Medicare Advantage Insurers Abandon Market Amid Cost Challenges

At least 11 health insurance companies that sold individual Medicare Advantage plans are abandoning the program for 2027 due to cost and regulatory challenges. This number has more than doubled from seven carriers that quit in 2026.

The majority of these insurers are owned by health systems, with some continuing to participate in the Special Needs Plan (SNP) market.

Leading Medicare Advantage insurers such as UnitedHealth Group subsidiary UnitedHealthcare and CVS Health subsidiary Aetna will exit hundreds of counties and pull back on marketing. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has also agreed to set hard caps on enrollment for 15 regional insurers in 11 states.

This means at least 3.8 million enrollees will be forced to shop for new coverage for 2027, with about 512,000 people in 14 states needing to find a new carrier due to their insurer leaving their geographic area. Additionally, there will be no Medicare Advantage plans available in 181 counties, up from 67 this year.

The affected companies include Aspirus Health Plan, Braven Health, Christus Health Plan, Elderplan, Mass Advantage, Memorial Hermann Health Plan, Molina Healthcare, Presbyterian Health Plan, Providence Health Plan, Sharp Health Plan, and WellSense Health Plan.