Nearly 1 Million Seniors Must Pick New Medicare Advantage Plans

About 990,000 seniors will have to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan for 2027 after UnitedHealthcare and Humana said they will end some of their plans at the close of this year.

Humana accounts for the larger share. About 600,000 of its members are affected, a figure the company put at about 8 percent of its Medicare Advantage enrollment. Humana finance chief Celeste Mellet gave that share on the company July earnings call. UnitedHealthcare accounts for about 390,000 members. Spokesperson Eric Hausman confirmed that number to reporters.

The plans at issue end on December 31, 2026. Both companies say most affected members will be offered an alternative plan from the same company. An offer is not the same as the same coverage. Monthly costs, doctor networks and drug coverage can differ from one plan to the next, so members need to compare the replacement offer with other options before they decide.

Why the plans are ending

Both insurers point to higher costs and increased use of care by members. When members use more care and that care costs more, some plans stop working on the rates the companies set for them. Rather than keep every plan in every county, the insurers are pulling back from the plans and places where the numbers no longer hold.

The pullback reaches well beyond these two companies. Reporting from KFF Health News and NPR found that more than 40 states will lose some Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Nearly 200 counties, most of them rural, may have no Medicare Advantage options at all. In the wider reporting, at least 2 million seniors had received non-renewal notices by October 1. That 2 million figure covers the whole market. The roughly 990,000 figure in this story covers UnitedHealthcare and Humana alone, and the two numbers should not be mixed.

What affected seniors can do

Medicare annual open enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026. During that window, affected members can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare. Consumer guidance reporting warns that members who miss the deadline can face gaps in drug coverage, so the date matters even for people who plan to accept the replacement plan from their current insurer.

Members should check three things before they choose. First, whether their doctors and hospitals sit inside the new plan network. Second, whether their regular medicines stay covered and at what cost. Third, what the total yearly cost looks like once premiums, copays and deductibles are added together. A plan with a lower premium can still cost more across a year of care.

Why it matters

Medicare Advantage now covers a large share of older Americans, and for many members the plan is how they book doctors, fill prescriptions and pay for hospital care. A non-renewal notice is therefore not a routine letter. For a senior in a rural county where no Medicare Advantage plan remains, the choice may narrow to Original Medicare alone. For others, a rushed switch can mean a new network and new rules for care they already receive.

What happens next

Enrollment decisions made this fall take effect for 2027 coverage, and the ending plans stop on December 31, 2026. Members who received a notice should use the weeks before December 7 to compare plans, confirm their doctors and medicines, and enroll on time. State health insurance assistance programs and the Medicare plan finder can help members compare options at no charge.