Medicare Advantage 2027 premiums will fall while plans covering about 990,000 members are withdrawn. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the United States agency that runs Medicare, projects the weighted average monthly premium dropping from $14.37 to $12.00. UnitedHealthcare and Humana are separately ending plans for roughly 390,000 and 600,000 enrollees.
What CMS Published, and What It Left Out
CMS published its 2027 projections on 28 September 2026 under the heading that the programmes are “expected to remain stable”, and the release does not mention plan non-renewals or insurers leaving counties. Medicare Advantage is the private-insurer alternative to Original Medicare, in which a company is paid by the government to cover a beneficiary’s care.
These are the agency’s own figures for the United States, published before open enrolment began.
| Measure | 2026 | 2027 (projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Weighted average monthly MA premium | $14.37 | $12.00 |
| MA plans available nationally | 5,553 | About 5,532 |
| Average premium, MA plans with drug coverage | $11.32 | About $7 |
| Average stand-alone Part D premium | $35.09 | About $36 |
CMS puts projected 2027 Medicare Advantage enrolment at 34 million people, about 47.4 percent of everyone on Medicare, and says more than 99 percent of beneficiaries will have access to at least one Medicare Advantage plan, with 97 percent having ten or more choices. Mehmet Oz, the CMS administrator, said the agency “is fighting to keep high-quality care options affordable and accessible for the millions of beneficiaries who rely on Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans”.
A weighted average premium is not what any individual pays. It is the average across plans weighted by enrolment, and it includes $0-premium plans, so a particular plan’s premium can rise while the national average falls.
Which Insurers Are Withdrawing Plans, and Where
Four of the largest Medicare Advantage insurers are reducing where they operate for 2027. The figures below are drawn from analysis of the CMS landscape files by the trade publication Healthcare Dive, published on 1 October 2026, except the member counts, which the insurers disclosed.
| Insurer | Change in plans offered | Counties exited | Members in ending plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthcare | About 690 fewer | 63 | About 390,000 |
| Humana | About 2,400 fewer | Adding 39 counties | About 600,000 |
| Centene | About 3,000 fewer unique plans | 344 | Not disclosed |
| CVS Health (Aetna) | Not disclosed | 103 | Not disclosed |
| Elevance | About 150 fewer | 56 | Not disclosed |
Humana is the exception on geography: it is adding counties while cutting plan count, so its reductions fall on specific plan designs rather than whole markets. Devoted Health is moving the other way, adding 336 counties.
UnitedHealthcare’s non-renewal notices to affected members were dated 2 October 2026. Humana has said its exits target lower-performing plans rather than a broad retreat from Medicare Advantage. Neither insurer has published a county-level list of ending plans in a single public document.
Together the two disclosed figures come to about 990,000 people. Aetna and Centene have not put a membership number on their reductions, so the full count of members whose plan ends is not publicly established.
What Rises Even Where a Plan Survives
Staying in the same insurer’s plan does not mean staying on the same terms. Healthcare Dive’s analysis of the landscape files found maximum out-of-pocket limits rising by an average of about 10 percent and Part D deductibles rising by an average of about 30 percent for 2027.
A maximum out-of-pocket limit, often shortened to MOOP, is the ceiling on what a member pays for covered in-network medical care in a year before the plan pays everything. A deductible is the amount paid before coverage starts contributing. Both are set per plan, so the averages above describe the market, not any one policy.
Insurers are also trimming supplemental benefits, the extras such as dental, vision and hearing cover that Original Medicare does not include. Nearly 70 percent of health plan leaders surveyed expect 2027 benefit packages to be less generous than 2026, including higher specialist co-payments. CMS’s premium projections do not account for these changes, because premiums and cost-sharing are separate.
The authoritative document for any individual plan is the Annual Notice of Change, which plans were required to send to enrollees in September 2026, or a separate non-renewal letter where the plan is ending.
The 2027 Medicare Advantage Dates
Medicare Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from 15 October to 7 December 2026, according to CMS’s state-by-state fact sheets dated 28 September 2026. These dates apply in the United States only.
