Annual Health Plan Changes

We’re working to give members more choices for affordable health plans and to ensure our benefit coverage provides equitable, high-quality health care. We realize that any changes to health plans impact your decisions during Open Enrollment. We will communicate all changes to plans and premiums to you prior to Open Enrollment, which will be held September 14 through October 9.

Information about 2027 health plan changes, approved by the CalPERS Board of Administration on July 14, 2026, is now available.

There’s no action for you to take now.

For a full list of our available health plans and final premiums for 2027, visit the Plans & Rates page.

Basic Plans

Health Plan	Changes
UnitedHealthcare SignatureValue Alliance HMO	Exits all counties; no longer part of CalPERS health plan offerings Targeted communication to affected members will begin in late July through early September. We’ll guide you on how to shop the alternative health plans we offer so you can review important plan details including premiums and provider access. If you don’t choose a new plan during Open Enrollment, we’ll administratively transfer you and any dependent(s) to another available health plan for 2027. For details and answers to frequently asked questions, visit UnitedHealthcare Basic Health Plans Removal for 2027.
UnitedHealthcare SignatureValue Harmony HMO	Exits all counties; no longer part of CalPERS health plan offerings Targeted communication to affected members will begin in late July through early September. We’ll guide you on how to shop the alternative health plans we offer so you can review important plan details including premiums and provider access. If you don’t choose a new plan during Open Enrollment, we’ll administratively transfer you and any dependent(s) to another available health plan for 2027. For details and answers to frequently asked questions, visit UnitedHealthcare Basic Health Plans Removal for 2027.
Sutter Health Plan HMO	New Basic health plan, offering Sutter Medical Group, available in Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Solano, and Yolo counties. For the list of all covered ZIP codes, refer to the 2027 Health Plan Additions and Expansions ZIP Code Listing webpage.
Blue Shield of California EPO	Expansion into the following counties: Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, San Bernardino, Sutter, and Yuba counties For the list of all covered ZIP codes, refer to the 2027 Health Plan Additions and Expansions ZIP Code Listing webpage.
Kaiser Permanente HMO	Expansion into the following counties in northwestern Nevada: Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Storey, and Washoe Counties For the list of all covered ZIP codes, refer to the 2027 Health Plan Additions and Expansions ZIP Code Listing webpage.

Medicare Plans

Health Plan	Changes
Blue Shield Medicare Advantage PPO	Product change separates medical and pharmacy plans, which will result in higher reimbursements from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This change will not affect members’ coverage, copays, or formularies. Members will receive two ID cards: one for medical coverage and one for pharmacy coverage. Members will receive communication from Blue Shield, contact them with any questions.
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage PPO	Product change separates medical and pharmacy plans, which will result in higher reimbursements from CMS. This change will not affect members’ coverage, copays, or formularies. Members will receive two ID cards: one for medical coverage and one for pharmacy coverage. Members will receive communication from United Healthcare, contact them with any questions. The UnitedHealthCare Medicare plan remains part of our health plan offerings while the Basic UnitedHealthcare plans (Alliance and Harmony) will exit effective January 1, 2027.
Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage HMO	Expansion into the following counties in northwestern Nevada: Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Storey, and Washoe counties For the list of all covered ZIP codes, refer to the 2027 Health Plan Additions and Expansions ZIP Code Listing webpage.

Benefit Design Change

Health Plan	Change
Basic plans: Anthem Blue Cross Select Anthem Blue Cross Traditional Blue Shield Access+ Blue Shield Trio Health Net Salud y Más Kaiser Permanente PERS Gold PERS Platinum Sharp Health Plan Performance Plus Sutter Health Plan Western Health Advantage	Beginning July 1, 2027, all Basic health plans will offer coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility as required by Senate Bill 729 for CalPERS Basic HMO plans. The CalPERS Board also approved these benefits for the Basic PPO plans effective July 1,2027.

We’re providing you with 2026 health plan changes approved by the CalPERS Board of Administration on July 15, 2025. There are no other changes to our health plans or benefits except those described here. For a full list of available health plans and premiums, view the Plans & Rates page.

There’s no action for you to take now.

For a full list of our available health plans, visit the Plans & Rates page.

Health Plan Changes

Health Plan	Changes
Basic Plans Anthem Blue Cross Traditional Anthem Blue Cross Select Health Net Salud y Más PERS Gold Basic PERS Platinum Basic Sharp Health Plan Performance Plus UnitedHealthcare SignatureValue Alliance UnitedHealthcare SignatureValue Harmony Western Health Advantage Medicare Plans Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Preferred PERS Gold Medicare Supplement PERS Platinum Medicare Supplement	Effective January 1, 2026, CVS Caremark (CVS) will replace OptumRx as the new pharmacy benefits manager (PBM). For more information on changes visit CVS Caremark Pharmacy Benefits. Health plans not listed are not affected by this change.
Blue Shield Access+	Expansion into Monterey County
Blue Shield Trio	Exits Monterey County

Benefit Design Changes

PERS Gold Basic Plan
Benefit	Changes
Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID)	Will continue with in-patient deductible credits of up to $500 for completing an expanded menu of preventive care activities such as cancer screenings, vaccinations, depression screening, or participation in a Diabetes Prevention Program (if applicable)