UnitedHealthcare and Humana Ending Medicare Advantage Plans for Nearly 1 Million Members in 2027

Since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published its 2027 plan landscape on Sept. 28, the details of the Medicare Advantage pullback have come into focus, and open enrollment has been running since Oct. 15.

The two biggest carriers are leading the retreat. UnitedHealthcare and Humana are ending plans that together cover nearly 1 million people.

The numbers from the two largest insurers

UnitedHealth Group spokesperson Eric Hausman confirmed the closures affect about 390,000 UnitedHealthcare members. Humana CFO Celeste Mellet said on a July earnings call that its 2027 exits cover about 600,000 people, roughly 8% of its nearly 7.2 million Medicare Advantage members.

Mellet said Humana ended plans with low returns and kept those with high returns, rather than cutting across the board. She said the company hopes to keep a significant share of affected members by moving them into other Humana plans.

UnitedHealthcare President Bobby Hunter said on the Oct. 13 third-quarter call that the 2027 cuts focused on preferred provider organization plans. He said that continues a yearslong tilt toward HMOs and special needs plans. UnitedHealth Group reported 7.6 million Medicare Advantage members at the end of the quarter.

"We can't ignore the realities facing the healthcare system," Hunter said. "Funding pressures, rising medical costs, rising drug costs, and increased utilization are affecting every part of healthcare."

Humana says its 2027 footprint will reach just over 80% of U.S. counties, down from 85% this year. Analysts reviewing the federal data also found CVS Health's Aetna and Centene trimming parts of their Medicare Advantage footprints, according to Bloomberg. Aetna said it is expanding its HMO footprint.

How many seniors have to switch

Counts differ. Jared Strock of Medicare Market Insights, analyzing government data, puts the number of enrollees losing plans at nearly 3.2 million for 2027, up from 2.9 million for 2026 and 2 million for 2025.

An insurance agency's review of the CMS landscape files puts the number needing new coverage at about 3.8 million. The same review says at least eleven insurers that sold individual Medicare Advantage plans in 2026 are leaving the program, versus seven the year before. That claim rests on the agency's own tally.

KFF counts 193 counties with no Medicare Advantage drug plan open to general enrollment, 187 of them with no Medicare Advantage plan of any kind. The average beneficiary still has 28 drug-plan options, down 12.5%. The 638,000 beneficiaries living in those counties include everyone on Medicare there, not only Advantage members.

What the government says

CMS describes the 2027 market as stable. Its Sept. 28 statement projects the average monthly Medicare Advantage premium falling to $12 from more than $14, a drop of more than 16%. Advantage drug plan premiums are projected to fall 38%.

CMS says the national plan count is nearly unchanged. Options still decline in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Wyoming drops from 14 plans to eight. More than a quarter of plans exited Montana (28%), Washington, D.C. (25%) and Maryland (25%). Premiums rise in 19 states, with Wyoming's average jumping from nearly $46 to more than $69 a month.

"We urge beneficiaries to use Open Enrollment as an opportunity to review their coverage, compare options, and pick the plan that best suits their needs and budget," CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said.

Lower premiums, higher out-of-pocket costs

Consultants say the headline premium misses the shift underway. Alexis Levy of HealthScape Advisors said a senior may keep a plan "but that doesn't mean they're going to have the same level of benefit."

An Oct. 1 Leerink Partners analysis of the Medicare Plan Finder found many major carriers cut dental benefits and raised cost-sharing for 2027, while generally holding primary care costs flat. Leerink named Clover Health, UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Centene as showing the biggest "prioritization of margin over growth." Humana was the only one of the four that did not reduce dental allowances. Clover's maximum out-of-pocket cost rose by $1,144 for all sampled members, the largest increase of any insurer in the sample.

Strock's analysis puts the average enrollment-weighted in-network out-of-pocket limit at $6,603 for 2027, up 9%, with about 70% of enrollees facing an increase. The average drug deductible rises 23% to $509. The Part D out-of-pocket cap itself rises to $2,400 from $2,100.

Clover's Jamie Reynoso pushed back on the Leerink framing. "Looking only at how much the benefits have changed from one year to the next doesn't tell the full story," she said, adding that many Clover PPO drug deductibles are lower than those of leading rivals.

Oliver Wyman actuary Brooks Conway said $0-premium Medicare Advantage products are disappearing or getting leaner. He said insurers end plans either to shed those customers or to move them into typically less generous, more profitable plans. KFF found that 4 million standalone Part D enrollees who had $0 premiums last year no longer get them, though low-income subsidy recipients may still qualify.

The money behind the retreat

CMS finalized a 2.48% average payment increase for Medicare Advantage in 2027, worth more than $13 billion. That is well above the 0.09% hike proposed in January. Insurers say reimbursement still has not kept pace with medical costs. High utilization and costs caught UnitedHealth Group off guard in 2025 and sent its stock sharply lower.

Government projections based on insurer feedback put 2027 Medicare Advantage enrollment at roughly 34 million. KFF counted 35.2 million enrollees in 2026, 55% of Medicare beneficiaries.

Deadlines for affected members

UnitedHealthcare and Humana both dated their non-renewal notices Oct. 2. UnitedHealthcare says affected members can pick another Medicare Advantage plan between Oct. 15 and Dec. 31 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2027. Otherwise they revert to original Medicare, with a special election period through Feb. 28, 2027 to choose a new Advantage plan.

Open enrollment ends Dec. 7. Whether Humana keeps a large share of its 600,000 displaced members, as Mellet hopes, will be visible in 2027 enrollment figures.