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Is Your Medicare Advantage Plan Ending in 2027? How to Check and What Happens Next

A desk calendar showing December 30 and 31 with an orange highlighter, with a sticky note reading “Ends Dec. 31?”.
Photo by Eliza Diamond on Unsplash

When an insurer drops a Medicare Advantage plan, federal rules make it tell members by mail at least 90 days ahead. For a plan ending December 31, that letter is due by October 2. This used to be rare. For 2026, researchers estimated about 1 in 10 members were forced to find a new plan. What you do in the weeks after the letter is what counts, and one right it gives you runs on a clock.

See your 3 options and their deadlines

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By Margaret Linwood · Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Reviewed against Medicare.gov, CMS, KFF, JAMA, 42 CFR 422.506

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If your plan is on the way out, nothing changes at the doctor's office this fall. The risk is in letting it ride. Do nothing at all, and you start January in Original Medicare with no drug plan and no yearly limit on what you pay.

"Ending" also comes in three versions. A plan can be terminated, it can leave your county, or it can be merged into another plan the insurer sells. They don't work the same way, and the letter you get tells you which one you're dealing with.

See the steps to take, in order

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Telling the real letter from the sales mail

When a big plan leaves a county, the insurers that stay know thousands of people are shopping at once, and your mailbox will show it. A few checks help you sort the pile.

  1. What the real notice says. It states in plain words that your coverage ends December 31, lists other plans in your area and explains your special rights.
  2. Whose details are on it. The real one carries your plan name and your member details. Be wary of look-alike mailers from sales agencies.
  3. A merger reads differently. If your plan is being folded into another one, you'll get an Annual Notice of Change that names the new plan. Read it like a plan you've never seen, since the network, drug list and out-of-pocket maximum can all differ.
  4. Calls you didn't ask for. Marketing rules say agents aren't supposed to cold-call you about Medicare Advantage or Part D plans. If one does, hang up.
  5. The first $0 offer. A zero premium tells you nothing about whether your doctors are in the plan.

Once you know where you stand, the next question is what to switch to and by when. The article also covers the right this letter opens to a Medigap policy without the usual health questions, and how long it lasts.

See the Medigap right the letter gives

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