Is My Medicare Advantage Plan Going Away? Which Insurers Are Leaving Counties for 2027 (2026)
The short answer
The letter comes in the fall, and nobody asks your mom first.
Here is the short version. Her plan may be leaving her county, and the letter will say so. For 2027, KFF counts UnitedHealth Group leaving 228 counties and entering 9.
She still has time. Open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7.
An insurer picked which counties were worth it. Your mom got a letter, not a vote.
That is the whole post. The rest is the proof.
What this guide answers
Is your mom's Medicare Advantage plan really going away?
Quick answer: maybe. It depends on her plan and her county. Her plan sends the letter that tells her, and it comes in October.
Your mom calls after supper. She has a letter from her plan. Her voice goes small when she gets to the part about next year.
If her plan is leaving, that letter has a name. It is the Plan Non-Renewal Notice. The page for it says what it means: "You must look for a new plan for coverage next year."
There is a second letter, and it is the gentler one. The Annual Notice of Change comes in September. It lists what changes in January.
So the first job is small. Find out which letter is on her counter.
This button books twenty minutes on video with me, about building something in your own name. It is not about her plan.
Twenty minutes, and you decide nothing on the call
Working out what comes next? Book the twenty minutes. I will answer whatever you ask.
You can always say no.If it is the non-renewal letter, your mom is far from alone. KFF went through the 2027 plan files. It found 193 counties with no plan of this kind, with drug coverage, open to everyone next year. In 2026 it was 123. About 638,000 people on Medicare live there.
Who decided her county was not worth it?
Quick answer: the insurer did. KFF counts UnitedHealth Group leaving 228 counties, and the company's own report shows fewer seniors and a bigger margin.
These plans are sold one county at a time. Each year, the insurers pick where to sell.
KFF lists the likely factors. The last one is "the insurers' assessment of profitability." In plain words, is the county worth it to them?
UnitedHealth Group is one of the two biggest sellers of these plans. For 2027, KFF counts it leaving 228 counties and moving into 9. It sold in nearly 80% of counties in 2026. Next year it is about 70%.
Now look at its own words. Its third quarter report came out on October 13, 2026. It says the seniors it serves through Medicare Advantage "have contracted by 935,000 since year-end 2025." That means 935,000 fewer.
The same report says its insurance side kept 3.3 cents of each dollar, up from 2.1 cents a year before. Its reasons include "benefit changes and pricing discipline."
Fewer seniors, and a fatter margin. And so a county becomes a number on a page, and then a letter on your mom's counter.
These are the biggest exits in KFF's count. KFF only charted insurers whose changes touch at least 50 counties, so a smaller exit will not show here. Her card may show a brand name, not the parent. Call the number on her card and ask who runs the plan.
| Parent company | Counties it leaves for 2027 | Counties it moves into |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care Service Corporation | 498 | none |
| Centene | 359 | 15 |
| UnitedHealth Group | 228 | 9 |
| CVS Health | 186 | 63 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan | 177 | 1 |
| Group 1001 (Clear Spring Health) | 138, all of them | none |
| Molina Healthcare | 75, all of them | none, though Molina still offers special needs plans in many counties |
| Elevance Health | 66 | 10 |
| Humana | 62 | 4 |
KFF counted only plans with drug coverage that anyone can buy. Nobody mails your mom that table. Keep this one by the phone.
Isn't this just how insurance works?
Quick answer: partly. Plenty of counties keep plenty of plans, and the rules give her time to switch.
You might be thinking her county still has lots of plans. That is fair, and it may.
KFF says the average person on Medicare can pick from 28 of these plans in 2027. Humana still sells them in about 80% of counties. Devoted Health is moving into 342 counties and leaving none.
So the average is not the problem. The average does not live in her county.
And the rules give her a window. Open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. A new plan starts January 1.
Is her plan's deal with Medicare not being renewed? Then the same site lists one more window, from December 8 to the last day of February. If your mom picks nothing before her plan ends, she is put in Original Medicare.
And this post will not save her plan. Nothing I do touches Medicare, and I will not pretend it does.
What should your mom do with the letter this week?
Quick answer: find the letter, look up her county, and call her state's free SHIP before December 7.
Find which letter she has
Ask her for every envelope from her plan since September. Look for the words non-renewal. Put that letter and her plan card in one folder.
Look up her county
Sit with her and open Find a Medicare plan. That is the plan finder on Medicare's own site. Look up where she lives, and see what is still sold there.
