Here's the short version. For 2027, health insurers are dropping plans on a scale not seen in years. Humana and UnitedHealthcare alone are ending Medicare Advantage plans that cover about a million people. (Insurance Business) (Yahoo Finance) Eleven insurers are leaving Marketplaces in some or all of their states. (KFF) Big Medicaid insurers are walking away from state contracts. None of this is about you. It is about money: government decisions made these plans less profitable, and the companies left the places where they earn the least. This page explains what is happening, why, what it can cost you, and what to do before the deadlines.
Which Medicare Advantage plans are going away in 2027?
Medicare Advantage
- Roughly a million people are in plans that end December 31. About 600,000 Humana members and about 390,000 UnitedHealthcare members are in plans being discontinued. Non-renewal letters were dated October 2. (Insurance Business) (Yahoo Finance) This follows a year in which nearly 3 million people had to find new Medicare Advantage coverage for 2026. (Healthcare Dive)
- The biggest insurers are shrinking their maps. Health Care Service Corporation (Blue Cross plans in five states) is leaving 498 counties and entering none. Centene is leaving 359, UnitedHealthcare 228, Elevance (Anthem) 66 and Humana 62. One company, Devoted Health, is expanding into 342 counties. (KFF, October 9, 2026)
- Several smaller insurers, many owned by hospital systems, are leaving the program entirely. (Becker's)
- Some places will have no regular Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage. In 193 counties, home to about 638,000 people with Medicare, no Medicare Advantage plan with Part D drug coverage is open to general enrollment for 2027, up from 123 counties this year. Six of those counties still have an Advantage plan without drug coverage, and some have plans only for people who qualify for a Special Needs Plan. (KFF) For most people there, the choice is Original Medicare plus a Part D drug plan.
Part D drug plans
- The average person can choose from 9 stand-alone drug plans for 2027, down from 11, and none has a zero premium unless you get Extra Help. Many people will see a small premium rise. Some will see a much larger one if they stay in their current plan. (KFF)
- The yearly cap on what you pay for covered drugs rises to $2,400 in 2027, and no plan may charge a deductible above $700. See 2027 Medicare costs.
Marketplace (Obamacare) plans
- Eleven insurers have announced they will leave the Marketplaces for 2027 in some or all of the states where they sell. The largest, Cigna, is leaving all 11 of its states, with more than 350,000 people enrolled through the Marketplace. (KFF, updated October 7, 2026)
- Prices are going up again. Proposed 2027 increases averaged from about 6.5 percent in Vermont to 22.4 percent in Washington, after a year in which the typical proposed increase was 18 percent. (Georgetown CHIR)
Medicaid plans
- Elevance told investors it expects to leave Medicaid markets "where the economics don't support sustainable performance" over 12 to 18 months. It left Washington, D.C.'s program on August 1, 2026. (KFF) Its Healthy Blue plan, with about 292,000 members, leaves Louisiana Medicaid at the end of 2026. UnitedHealthcare, with about 278,000, left that state's program on March 31, 2026. Up to 580,000 Louisiana members are moving to one of the four plans that remain. (Hoodline)
- Centene plans to leave Arkansas's Medicaid expansion program in 2027. (KFF) More exits are expected as the 2025 federal budget law's Medicaid cuts take effect.
Why insurers are dropping Medicare Advantage plans: the money, plainly
Insurers say costs went up because people used more care. That is true. It is also true that the government changed the rules in ways that cut what these businesses earn. Here is what changed.
Medicare Advantage
- Payments stopped growing as fast. For 2027, the government first proposed a payment increase of almost nothing: 0.09 percent. Insurers protested. The final increase was 2.48 percent, about 13 billion dollars, after the government dropped a planned update to the formula that would have cut payments more. (CMS fact sheet) Even so, it is far below the cost growth insurers report.
- Diagnosis coding pays less. Since 2024, Medicare has phased in a new risk-adjustment model that pays plans less for many recorded diagnoses. Plans that leaned on heavy coding lost the most.
