Medicare Advantage

What’s Changing in Iowa Medicare Advantage for 2027: 18 Plans Leaving, 26 Changing

DES MOINES — Iowa's Medicare Advantage lineup for the 2027 plan year is set, and a side-by-side read of the two most recent CMS Landscape Source Files shows a market that is reshuffling in nearly every corner of the state. According to CMS data for Iowa, there were 73 Medicare Advantage plans offered somewhere in the state for 2026 and 74 for 2027. Underneath that nearly flat headcount, the pieces have moved: 18 plans that were offered somewhere in Iowa for 2026 will not be offered anywhere in Iowa for 2027, 26 plans continue but will differ in at least one county on premium, drug deductible, plan type or plan name, 19 plans are new, and 29 continue unchanged.

Medicare AdvantageIowa

Two carriers that had Iowa Medicare Advantage plans listed for 2026 — Passport Advantage and Wellmark Advantage Health Plan — have no Iowa plans listed for 2027. Two carriers are new to Iowa for 2027: Align Senior Care and Molina Healthcare of Iowa, Inc.

What the statewide numbers mean

The CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files list every plan offered in every county for a given plan year. Comparing the CY2026 and CY2027 files for Iowa, each plan is counted once statewide no matter how many counties it serves.

CMS treats a plan as "leaving" when it appeared somewhere in Iowa for 2026 and appears nowhere in Iowa for 2027. By that definition, 18 Iowa plans are leaving. A plan is counted as "changing" when it is offered in both years but differs in at least one county on premium, drug deductible, plan type or plan name — 26 plans fall into that bucket. Another 19 are new to the state for 2027, and 29 continue unchanged.

The practical point: the 2026-to-2027 total barely moves (73 to 74), but 44 of this year's 73 plans are either leaving or changing in some way. That is why Iowans should not assume "same plan, same deal."

If your plan is leaving

Members whose plan is not renewed for 2027 get a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that runs through the end of February 2027. During that SEP, you can pick a different Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and consider a stand-alone Part D drug plan.

Your current plan is required to send you a non-renewal notice. If you do nothing, coverage under the non-renewing plan ends; you are not automatically moved into another Medicare Advantage plan by CMS. Original Medicare picks up medical coverage, but prescription drug coverage does not continue on its own. Acting during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) means your new choice takes effect January 1, 2027, with no gap.

If your plan is changing

For the 26 plans that are continuing but changing in at least one county, the document to read is the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC). Carriers mail or deliver the ANOC each fall. It lists, by plan, exactly what is different for the coming year compared with the current year — including anything CMS flagged as a difference on premium, drug deductible, plan type or plan name in your county.

A member who does nothing stays enrolled in a renewing plan under its 2027 terms as described in the ANOC. That is a legitimate choice, but it should be a choice made after reading the notice, not by default.

The counties with the most change

Every one of Iowa's 99 counties has at least one plan leaving or changing for 2027. The counties with the highest counts in the CMS files are:

• Clayton County: 16 leaving, 10 changing
• Delaware County: 11 leaving, 12 changing
• Fayette County: 14 leaving, 9 changing
• Jackson County: 10 leaving, 13 changing
• Jones County: 10 leaving, 12 changing
• Des Moines County: 16 leaving, 5 changing
• Louisa County: 13 leaving, 8 changing
• Mills County: 13 leaving, 8 changing

These are plan counts in the Landscape file, not member counts. A single member is affected by only the plan they are actually enrolled in. But in these counties the odds that your plan is one of the ones moving are higher than average, so a careful look at your mail this fall matters more.

What to do before December 7

A simple sequence works for most people:

1. Watch the mail in September and October for either an ANOC (your plan is renewing with changes) or a non-renewal notice (your plan is leaving). 2. Confirm your plan is still offered in your county for 2027 using the CMS Plan Finder on Medicare.gov. 3. Check that your doctors, hospitals and regular pharmacies are still in network for 2027, and that your prescriptions are still on the formulary. 4. Make any change during the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026. The choice takes effect January 1, 2027. 5. If your plan is not renewed, remember the Special Enrollment Period runs through the end of February 2027 — but acting during AEP avoids any gap.

Where to get free help

You do not have to sort this out alone, and you do not have to pay anyone to help you compare plans.

• Medicare.gov — the official Plan Finder lets you enter your ZIP code, drugs and pharmacies and see every Medicare Advantage and Part D plan available in your county for 2027.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — available 24/7 for plan questions and enrollment.
• Iowa SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) — free, unbiased, one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who do not sell insurance. SHIP counselors can sit down with your ANOC, your drug list and your provider list and walk through your options with you.