Blue Cross drops Medicare Advantage plans for 20,000 Massachusetts seniors

About 20,000 seniors in Massachusetts have to find new health coverage for 2027. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is ending several of its Medicare Advantage plans, both HMO and PPO options, and it is sharply limiting how many people can join the plans it keeps ¹. Medicare Advantage plans are private insurance plans paid by the federal government that take the place of traditional Medicare.

The plans being cut are in Middlesex, Essex and Worcester counties ¹. The insurer says very few new members will get into its remaining plans, on a first-come, first-served basis, and it is not keeping a waitlist ¹².

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Blue Cross, a nonprofit, says it lost $275 million on these plans in 2024 and 2025. It says what it costs to care for members has been higher than what the federal government pays it ¹.

We are committed to Medicare Advantage. We are committed to seniors in Massachusetts.

Blue Cross calls the pullback temporary and says it hopes to open its plans to new members again in 2028 ¹². Krista Bowers, a senior vice president at the company, said the losses made it "very challenging for us in some particular markets" ¹.

What it costs the people caught in the middle

Tom Stambaugh, 74, of Somerville, is moving to Original Medicare, the traditional government-run program. To cover copays and prescriptions he has to buy extra coverage, and his total comes to $315 a month. The Boston Globe reports that is a nearly 200 percent jump in one year ¹.

It's a cost issue and it's an inconvenience for my wife and I.

Sharon Kling, 74, of Sutton, is making the same move with her husband. She said they will get "three different bills potentially between Medicare, Medigap, and prescriptions" ¹. Medigap is private supplemental insurance that pays some of the costs Original Medicare leaves to you.

Blue Cross is not the only insurer pulling back in the state. Mass General Brigham Health Plan is ending all of its Medicare Advantage PPO plans for 2027. Point32Health, which owns Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts Health Plan, is ending one PPO plan. Mass Advantage in Worcester County is leaving Medicare Advantage completely and shutting down, citing "significant changes in the Medicare landscape" ¹.

A national retreat, after a federal raise

The Massachusetts cuts are part of a wider pullback. Humana says its 2027 plan exits will affect about 600,000 members, and UnitedHealthcare says about 390,000 of its members are in plans being discontinued ⁷. KFF, an independent health research group, found that 193 counties will have no Medicare Advantage drug plans open to general enrollment in 2027, up from 123 this year. The beneficiaries in those counties comprise 1 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries, or 638,000 people ⁴.

The exits are happening even though the federal government is paying these insurers more. On April 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that runs Medicare, finalized an average 2.48 percent raise for Medicare Advantage plans in 2027. That comes to more than $13 billion in extra payments ⁵.

These updates keep coverage affordable and ensure patients get real value from their plans.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said the final rate was higher than what CMS first proposed and amounted to a reversal on promises to crack down on overpayments to insurers ⁶. Wyden said the administration had "once again sided with big insurance companies at the expense of seniors" ⁶.

Republicans have once again reversed course and proven whose side they are really on.

Families USA, a consumer health advocacy group, called the 2027 increase "a big giveaway" that could have gone toward "bolstering benefits in Medicare for all seniors and people with disabilities," according to Common Dreams ³.

That matters because more than half of all people eligible for Medicare are now in Medicare Advantage ¹. When insurers exit a market, the retirees are the ones left to find new coverage.

What to do before Dec. 7

Medicare's annual open enrollment runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2026 ². If your Blue Cross plan is ending, you have to pick a new Medicare option before your current plan ends. If your plan is continuing, you will be re-enrolled automatically ². Blue Cross says its own Medigap plans have no enrollment limits for 2027 ².

If your Medicare Advantage plan is ending and you switch to Original Medicare, you have a guaranteed right to buy a Medigap policy without a medical review. That window opens 60 days before your plan coverage ends and closes 63 days after ⁸. The right applies only if you go back to Original Medicare, not if you join another Medicare Advantage plan ⁸. Rules can differ by state, so check with your state's Medicare counseling program before you sign anything.

The Record

1. Apr 6, 2026CMS finalizes a 2.48 percent average raise, more than $13 billion, in 2027 payments to Medicare Advantage plans ⁵.
2. Apr 7, 2026Sen. Ron Wyden says the Trump administration sided with insurance companies by reversing course on Medicare Advantage rates ⁶.
3. Oct 9, 2026KFF reports 193 counties will have no Medicare Advantage drug plans open to general enrollment in 2027, up from 123 ⁴.
4. Oct 23, 2026Humana and UnitedHealthcare say plan exits will affect about 1 million Medicare Advantage members in 2027 ⁷.
5. Oct 26, 2026The Boston Globe reports Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is ending several Medicare Advantage plans, affecting about 20,000 seniors ¹.

Sources

1. The Boston Globe, “Blue Cross eliminates several Medicare Advantage plans, affecting 20,000 seniors” (2026-10-26). bostonglobe.com/2026/10/26/business/blue-cross-medicare-adva
2. Hoodline, “Blue Cross Cuts Medicare Advantage Plans in Massachusetts” (2026-10-26). hoodline.com/2026/10/blue-cross-cuts-medicare-advantage-plan
3. Common Dreams, “Over a Million Seniors Sent Scrambling as Medicare Advantage Giants Slash Plans Under Trump” (2026-10-26). commondreams.org/news/medicare-advantage-plans-canceled
4. KFF, “Medicare Advantage Plan Availability Varies Widely by County for 2027” (2026-10-09). kff.org/medicare/medicare-advantage-plan-availability-varies
5. CMS, “CMS Finalizes 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Payment Policies that Strengthen Accountability and Long-Term Sustainability” (2026-04-06). cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-finalizes-2027-medicare-
6. Senate Finance Committee, “Wyden Statement on Trump Admin Reversing Course on Medicare Advantage Rates” (2026-04-07). finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-statement-on-t
7. CBS News, “Humana, UnitedHealthcare ending Medicare Advantage plans for 1 million seniors, insurers say” (2026-10-23). cbsnews.com/news/humana-unitedhealthcare-end-medicare-advant
8. Medical News Today, “Medicare guaranteed issue rights”. medicalnewstoday.com/articles/medicare-guaranteed-issue

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