- Fewer star bonuses. Plans rated 4 stars or more get bonus money. Ratings fell for several big insurers, and the bonuses fell with them. Humana said it would cut "the lower tail of profitability," meaning plans rated 3.5 stars or lower. (Insurance Business)
- Drug costs shifted to plans. The 2022 drug law capped what you pay for Part D drugs and made plans pay more of the cost above the cap. Good for you. Expensive for them, and the temporary federal support that cushioned stand-alone drug plans ends December 31, 2026. (KFF)
Put together: the plans that were marginal, often PPOs, rural counties, and lower-rated plans, stopped making money. Companies cut them. The plans left behind tend to be HMOs with tighter networks and fewer extras.
Marketplace
- Congress let the bigger subsidies expire at the end of 2025. Sign-ups fell by more than a million for 2026. (KFF) The people who dropped out were, on average, healthier, so the remaining pool costs more to insure.
- New rules make enrolling harder. The federal sign-up window is shorter and more people must prove eligibility before coverage starts. Insurers expect fewer, sicker customers and price or leave accordingly.
Medicaid
- The 2025 federal budget law cuts Medicaid funding over the coming years: work requirements for many adults, eligibility checks every six months, and limits on how states raise their share of the money. States then pay plans less or later, and plans leave. (KFF)
What changes for you in 2027
| If you have… | The risk |
|---|---|
| A Medicare Advantage plan that is ending | A gap in coverage if you miss the letters. Losing your doctors if the new plan's network differs. Missing the short window to buy Medigap without health questions. |
| A Medicare Advantage plan that continues | Smaller networks, higher copays, and fewer extras in 2027. Extras like dental, over-the-counter cards and gym benefits are cut first because they are the easiest to cut. Read the Annual Notice of Change line by line. |
| A stand-alone Part D plan | A premium jump if you stay put. Your plan may also change its drug list. (KFF) |
| A Marketplace plan | Being moved to a different insurer's plan if yours leaves, with a new network. A bigger premium bill, though subsidies rise with the benchmark price for most people who qualify. |
| Medicaid | Being assigned to a new plan if yours leaves the state, and losing coverage at a renewal if a letter goes unanswered. |
How do I check whether my Medicare Advantage plan is ending?
A headline about your insurer does not mean your plan is ending. Insurers usually drop some plans in some counties and keep the rest. Check your own plan, in this order:
- Find the letter. If your plan is ending, the insurer had to mail you a non-renewal notice in early October, by name, naming the plan and its end date. If instead you got an Annual Notice of Change, your plan continues in 2027 with the changes it lists.
- Match the plan name and number. Your member card shows the plan name and a contract number (H and four digits) and plan ID. Compare them with the letter. An insurer can end "Plan A" in your county and keep "Plan B"; only the exact plan on the letter is affected.
- Look up 2027 plans for your ZIP code. In Medicare Plan Finder, choose 2027 coverage and enter your ZIP code. If your current plan is not listed for 2027, it is ending in your area.
- Call the plan if anything is unclear. The member services number is on your card. Ask: "Is my plan, contract number H-xxxx, plan xxx, offered in my county for 2027?"
- If it is ending, go to My Medicare Advantage Plan Is Ending for 2027 for your dates, rights and choices. To see what else is sold where you live, compare your Medicare Advantage options for 2027.
What to do now
This is the part most sites soften. We won't.
- Open every envelope from your plan in October. A notice of change means your plan continues with new terms. A non-renewal notice means it ends December 31. Keep the non-renewal letter; it is your proof of rights.
- If your Medicare Advantage plan is ending, know your two clocks. You can switch Medicare plans from December 8 through the end of February. But the right to buy a Medigap policy with no health questions lasts only 63 days after your coverage ends. People miss the shorter one. If you have health problems and have ever wanted Original Medicare plus Medigap, this may be your only chance to get it without underwriting. Price it before you pick another Advantage plan. Details on your options when a plan ends.
- Do not pick a plan for its extras. Dental, vision, hearing, gym and grocery cards are the first things cut when a plan loses money, and they can change every January. Pick by your doctors, your drugs, and your hospital.
- Check the star rating and the insurer's direction. Humana cut plans rated 3.5 stars or lower. A low-rated plan, or a plan from an insurer shrinking in your state, is more likely to be cut again next year. Star ratings are in Plan Finder; see what the stars mean.
