Humana and UnitedHealthcare are dropping some of their Medicare Advantage plans next year. Together, the cuts end coverage for about 1 million people aged 65 and older, CBS News reported on Oct. 23 1. Humana's exits affect about 600,000 members. UnitedHealthcare is closing a plan with about 390,000 members 1.
Medicare Advantage is the private-insurance version of Medicare. A company like Humana takes federal money to cover your care in place of traditional Medicare. It usually comes with a network of doctors and extras such as dental and vision coverage 2. About 35 million people are enrolled 3.
Humana said most of its affected members will be offered a different plan. UnitedHealthcare said its members can switch to another of its Medicare Advantage plans, and it blamed higher costs and heavier use of care, pressures it said are hitting the whole health industry 1.
Much bigger than two companies
The two insurers are only part of the picture. About 2.9 million seniors were in plans that closed last year. Early estimates for the coming year run from 3.2 million to 5 million people who will have to choose new coverage 3.
In 193 counties, most of them rural, no Medicare Advantage plans will be offered at all in 2027. That is up from about 120 counties last year, according to KFF, a nonprofit health research group 3. Big metro areas are losing plans too. Dallas, Minneapolis, Seattle, Houston and Portland will each have a quarter to a third fewer plans 3.
Medicare is also letting insurers cap enrollment in some plans for the first time. That means the plan you want may already be full 3. In Minnesota, where a regional insurer called UCare collapsed and at least 160,000 people had to find new coverage, the woman who runs a state help line for older people described the scene this way 6:
I don’t know any other way to describe it other than total chaos.
PBS NewsHour talked with Bob Heffernan of Vermont. Both of his Medicare Advantage plans left the state, so he went back to traditional Medicare. He now pays separately for a Medigap supplemental policy, drug coverage, and dental and vision care 2.
What the administration promised
On Sept. 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that runs Medicare, put out a press release titled "Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Programs Expected to Remain Stable in 2027" 5. It said average Medicare Advantage premiums will fall 16.5%, from $14.37 to $12.00 a month. It also said more than 99% of people on Medicare will have at least one plan to choose from 5. The agency's head, Dr. Mehmet Oz, said:
CMS is fighting to keep high-quality care options affordable and accessible for the millions of beneficiaries
The release also predicted that Medicare Advantage enrollment will drop to about 34 million, or 47.4% of people on Medicare 5. Insurer projections put that at roughly 2 million fewer people 4.
Here is what the premium figure leaves out. Healthcare Dive, a trade publication, found that the average out-of-pocket maximum, the most a plan can make you pay in a year, is going up 10%. Average deductibles for Part D, Medicare's drug coverage, are going up 30% 4. At UnitedHealthcare, premiums are rising 9% and the out-of-pocket limit is rising 11% 4.
That matters because a lower monthly premium does little for a retiree with cancer or heart disease if the yearly cap on what they owe jumps by hundreds of dollars. One woman PBS interviewed, Diane Payne, is worried about rising dental, vision and out-of-pocket costs after a breast cancer diagnosis 2.
The fix depends on where you live
In New Hampshire, Gov. Kelly Ayotte announced on Oct. 22 that a company called Devoted Health will sell 2027 plans in Coös and Carroll counties starting Nov. 1. She credited her work with CMS 8. She thanked Oz and said:
This collaboration is helping Medicare beneficiaries in our North Country access the care and coverage they need
The pattern is a one-county-at-a-time rescue for a nationwide problem. New Hampshire's own insurance department says it does not set federal Medicare Advantage payment levels or make insurers offer plans. The companies decide where to sell coverage 8.
Democrats argue the program itself needs repair. On July 1, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas and 44 other Democrats introduced the Saving MEDICARE Act. The bill would go after billing practices that its sponsors say inflate payments to insurers and end Medicare Advantage's quality bonus program 7. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress, projects that Medicare Advantage will cost $2,660 more per enrollee in 2026 than traditional Medicare 7.
Despite their early claims of greater efficiency and lower costs, Medicare Advantage has never saved a penny.
Insurers and their allies are making their own case before the election. A poll paid for by Medicare Advantage Majority, a group that backs the program, found that three in four voters 65 and older would be less likely to support a member of Congress who voted to cut Medicare Advantage funding 9.
If you got a letter
Plans that are closing should have mailed letters in the first week of October. Open enrollment runs through Dec. 7. If your plan is ending, you have until Feb. 28, 2027, to pick a new one, but you must sign up by Dec. 31 for coverage to start Jan. 1 3. If you don't choose, you will be in traditional Medicare on Jan. 1 3.
Traditional Medicare generally pays 80% of covered services. It has no yearly out-of-pocket limit and doesn't cover dental, vision or hearing 2. Normally, Medigap insurers can turn you down or charge more because of a pre-existing condition 2. If your plan is ending, though, you can switch to traditional Medicare with a Medigap policy without the usual restrictions 3.
The Record
- Rep. Lloyd Doggett and 44 other Democrats introduce the Saving MEDICARE Act, which they say would cut overpayments to Medicare Advantage insurers 7
- CMS says Medicare Advantage and drug plans are expected to remain stable in 2027 and that average premiums will fall 16.5% 5
- Medicare open enrollment begins, with 193 counties set to have no Medicare Advantage plans in 2027 3
- New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte announces Devoted Health plans for Coös and Carroll counties starting Nov. 1 8
- Humana and UnitedHealthcare confirm 2027 plan exits affecting about 1 million seniors 1
Sources
- 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
- PBS NewsHour, “Medicare Advantage cuts leave millions scrambling to find coverage” (2026-10-23). pbs.org/newshour/show/medicare-advantage-cuts-leave-millions
- NPR (via KNPR), “Is your Medicare Advantage plan ending next year? Here's what to know” (2026-10-24). knpr.org/npr/2026-10-24/is-your-medicare-advantage-plan-endi
- Healthcare Dive, “Here's how much insurers are cutting Medicare Advantage plans for 2027” (2026-09-29). healthcaredive.com/news/medicare-advantage-cuts-2027-cms-lan
- CMS, “Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Programs Expected to Remain Stable in 2027” (2026-09-28). cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/medicare-advantage-medicare-
- Tradeoffs / An Arm and a Leg, “Medicare Plans Keep Disappearing” (2026-10-22). tradeoffs.org/2026/10/22/medicare-plans-keep-disappearing/
- Office of Rep. Lloyd Doggett, “Democrats Introduce Saving MEDICARE Act to Stop Insurers' Profiteering Off Medicare” (2026-07-01). doggett.house.gov/media/press-releases/democrats-introduce-s
- InDepthNH.org, “Ayotte: Medicare Advantage 2027 Plans Available Nov. 1 for Coös, Carroll Counties” (2026-10-22). indepthnh.org/2026/10/22/ayotte-says-medicare-advantage-2027
- Alabama Political Reporter, “Seniors say Medicare Advantage cuts could influence their votes” (2026-10-15). alreporter.com/2026/10/15/seniors-say-medicare-advantage-cut
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