Medicare Advantage

11 Durham Medicare Advantage plans won't be back in 2027: how to tell if yours is one

For 2027, Durham is looking at 69 Medicare Advantage plans: 6 new, 11 gone since 2026, and 25 still here but changed on premium, deductible, plan type or name, 9 of them under a new name. Below, how the lineup shifted in Durham County and what to compare, with no plan ranked or recommended.

Durham, N.C. — Fall 2026. Eleven Medicare Advantage plans sold in Durham County this year are not on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' 2027 landscape file for the county, which means members of those plans will need to pick something else for next year. The notice arrives by mail, and the window to act is wider than the regular enrollment period.

Durham is in Durham County, where CMS lists 74 Medicare Advantage plans from 12 carriers for 2026 and 69 plans from 11 carriers for 2027. The 11 plans below are the ones offered in 2026 that are not returning for 2027.

Which Durham Medicare Advantage plans are not returning for 2027?

Based on the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for 2026 and 2027, these 11 plans are offered in Durham County for 2026 and are not on the 2027 file for the county:

• Aetna (CVS Health) — Aetna Medicare Signature Care (HMO)
• Centene (WellCare) — Wellcare Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• Centene (WellCare) — Wellcare Giveback Open (PPO)
• Experience Health — Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO)
• HealthSpring — HealthSpring Preferred Plus (HMO)
• HealthSpring — HealthSpring Preferred Select (HMO)
• Humana — HumanaChoice H5525-050 (PPO)
• Humana — HumanaChoice H5525-083 (PPO)
• UnitedHealthcare — AARP Medicare Advantage Access from UHC NC-23 (PPO)
• UnitedHealthcare — UHC Dual Complete NC-D001 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• UnitedHealthcare — UHC Dual Complete NC-S3 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

If your plan is not on this list, it is expected to renew for 2027 — but it may still change benefits, costs or network. Those changes are described in your plan's Annual Notice of Change.

How can I tell if my Durham plan is one of the 11 not returning for 2027?

Your plan is required to mail you a non-renewal notice (sometimes called a "plan termination letter") by early October 2026. If you are a member of one of the 11 plans listed above, watch your mail — it will be a plain envelope from your current carrier, not from Medicare.

The letter will say the plan will not be offered in 2027, that your coverage ends December 31, 2026, and that you have a Special Enrollment Period to choose something new. It will also list a few of the carrier's other plans you could switch into, but you are not required to pick one of those; you can choose any plan available in Durham County, from any carrier.

If you are not sure whether a letter you received is a non-renewal, call the number on the back of your member ID card, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048).

What happens if I do nothing after my Durham Advantage plan ends?

If you are in one of the 11 non-renewed plans and you make no choice by December 31, 2026, you are automatically moved to Original Medicare — Part A (hospital) and Part B (medical) — on January 1, 2027. You are not left uninsured, but there are two things to know:

1. Original Medicare does not include prescription drug coverage. If you want Part D, you must enroll in a stand-alone Part D plan. 2. Original Medicare has no annual out-of-pocket maximum. Many people pair it with a Medicare Supplement (Medigap) policy to cover the coinsurance.

Doing nothing is a valid choice for some people, but it is a choice — not a continuation of what you had.

What is the Special Enrollment Period for a non-renewed plan in 2027?

Members of a Medicare Advantage plan that is not being renewed get a Special Enrollment Period that runs from the time of the notice through February 28, 2027. During that window you can:

• Enroll in a different Medicare Advantage plan offered in Durham County for 2027 (the table below lists every plan), or
• Return to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan.

You also have a federal Medigap guaranteed-issue right triggered by the non-renewal. That means for a limited time you can buy certain Medicare Supplement policies without medical underwriting — insurers cannot turn you down or charge you more because of health history. The specific plans you qualify for, and the exact window, are set by federal rules and administered under North Carolina law; the North Carolina Department of Insurance can confirm the state-specific details.

If you simply want to pick a new Advantage plan during the regular season, the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) also works, and the new coverage starts January 1, 2027.

What else is changing about Medicare in 2027?

A few program-level numbers are already set by CMS for 2027:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap rises to $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible rises to $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• The Part D national base beneficiary premium is $41.33 for 2027 — that is a formula input, not what any plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet; CMS typically publishes them in November. The coverage gap (the old "donut hole") remains eliminated, and the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan — the optional way to spread drug costs over the year in level monthly payments — is still available.

For Durham County overall, CMS lists 69 Medicare Advantage plans from 11 carriers for 2027, with 6 new plans and 9 renamed plans in addition to the 11 that are not returning. If your plan is renaming or changing, the specifics will be in your Annual Notice of Change.