- If you have a stand-alone drug plan, compare, don't renew. Enter your drugs in Plan Finder. Staying put can cost far more than switching this year. How to check your drug list.
- If your county has no regular Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage for 2027, you will be in Original Medicare. Add a Part D plan by December 7 so you are not without drug coverage. Then look at Medigap.
- Marketplace: act early and check the letter about your mapped plan. The federal window is November 1 to December 15. If your insurer is leaving, HealthCare.gov may move you to another plan; it may not include your doctors. Update your income estimate so your subsidy is right. See Marketplace open enrollment 2027.
- Medicaid: answer every letter and keep your address current. Renewals are coming more often. If your plan is leaving your state, choose a new plan yourself before the state assigns one, so you keep your doctors. See Medicaid renewal.
- Get free, unbiased help. SHIP counselors do not sell plans. Find yours. Agents can help too, but they are paid by the plans they sell.
What we expect next
Our read of the evidence, not a prediction you should bank on: the exits are not finished. Medicare Advantage payment growth for 2027 is modest and the coding changes are now fully in place, so insurers will keep trimming lower-rated plans and thin counties. Marketplace prices will stay high unless Congress restores the larger subsidies. Medicaid plan exits will spread as the federal cuts phase in through 2027 and 2028. The practical lesson is the same each year: never assume the plan you have will be the plan you keep, and review it every fall.
Common questions
Are Medicare Advantage plans going away in 2027?
No. Most insurers kept most of their plans, and most counties still have many choices. What is going away is the marginal plan: lower-rated, in rural or high-cost counties, or run by small hospital-system insurers. Check whether yours is one of them.
Is Humana dropping Medicare Advantage plans for 2027?
Yes. Humana is ending plans that cover about 600,000 members, mostly plans rated 3.5 stars or lower. Members got non-renewal letters dated October 2, and their plans end December 31. (Insurance Business) If you did not get a letter, your Humana plan continues; read its Annual Notice of Change for 2027 changes. See how to check your own plan.
Is UnitedHealthcare (AARP) dropping Medicare Advantage plans for 2027?
Yes. UnitedHealthcare is discontinuing plans that cover about 390,000 members and is leaving 228 counties. (Yahoo Finance) (KFF) Most of its plans continue. Your letter tells you which case you are in.
Is Aetna leaving Medicare Advantage in 2027?
Not entirely. Aetna (CVS Health) is pulling out of about 103 counties for 2027 but keeps selling plans elsewhere. (Healthcare Dive) If your county is one of them, you got a non-renewal letter.
What is changing with Medicare Advantage plans in 2027?
Fewer plans and fewer insurers in many counties, more HMOs and fewer PPOs, smaller extra benefits, and 193 counties with no general-enrollment Advantage plan that includes drug coverage. Costs you pay in Original Medicare and Part D also change; see Medicare costs for 2027.
Why did the government cut payments to these plans?
Federal auditors and Congress's advisers have said for years that Medicare pays Advantage plans more per person than Original Medicare would cost, partly through diagnosis coding. The changes since 2024 aim to narrow that gap. Insurers say the changes went too far, too fast. Both sides are describing the same money from opposite ends.
My plan is ending. Will I lose Medicare?
No. Part A and Part B stay. If you do nothing, you will be in Original Medicare on January 1, without drug coverage unless you join a Part D plan.
Should I leave Medicare Advantage because of this?
That depends on your health, your doctors and your budget, and we do not pick for you. What we will say: if your plan is ending and you have health conditions, you have a short-lived right to Medigap with no health questions. Decide with that door open, not after it closes.
Sources
- CMS: 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Rate Announcement
- KFF: Medicare Advantage plan availability by county for 2027
- KFF: Part D stand-alone plan premiums for 2027
- KFF: Insurer participation in the ACA Marketplaces in 2027
- KFF: Medicaid managed care and the 2025 reconciliation law
- Insurance Business: Humana exits affect 600,000 members
- Yahoo Finance: UnitedHealthcare exits select Medicare Advantage plans for 2027
- Healthcare Dive: how much insurers are cutting Medicare Advantage for 2027
- Hoodline: Louisiana narrows to four Medicaid insurers as 580,000 switch plans
- Medicare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods
- Medicare.gov: When can I buy a Medigap policy?