Call her state's SHIP
SHIP is her state's Medicare counseling program. Find hers at shiphelp.org. Medicare's page says the help is free, and made for her. It also says, "SHIPs aren't connected to any insurance company or health plan."
Circle two dates
December 7 ends open enrollment. If her plan is not renewing, the last day of February is the backstop. Write both on the calendar by her phone.
Why does this feel like your pay plan changing?
Quick answer: because it is the same shape. A company changes the deal for its own reasons, and you hear about it in a letter.
Maybe you have had that letter too. A new pay plan at work, or a cut to your commission.
Her insurer did the math on her county. A company can do the same math on your pay. And so the letter is the first you hear of it.
I would rather you knew who writes the rules before the next letter comes.
Here is what I can tell you about us. Switch to America sells straight from the manufacturer. No middlemen and no markup.
I will not hand you a number to expect. Nobody honest can. And the twenty minutes are about you, not about her plan.
Shannon's Advice
Straight talk from ShannonI do not call them grocery stores. They are poison centers meant to do you and your family harm. It is not just the brands who are doing the harm, it is the stores themselves. They allow these toxic products on their shelves. People are sick and dying. This is a very serious matter. How can we ever trust them again?
We can't trust them. That is where Switch to America comes in. We are a new supply chain, built on family values, trust and affordability.
You do not have to take my word for it. The proof is in my blog posts, the recalls, the lawsuits and the fines. Also, inside my Switch Circle private community, we talk about real solutions.
Women come to me exhausted, in pain, stressed out, and on a list of prescriptions they never wanted. I have spent over 20 years helping women get off prescription medications. I help families reclaim their health.
We cannot stop them. I have stopped expecting to. However, we can stop walking into their stores. We are linking arms and together taking our control back. Control of our health and our finances.
Start by clicking the link below and booking the twenty minutes.
Where to check me
- KFF, Medicare Advantage Plan Availability Varies Widely by County for 2027, October 9, 2026. Every county count in this post comes from here. The exits are counted, not guessed.
- UnitedHealth Group, third quarter 2026 results, October 13, 2026. 935,000 fewer seniors since year-end 2025, and a higher margin it credits in part to "benefit changes and pricing discipline." The drop and the margin sit in the same report.
- Medicare.gov, Plan Non-Renewal Notice. It comes in October, from the plan. This is the letter that means look for a new plan.
- Medicare.gov, Plan Annual Notice of Change. The gentler letter. It comes in September and lists what changes in January.
- Medicare.gov, the enrollment dates. Open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. The free SHIP counselors are named here too.
- Medicare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods. December 8 to the last day of February, when a plan's contract isn't renewed. The backstop, on Medicare's own site.
KFF counts only Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage open to anyone. Other counts you see in the news may use other rules, so they may not match.
Here is what I want for you, whether or not we ever speak.
It is a Saturday in December. The folder sits on your mom's counter with the SHIP counselor's name on a sticky note. You walk under the oaks after lunch, with nothing in your hands.
You become the one who reads the letter early. And you build something in your own name, on rules you can read.
This button books twenty minutes on video with me. You pick the time.
Twenty minutes, on video, no slides
You ask, I answer, including the awkward ones. If it is not for you I would rather find out on the call.
You can always say no, and there is no follow up if you do.What else are women asking me about this?
Is my mom's Medicare Advantage plan going away in 2027?
Only her letter can say for sure. Look for the Plan Non-Renewal Notice, which comes in October. Then look up her county on the plan finder.
What happens if she does nothing?
If her plan is not renewed, she is put in Original Medicare when it ends. That happens unless your mom picks another Medicare Advantage plan first. It is not the same as her plan, so ask her SHIP what it means for her.
Which insurers are leaving the most counties?
By KFF's count for 2027, Health Care Service Corporation leaves 498 counties and Centene leaves 359. UnitedHealth Group leaves 228, and CVS Health leaves 186.
Is SHIP help really free?
Yes. Medicare's page says SHIP help is free, and made for her. It also says SHIPs are not tied to any insurer or health plan.
Worth reading next
- Will Social Security get a raise in 2027? The October number, in plain words.
- Is full retirement age changing in November? A line set by law, and who can move it.
- Which direct sales companies shut down in 2026? The same kind of letter, from a different company.
- Is 45 too late to start something new? For the part that is not about money.
- More for women building something