Medicare Advantage in Santa Barbara County, California
17,602 people in Santa Barbara County, California were enrolled in Medicare Advantage in October 2026, 20.2% of 87,195 eligible beneficiaries (+0.04 pts since October 2025). UnitedHealth Group, Inc. is the largest parent organization with 44% of reported enrollment; 11 parent organizations have 11 or more members and the HHI is 2,858 (highly concentrated). HRSA classifies the county as partly rural. For 2027, 2,755 members here are in plans that terminate or leave the county, and CVS Health Corporation leaves. MA plans offered go from 7 to 5.
Parent organizations in Santa Barbara County
| Parent organization | Members | Change since October 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealth Group, Inc. | 7,773 | −530 | 44.4% |
| California Physicians' Service | 3,650 | −112 | 20.8% |
| CVS Health Corporation | 3,514 | +428 | 20.1% |
| Elevance Health, Inc. | 762 | −3 | 4.4% |
| SANTA BARBARA SAN LUIS OBISPO REGIONAL HEALTH AUTH | 637 | new | 3.6% |
| Humana Inc. | 624 | −125 | 3.6% |
| Imperial Health Plan of California | 453 | +109 | 2.6% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Ins. Co. | 39 | +3 | 0.2% |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. | 29 | −10 | 0.2% |
| SCAN Group | 21 | −2 | 0.1% |
| Centene Corporation | 13 | −9 | under 0.1% |
CMS suppresses county and contract counts of 10 or fewer; shares are of reported enrollment.
Value-based care alongside MA
In PY 2024, 31,740 beneficiaries in Santa Barbara County were assigned to 125 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs, 60.8% of assignable Original Medicare beneficiaries. Together, roughly 69% of all Medicare beneficiaries in the county are in Medicare Advantage or an MSSP ACO. See the ACOs in the MSSP Explorer.