815-023-0. The Sutter-affiliated option; OTC $15/mo; worldwide emergency $7,500/yr.

$50$5$4,900Mills Peninsula Medical Group, Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group – Mills Peninsula Site, Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation

Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes 048 (HMO C-SNP)

H3815-048-0. Chronic-condition plan; OTC $10/mo; 24 transport trips/yr; worldwide emergency $25k/yr.

$0$0$1,990Alignment Health Plan Network, Brown and Toland Health Services Inc, Brown and Toland Physicians, North East Medical Services, Optum Care Network-Greater Bay Area, Santa Clara County IPA

Alignment Health Heart & Diabetes Plus 039 (HMO C-SNP)

H3815-039-0. Chronic-condition plan; OTC $127/mo; 50 transport trips/yr.

$7.30$0$9,850Alignment Health Plan Network, Brown and Toland Health Services Inc, Brown and Toland Physicians, North East Medical Services, Optum Care Network-Greater Bay Area, Santa Clara County IPA

Alignment Health BreathEasy Plus 041 (HMO C-SNP)

H3815-041-0. Chronic-condition plan; $1/mo Part B rebate; OTC $99/mo; 50 transport trips/yr.

$0$0$9,850Alignment Health Plan Network, Brown and Toland Health Services Inc, Brown and Toland Physicians, North East Medical Services, Santa Clara County IPA

Alignment Health Clarity Plus 042 (HMO C-SNP)

H3815-042-0. Chronic-condition plan; $1/mo Part B rebate; OTC $103/mo; 50 transport trips/yr.

$7.30$0$9,850Alignment Health Plan Network, Brown and Toland Health Services Inc, Brown and Toland Physicians, North East Medical Services, Santa Clara County IPA

Alignment Health Honor Plus 060 (HMO)

H3815-060-0. OTC $97/mo; 50 transport trips/yr; worldwide emergency $10k/yr.

$7.30$0$9,850Alignment Health Plan Network, Brown and Toland Health Services Inc, Brown and Toland Physicians, North East Medical Services, Optum Care Network-Greater Bay Area, Santa Clara County IPA

Plan details from Alignment Health Plan's 2027 plan finder (updated 1/5/2026). Always confirm your doctors in the plan's provider directory before you enroll. To compare plans and sign up on your own, use our plan comparison tool.

How the Network Actually Works

You pick a primary care doctor

Nearly every Alignment plan is an HMO. You choose a primary care doctor, and that doctor's medical group becomes your network — their hospitals, their specialists, their urgent cares. (The Platinum + Instacart plan is an HMO-POS, which adds out-of-network coverage at a higher cost.)

A hospital being in-network is not enough

The hospital can be covered while your specific doctor is not. Always check your doctors by name in the plan's provider directory — not just the hospital's name.

Ask Yourself Two Questions

Who are your doctors — and which ones would you keep?

I won't switch doctors→ Look each one up by name in the plan's directory first

I'm open to new doctors→ Start with the broadest-network plan in the table above

Do you have diabetes, a heart condition, or another chronic condition?

Yes→ The special-needs (C-SNP) rows may offer extra benefits — ask us

No→ Skip the C-SNP rows in the table

Alignment Plan Questions

Short answers to the questions people ask most about Alignment plans.

How do I choose the right Alignment Medicare Advantage plan?

Start with your doctors, not the premium. Nearly every Alignment plan is an HMO, with one HMO-POS option. Within Alignment, plans differ mainly by which medical groups and hospitals they include, so list your doctors first, keep only the plans that include them, and then compare monthly premium, yearly out-of-pocket maximum, and drug coverage among those. Candor checks your doctors by name against every Alignment plan in your county, free.

How many Alignment Medicare Advantage plans are available for 2027?

It depends on your county — Medicare Advantage menus are set county by county. In the 5 counties Candor serves and lists on this page (San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, and Yolo), Alignment offers 29 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Your county's lineup may be much smaller than the statewide menu, so compare the plans actually sold where you live. Lineups verified from Alignment's 2027 plan finder.

Can I keep my doctor on a Alignment Medicare Advantage plan?

Only if your doctor is in that specific plan's network. Participation is set plan by plan — a doctor who takes one Alignment plan may not take another Alignment plan in the same county. Before enrolling, confirm the exact plan name and contract number with both the plan's directory and the doctor's office, and re-check every fall, because networks reset on January 1.

Can I enroll in a Alignment plan through Candor Medicare, and what does it cost?

Yes. Candor Medicare is an independent agency appointed with Alignment and can enroll you directly in its plans. It costs you nothing — Candor is paid by the carrier if you enroll, and your premium is exactly the same as enrolling through Alignment or Medicare.gov. Because Candor is independent, it can also compare Alignment against the other carriers in your county before you decide.

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About the author

Photo of Eric Ullrich

Eric Ullrich

Founder & Licensed Medicare Advisor, Candor Medicare

NPN #22200900Licensed in Florida and California

Eric founded Candor Medicare to fix what he watched go wrong in the industry — advisors pushing plans that paid them more instead of plans that fit the person in front of them. He works directly with Medicare beneficiaries across Florida and California as an independent advisor. Carriers pay a CMS-capped commission when you enroll, and his guidance is free to you.

More about Eric →·State license details