- September 2026: plans sent Annual Notice of Change letters, and the “2027 Medicare and You” handbook went to every household with Medicare.
- 1 October 2026: the Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov was updated with 2027 plan and pricing information.
- On or around 8 October 2026: 2027 Star Ratings, the government’s quality scores for plans, published on Medicare.gov.
- 15 October 2026: Medicare Open Enrollment opens.
- 7 December 2026: Medicare Open Enrollment closes.
- 1 January 2027: 2027 coverage begins.
A separate Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period runs from 1 January to 31 March each year, and a further window applies specifically where a plan is not renewed.
What Happens if a Plan Is Not Renewed
Someone whose plan is not renewed gets a longer window than the general one. Medicare’s own guidance states that where a plan’s contract is not renewed, the chance to switch runs “Between December 8 and the last day in February of the following year” — so 8 December 2026 to 28 February 2027 for 2027 coverage, according to Medicare.gov’s special enrollment periods page.
Where Medicare terminates a plan’s contract, the window instead starts one month before the contract ends and closes two full months after. Where the plan itself ends the contract, it starts two months before and closes one full month after. Which of the three applies depends on how the plan ended, which the non-renewal letter states.
If a member whose plan is ending does not join another Medicare Advantage plan before the current one stops, Medicare.gov says they will be enrolled in Original Medicare. That is automatic and does not require an application, but Original Medicare has no out-of-pocket maximum and no built-in drug coverage.
Plan terms, networks and costs vary by county, insurer and individual circumstances, and the rules on supplemental Medigap policies vary by state. The official channels are Medicare.gov, the Medicare Plan Finder and 1-800-MEDICARE, which CMS says operates 24 hours a day.
What Is Not Yet Established
Several things in this story remain open. CMS’s figures are projections based on plan filings, not outcomes.
- The total number affected: only UnitedHealthcare and Humana have published member counts.
- Where enrollees go: CMS projects 34 million Medicare Advantage members in 2027, roughly flat, but how many of the 990,000 move to another Medicare Advantage plan rather than Original Medicare is unknown.
- Why the pullback is happening: coverage has attributed it to higher medical costs, greater use of services and changes in federal payment rates; the insurers have not published a breakdown.
- The effect on costs for individuals: the averages above are national and do not predict any particular plan.
This follows two related changes already in train for next year: the end of the Part D premium stabilisation payments covered in our report on Medicare Part D for 2027, and the separate marketplace changes set out in our report on ACA open enrollment for 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Changes for Medicare Advantage 2027?
In the United States, CMS projects the weighted average monthly premium falling from $14.37 in 2026 to $12.00 in 2027, with about 5,532 plans available against 5,553 this year. Separately, UnitedHealthcare and Humana are ending plans covering about 390,000 and 600,000 members respectively, and maximum out-of-pocket limits and Part D deductibles are rising on average.
When Is Medicare Open Enrollment for 2027?
15 October to 7 December 2026, with coverage starting 1 January 2027. This is the United States Medicare window published by CMS on 28 September 2026.
What if My Medicare Advantage Plan Is Ending in 2027?
Medicare.gov says that where a plan’s contract is not renewed, the switching window runs between 8 December and the last day of February of the following year. If no new Medicare Advantage plan is joined before the old one stops, Medicare enrols the person in Original Medicare automatically.
How Do I Find Out Whether My Plan Is Affected?
The Annual Notice of Change letter that plans had to send in September 2026 states the 2027 terms, and a separate non-renewal letter is sent where a plan is ending. Plan details for 2027 are on the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov, updated on 1 October 2026, and 1-800-MEDICARE operates 24 hours a day.
Are Premiums Really Going Down?
The national weighted average is projected to fall 16.5 percent, but that average includes $0-premium plans and is weighted by enrolment. It does not describe any individual plan, and it does not cover deductibles, co-payments or out-of-pocket maximums, which CMS projects separately and which analysis of the landscape files shows rising for 2027.
