If your Medicare Advantage plan is not offered in 2027
732 Medicare Advantage plans (2,391,523 members in September 2026) and 32 stand-alone drug plans (1,182,209 members) offered in 2026 are not offered in 2027, according to the CMS plan crosswalk of October 1, 2026. If yours is one of them, its coverage ends December 31, 2026: choose a new plan between October 15 and December 31 to have no gap; a special period lets you still join until the end of February, with coverage from the first of the next month.
How do you know whether your plan ends?
Your plan must send you a notice that it is leaving. You can also type the plan ID from your card into the lookup: a plan that ends carries a “Not offered in 2027” stamp and lists the counties where its members lived.
What are your choices, and by when?
- October 15 to December 7, 2026
- Join another Medicare Advantage plan, or Original Medicare with a drug plan. Coverage starts January 1, 2027.
- December 8, 2026 to the end of February 2027
- A special enrollment period because the plan is leaving: you can still join a plan, but coverage starts the first day of the month after you join, so choose by December 31 to have no gap.
- If you choose nothing
- You move to Original Medicare when the plan ends, without a drug plan unless you join one (with Extra Help or full Medicaid, Medicare enrolls you in one).
- Without a drug plan
- Going 63 days or more in a row without drug coverage can mean a late enrollment penalty if you join a drug plan later; joining by the end of February keeps a January and February gap under 63 days, waiting longer does not.
Source: Medicare.gov, “Special enrollment periods” and “Joining a plan” (read Oct. 7, 2026).
What if your plan folds into another plan?
328 plans of 2026 are consolidated into other plans for 2027. Their members are moved automatically into the new plan, but only where the new plan is sold; members who live in a county it does not serve lose their coverage on December 31, 2026 and choose a new plan, by December 31 to have no gap, with the same special period to the end of February. Each plan's page says which of its counties move and which do not.
What help do you have?
- If you choose Original Medicare
- When your Medicare Advantage plan leaves Medicare or stops serving your area: you have a guaranteed right to buy Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F, G, K or L sold in your state by any insurance company; if you were new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020, Plans D and G take the place of C and F. Apply from 60 days before to 63 days after the plan ends; the policy starts once your Medicare Advantage coverage ends. Other Medigap plans are not covered by this right.
- If you have Medicaid or Extra Help
- You can switch to a different drug plan, or leave a Medicare Advantage plan for Original Medicare with a drug plan, once a calendar month; the change starts the first day of the next month.
- If your drug plan ends and you get Extra Help
- Medicare reassigns you to a new drug plan for 2027 unless you join one yourself; a blue notice arrives in late October.
- If your stand-alone drug plan ends
- You keep Original Medicare but lose drug coverage on December 31, 2026 unless you join another drug plan; 63 days or more without drug coverage can mean a late enrollment penalty later.
- Free one-on-one help
- Your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free, unbiased counseling on Medicare choices; 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) answers questions too.
Source: Medicare.gov, “When can I buy a Medigap policy?”, “Special enrollment periods”, “Reassignment notice: plan termination” and “How much does Medicare drug coverage cost?” (read Oct. 7, 2026).
Whose ending plans have the most members?
| Parent company | Medicare Advantage plans that end | Drug plans that end | Members, Sept. 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVS Health Corporation | 98 | 13 | 1,178,554 |
| Humana Inc. | 62 | 0 | 409,202 |
| UnitedHealth Group, Inc. | 83 | 0 | 382,434 |
| Health Care Service Corporation | 87 | 16 | 308,170 |
| Aware Integrated, Inc. | 8 | 0 | 251,077 |
| Centene Corporation | 88 | 0 | 130,196 |
| Molina Healthcare, Inc. | 28 | 0 | 87,532 |
| Lifetime Healthcare, Inc. | 10 | 0 | 72,402 |
| Providence St Joseph Health | 8 | 0 | 53,246 |
| Elevance Health, Inc. | 39 | 0 | 50,715 |
Source: CMS plan crosswalk from 2026 to 2027 (Oct. 1, 2026); CMS monthly enrollment by plan and by county, September 2026 (CMS hides counts under 11).
What else should you check?
- Find your plan by its IDRenews, folds or ends
- Plans in your county for 2027What you can join instead
- Every plan that endsBy company and state