Medicare Advantage

Got a Medicare non-renewal letter in Raleigh? Here is what it means for 2027

People in Raleigh can choose from 63 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 77 this year. 19 of this year’s plans are gone, 5 are new to Wake County, and 35 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 15 of them under a new name.

RALEIGH, N.C. — If you opened the mail this fall and found a letter saying your Medicare Advantage plan will not be offered in 2027, you are not alone. In Wake County, which includes Raleigh, 19 Medicare Advantage plans listed for 2026 are not in the CMS 2027 file, according to the Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files. Carriers are required to send a written non-renewal notice to the people enrolled in those plans, and you have time and options to act.

How to tell if your plan is one of the 19

Plans that are leaving are required to send a notice, often called a non-renewal letter or a plan termination notice, by early October. It will say your plan will not be offered in your area in 2027 and that your coverage ends December 31, 2026.

If you cannot find the letter, check the plans listed in the table below. In Wake County, the following Advantage plans in 2026 are not in the 2027 CMS file, listed in alphabetical order by carrier:

• Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna Medicare Signature Care (HMO)
• Alignment Health Plan: Alignment Health Platinum (HMO)
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina: Blue Medicare Choice (HMO)
• Centene (WellCare): Wellcare Dual Access (HMO-POS D-SNP); Wellcare Giveback Open (PPO)
• Experience Health: Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO)
• HealthSpring: HealthSpring Courage (HMO); HealthSpring Preferred (HMO); HealthSpring Preferred Plus (HMO); HealthSpring Preferred Savings (HMO); HealthSpring Preferred Select (HMO); HealthSpring TotalCare (HMO D-SNP); HealthSpring TotalCare Plus (HMO D-SNP); HealthSpring True Choice (PPO)
• Humana: HumanaChoice H5525-050 (PPO); HumanaChoice H5525-083 (PPO)
• UnitedHealthcare: AARP Medicare Advantage Access from UHC NC-23 (PPO); UHC Dual Complete NC-D001 (HMO-POS D-SNP); UHC Dual Complete NC-S3 (HMO-POS D-SNP)

If your plan name is not on that list, your plan is likely renewing for 2027, and you should still read your Annual Notice of Change (ANOC), which spells out what is different next year.

What happens if you do nothing

If your plan is on the non-renewal list and you take no action, your Advantage coverage ends December 31, 2026. On January 1, 2027, you move to Original Medicare (Part A and Part B). That is a real safety net — you will have hospital and medical coverage — but two things are worth knowing:

• Original Medicare does not include Part D drug coverage. If you want help paying for prescriptions, you need to join a stand-alone Part D plan.
• Original Medicare has deductibles and coinsurance with no yearly out-of-pocket cap on its own. Many people pair it with a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy to limit those costs.

Your choices and the Special Enrollment Period

You have two overlapping windows:

• The Annual Enrollment Period, October 15 – December 7, 2026. Any Advantage or Part D plan you choose in this window starts January 1, 2027.
• A Special Enrollment Period for people whose plan is non-renewed. It runs from December 8, 2026 through the end of February 2027 and lets you pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or a stand-alone Part D plan. A plan chosen in this window generally starts the first day of the month after you enroll.

Your main options are:

• Pick another Medicare Advantage plan offered in Wake County for 2027. CMS lists 63 Advantage plans from 9 carriers for the county next year.
• Join Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan.
• Add a Medigap policy to Original Medicare. A plan non-renewal triggers a federal guaranteed-issue right, which means certain Medigap policies must be sold to you without medical underwriting during a limited window. North Carolina has its own rules on which plans and which timing; the N.C. Department of Insurance is the right source for the state-specific details.

The 2027 numbers it helps to know

A few program-level figures are already set for 2027 and are useful as you compare plans:

• Part D out-of-pocket cap: $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• Part D maximum deductible: $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).
• Part D national base beneficiary premium: $41.33 for 2027. That is a formula input used across the program, not what any one plan charges.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, have not been announced yet. CMS usually publishes them later in the fall.

How to compare plans without guessing

Plan details — premiums, copays, drug lists, provider networks and star ratings — change each year and vary person by person. The most reliable ways to check them for your situation are:

• The Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. You can enter your ZIP code, your prescriptions and your preferred pharmacies, and see every 2027 plan available in Wake County.
• 1-800-MEDICARE, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• The plan's own Evidence of Coverage, Summary of Benefits and provider directory, which the carrier can send you.

If keeping a specific doctor, hospital or medication matters most, check that first before anything else.