Medicare Advantage

Got a Cleveland non-renewal letter? Here's your next step

People in Cleveland can choose from 99 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, against 112 this year. 31 of this year’s plans are gone, 18 are new to Cuyahoga County, and 37 that continue have changed their premium, deductible, plan type or name, 6 of them under a new name.

CLEVELAND — If you opened your mail this fall and found a letter saying your Medicare Advantage plan will not be offered next year, you are not alone. In Cuyahoga County, the county Cleveland sits in, 31 Medicare Advantage plans listed for 2026 are not returning for 2027, according to a comparison of the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for both years. The letter you received is called a non-renewal notice, and it sets a clear path — and a special deadline — for what to do next.

How to tell if your plan is leaving

By law, a Medicare Advantage carrier that is not renewing a plan has to send members a non-renewal letter — sometimes called a plan termination notice — in early fall. It usually arrives in October and spells out two things: that your current plan ends December 31, 2026, and that you have a Special Enrollment Period to pick something else.

If you cannot find the letter, two quick checks help:

• Compare the plan name on your member ID card to the list in the table below.
• Call the member services number on the back of your card and ask, "Is my plan being offered in Cuyahoga County for 2027?"

You can also look up your plan on medicare.gov using the Plan Finder, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Cleveland-area plans not returning for 2027

The table below lists every non-renewing plan in Cuyahoga County, by carrier. These are plans offered in 2026 that do not appear in CMS's 2027 Landscape file for the county. Multiple carriers have plans on the list, and many of them are Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) for people with both Medicare and Medicaid.

Carriers with plans not returning include Aetna (CVS Health), Centene (WellCare), Communicare Advantage, Devoted Health, HealthSpring, Humana, Medical Mutual of Ohio, SummaCare, The Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare. A plan being discontinued is not a judgment on the plan — carriers reshape their lineups every year, and 18 new plans and 6 renamed plans are also being filed in the county for 2027.

If your plan is not on the list, it is renewing for 2027. In that case, read the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) your plan sent in late September — it details what is changing in your benefits, drug list, network and costs.

What happens if you do nothing

Here is the part many Cleveland readers ask about: nothing bad happens overnight, but something does happen.

• On January 1, 2027, if your Medicare Advantage plan is non-renewing and you have not picked a new plan, you are automatically returned to Original Medicare (Part A hospital and Part B medical).
• You will not automatically have Part D prescription drug coverage. That is the gap to watch. Without a Part D plan — either standalone or built into a new Medicare Advantage plan — you could face a late enrollment penalty later and pay full price at the pharmacy in the meantime.
• Your Medicare Advantage extras (things like routine dental, vision, fitness or over-the-counter benefits) end with the plan.

Original Medicare on its own has no yearly out-of-pocket cap, which is why most people pair it with either a standalone Part D plan plus a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy, or choose a new Medicare Advantage plan.

Your choices and your Special Enrollment Period

Because your plan is ending through no fault of yours, Medicare gives you a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) that is wider than the normal Annual Enrollment window. It runs from December 8, 2026 through February 28, 2027. During that SEP, you can:

• Enroll in another Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage).
• Enroll in a standalone Part D prescription drug plan and stay on Original Medicare.
• Switch to Original Medicare and apply for a Medigap policy.

You can also act during the Annual Enrollment Period (October 15 – December 7, 2026) for a January 1, 2027 start date — many people choose this route so there is no coverage gap.

A note on Medigap: involuntary loss of your Medicare Advantage plan can trigger a federal guaranteed-issue right, meaning certain Medigap policies must be sold to you without medical underwriting within a set window. The specific plans and the exact timeline for Ohio residents are set by state rules — call the Ohio Department of Insurance or 1-800-MEDICARE to confirm which Medigap options apply to your situation before you shop.

A few program-level numbers for 2027

Two Part D figures CMS has already confirmed for next year:

• The Part D out-of-pocket cap will be $2,400 in 2027 (up from $2,100 in 2026).
• The Part D maximum deductible will be $700 in 2027 (up from $615 in 2026).

The 2027 Part B standard premium, Part B deductible and IRMAA income brackets have not been announced yet. CMS typically publishes them in the fall, usually in November. Treat any number you see before then as an estimate.