Medicare Advantage

What’s Changing in Ohio Medicare Advantage for 2027: 63 Plans Leaving, 55 Changing

COLUMBUS — Ohio's Medicare Advantage menu is shifting again for the 2027 plan year. According to the federal Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files for CY2026 and CY2027, the state will go from 212 Medicare Advantage plans available somewhere in Ohio in 2026 to 180 in 2027. Behind that net change are 63 plans leaving the state, 55 plans changing in at least one county, 31 brand-new plans, and 94 plans continuing unchanged. Every one of Ohio's 88 counties will see at least one plan leave or change.

Medicare AdvantageOhio

Here is what that means for Ohio members, and what to do between now and December 7, 2026.

What the statewide numbers mean

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes a Landscape file every fall listing each Medicare Advantage plan offered in each county. Comparing the CY2026 file to the CY2027 file produces the statewide picture: 212 plans in 2026, 180 in 2027. Each plan is counted once statewide, no matter how many Ohio counties it serves.

A plan is counted as "leaving" if it was offered somewhere in Ohio for 2026 and nowhere in Ohio for 2027 — 63 plans fit that definition. A plan is counted as "changing" if it is offered in both years but differs on premium, drug deductible, plan type, or plan name in at least one county — 55 plans fit that definition. The remaining 94 plans continue unchanged in the file, and 31 plans are new for 2027.

Two carriers have no Ohio plans listed for 2027: Paramount Elite Medicare Plans and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan. One carrier is new to Ohio for 2027: American Health Advantage of Indiana.

If your plan is leaving

If your current Medicare Advantage plan is among the 63 not returning to Ohio for 2027, you will receive a non-renewal notice from your carrier. You do not lose Medicare — you keep Parts A and B — but you do need to make a new coverage choice.

You get two windows to act. The first is the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), October 15 through December 7, 2026, during which anyone with Medicare can enroll in or switch Medicare Advantage and Part D plans for a January 1, 2027 start. The second is a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for members whose plan is not renewed; that SEP runs through the end of February 2027. During the SEP, you can pick another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare and add a stand-alone Part D plan.

If you do nothing and your plan is leaving, you are not automatically moved into a similar plan by CMS — your Medicare Advantage coverage ends when the plan does. That is why the non-renewal letter is important to open as soon as it arrives.

If your plan is changing

If your plan is among the 55 changing for 2027, it will still be offered — but something in the CMS file is different in at least one county. That is where the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) comes in. Your carrier is required to send the ANOC in the fall; it spells out exactly what is different for 2027 compared with 2026.

Read it line by line. The ANOC is the authoritative document for your specific plan in your specific county. If you do nothing, you stay enrolled in the renewing plan with the changes described in that ANOC taking effect January 1, 2027. If, after reading it, you want to switch, you can do so during the AEP through December 7, 2026.

Counties with the most change

All 88 Ohio counties see at least one plan leave or change for 2027. The counties with the highest counts in the CMS file are concentrated in Northeast Ohio:

• Cuyahoga County: 31 leaving, 31 changing
• Summit County: 30 leaving, 32 changing
• Medina County: 30 leaving, 31 changing
• Portage County: 31 leaving, 30 changing
• Lorain County: 31 leaving, 28 changing
• Mahoning County: 31 leaving, 28 changing
• Geauga County: 30 leaving, 28 changing
• Lake County: 29 leaving, 29 changing

These are counts of plans in each county's slice of the Landscape file, not a measure of how many people are affected.

What to do before December 7

A simple checklist for Ohio members:

1. Watch your mail in September and October 2026 for the ANOC (if your plan is renewing) or a non-renewal notice (if your plan is leaving). 2. Confirm your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies for 2027, and check that your prescriptions are still covered the way you expect. 3. If you want to make a change, do it between October 15 and December 7, 2026, for a January 1, 2027 effective date. 4. If your plan is not renewed and you miss December 7, use the Special Enrollment Period through the end of February 2027. 5. Keep copies of any confirmation numbers from enrollment calls or online submissions.

Where to get free help

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

• Medicare.gov has the official Plan Finder, where you can enter your ZIP code and prescriptions to see every plan available to you for 2027.
• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Ohio's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), known in Ohio as OSHIIP, offers free one-on-one counseling from trained volunteers who do not sell insurance.