Medicare Advantage

What’s Changing in Maine Medicare Advantage for 2027: 14 Plans Leaving, 13 Changing

AUGUSTA, Maine — The 2027 Medicare Advantage lineup in Maine is set, and most parts of the state will see some reshuffling. According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for 2026 and 2027, the number of Medicare Advantage plans offered somewhere in Maine will go from 52 for 2026 to 50 for 2027. Behind that small net change are bigger moving parts: 14 plans leaving, 12 new ones arriving, 13 continuing with at least one difference on file, and 25 continuing unchanged. All 16 Maine counties will see at least one plan leave or change.

Medicare AdvantageMaine

What the statewide numbers mean

The CMS Landscape files list every Medicare Advantage plan offered in each county, each year. Comparing the 2026 file with the 2027 file gives a plan-by-plan picture of what's staying, going, and arriving.

For Maine, counted once statewide no matter how many counties a plan serves:

• Medicare Advantage plans offered in Maine: 52 for 2026, 50 for 2027.
• Leaving for 2027 (offered somewhere in Maine for 2026, nowhere for 2027): 14.
• New for 2027: 12.
• Continuing unchanged into 2027: 25.
• Continuing but changing for 2027: 13.

A plan is "leaving" if it appeared in the 2026 Maine Landscape file and does not appear anywhere in Maine in the 2027 file. A plan is "changing" if it appears in both years but differs in at least one county on premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name. The CMS files do not say why a plan changed, and this article does not characterize what changed or by how much — that is what the ANOC is for.

If your plan is leaving

If your current Medicare Advantage plan is one of the 14 not being offered in Maine in 2027, your carrier is required to send you a non-renewal notice this fall. You will qualify for a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February 2027 to choose another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (with the option to add a stand-alone Part D plan).

You do not have to wait for that SEP. You can also use the Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026, to pick your 2027 coverage, which starts January 1, 2027.

If you take no action and your plan is non-renewing, you will generally be returned to Original Medicare on January 1, 2027. The SEP gives you breathing room to compare options, but acting during AEP keeps coverage seamless on day one.

If your plan is changing

Thirteen plans are being offered in both years but differ in the CMS file in at least one Maine county. The Landscape data flags a difference on premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name — not whether that difference is big or small, and not what caused it.

For the specifics, read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan mails (or posts online) by late September. The ANOC spells out what will be different about your plan on January 1, 2027, compared with what you have today. If you do nothing, you stay enrolled in your plan with those ANOC changes in effect.

If, after reading the ANOC, the plan still fits, you don't need to do anything. If it no longer fits, the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) is your window to switch.

The counties with the most change

Every Maine county — 16 of 16 — will see at least one plan leave or change. These counties stand out on the raw counts in the CMS files:

• Kennebec County: 9 leaving, 8 changing
• Androscoggin County: 9 leaving, 7 changing
• Cumberland County: 9 leaving, 7 changing
• Lincoln County: 10 leaving, 6 changing
• Franklin County: 9 leaving, 6 changing
• Sagadahoc County: 10 leaving, 5 changing
• Waldo County: 10 leaving, 5 changing
• York County: 8 leaving, 7 changing

These are plan counts, not member counts, and a higher count in a county doesn't say anything about which plan is right for any one person. It does tell you that if you live in these counties, there's a reasonable chance your plan — or one you were considering — is affected.

What to do before December 7

A short checklist for the weeks between early fall and the AEP deadline:

1. Watch your mail in September and October for either a non-renewal notice (your plan is leaving) or an Annual Notice of Change (your plan is continuing). 2. If you got an ANOC, read it against how you actually used care in the last year — your doctors, your prescriptions, the pharmacies you use. 3. Check whether your doctors and prescriptions are still covered for 2027 on any plan you're considering. 4. Use the Plan Finder on Medicare.gov to compare 2027 plans in your ZIP code side by side. 5. Make your choice by December 7, 2026, for a January 1, 2027 start. If your plan is non-renewing and you miss AEP, your SEP still runs through the end of February 2027.

Where to get free help

You don't have to sort through this alone, and you don't have to pay anyone to help you.

• Medicare.gov — the official site to compare 2027 plans in your county.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) — available 24/7.
• Maine's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) — free one-on-one counseling from trained local counselors, by phone or in person, with no sales pitch.

The data for this article comes from the CMS MA Landscape Source Files for the current and coming plan year, which CMS publishes each fall alongside Plan Finder.