Medicare 2026

Medicare Advantage Plans Leaving for 2027: What to Do If Yours Is One

Every fall, Medicare Advantage plans change. Some get renewed with tweaks, some get new names, and some leave the market entirely. If you open your mailbox this fall and find a letter saying your plan won't be offered in 2027, you have time, options, and a few protections built into federal rules. Here's a calm walk-through of what's happening and what you can do.

What's changing nationally

The nationwide Medicare Advantage lineup is slightly smaller for 2027. According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape files (counting each plan once nationally), 5,595 plans were offered in 2026 and 5,561 are offered in 2027.

Underneath that near-flat total, there's more movement than you might expect:

• 1,150 plans offered somewhere in the U.S. in 2026 are offered nowhere in 2027.
• 1,116 plans are new for 2027.
• 1,632 continuing plans have changed in at least one area they serve — a different premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name.

At the organization level, 32 companies that offered Medicare Advantage in 2026 offer no plans in 2027, while 9 organizations are new to Medicare Advantage for 2027.

In short: plenty of plans are still available, but the specific plan you have today may not be among them, or it may look different than it did last year.

How you'll know if your plan is leaving

If your plan isn't being renewed, the plan is required to send you a non-renewal notice (sometimes called a plan termination notice). Read it carefully — it explains when your current coverage ends and outlines your options. Keep it with your Medicare paperwork; you may need it later if you apply for a Medigap policy and want to document your guaranteed-issue right.

If you only receive an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) rather than a non-renewal letter, your plan is continuing — but it may be one of the 1,632 that changed something. Compare the 2027 details to your 2026 coverage before assuming nothing has shifted.

Your enrollment windows

Two windows matter if your plan is leaving:

• Annual Enrollment (Open Enrollment): October 15 – December 7, 2026. Choices made here take effect January 1, 2027. This is the main window to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan.
• Special Enrollment Period through the end of February 2027. Because your plan is being discontinued, you get extra time to make a change if you miss or want to revisit your Annual Enrollment choice.

If you take no action and your plan ends, you'll be returned to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027 — but without drug coverage. To have Part D, you must enroll in a stand-alone Part D plan or in a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drugs.

Your Medigap guaranteed-issue right

When your Medicare Advantage plan is non-renewed, federal rules give you a guaranteed-issue right to buy certain Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policies. That means, within a defined window, insurers must sell you one of the eligible policies regardless of your health history, and can't charge you more because of pre-existing conditions. The specific policies you're eligible for and the exact timing are set in federal rules — Medicare.gov explains the details and documentation you'll want to keep.

Thinking through your options

Broadly, you'll be weighing two paths:

Another Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage included). These plans bundle hospital, medical, and often drug coverage, and usually use provider networks. Costs, networks, extra benefits, and prior authorization rules vary plan by plan.

Original Medicare, often paired with a stand-alone Part D plan and sometimes a Medigap policy. Original Medicare lets you see any provider who accepts Medicare, without network restrictions. Medigap can help with out-of-pocket costs under Original Medicare; a stand-alone Part D plan adds drug coverage. You'll pay separate premiums for these pieces.

Neither path is universally better. The right fit depends on your doctors, your medications, how you feel about networks versus flexibility, and your budget. Compare total expected costs — premiums plus expected out-of-pocket — not just the sticker premium.

Part D facts worth knowing for 2027

Whether your drug coverage comes through a Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan, these program-wide numbers apply in 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 (it is $2,100 in 2026). Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered drugs hits that cap, you pay $0 for covered drugs the rest of the year.
• The most any Part D plan may charge as a deductible is $700. Plans can charge less.
• The Part D base beneficiary premium is $41.33. This is a national figure used in calculating the late-enrollment penalty; actual plan premiums are set plan by plan.

A few other 2027 notes

Social Security announced on October 14, 2026 a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for benefits payable beginning January 2027. The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets and surcharges, had not yet been announced at the time of writing. CMS typically releases those in the fall, usually in November. Check Medicare.gov for the official figures once they're posted.

Steps to take now

1. Watch your mail in September and October 2026 for either a non-renewal notice or an Annual Notice of Change. 2. Make a list of your doctors, pharmacies, and current medications before you shop. 3. During Annual Enrollment (October 15 – December 7, 2026), compare plans using the Plan Finder on Medicare.gov. 4. If you're considering Original Medicare plus Medigap, learn about your guaranteed-issue window and keep your non-renewal notice. 5. If you need more time, remember the Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February 2027.

Where to get official help

For plan comparisons, enrollment, and the latest official figures, go to Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), available 24/7. Enrollment-period rules are published by CMS at Medicare.gov.

This article is for general education. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.