Insurers Have Already Told Wall Street Which Advantage Plans Die on December 31. Members Are the Last to Know, and the Letter Isn’t Due Until October 2.

Humana ( HUM ) confirmed 600,000 affected members and UNH projects 1.1 million fewer enrollees as carriers cut lower-rated 2027 Medicare Advantage plans.

A plan termination triggers a rare guaranteed-issue Medigap window, but only for members who are returning to Original Medicare. Those switching to another Advantage plan do not qualify.

Nonrenewal notices arrive October 2, leaving only 66 days before Open Enrollment closes December 7. Members should save the letter and price both coverage paths immediately.

Somewhere inside the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sits the list of Medicare Advantage plans that will stop existing on December 31, 2026. Insurers submitted their 2027 bids in June. Wall Street analysts have dissected the implications on earnings calls all summer. The people enrolled in those plans will find out by mail.

Members of continuing plans must receive an Annual Notice of Change by September 30. Someone whose plan is disappearing receives a separate nonrenewal notice by October 2. That leaves 90 days before the coverage ends, but only 66 days before Medicare Open Enrollment closes on December 7. Humana has confirmed that its 2027 plan exits will affect roughly 600,000 members. Other carriers are also shrinking their Medicare Advantage footprints. For anyone whose plan receives a nonrenewal notice, the letter opens a rare Medigap window that is remarkably easy to waste.

What the Carriers Already Told Their Shareholders

Humana ( NYSE:HUM ) said on its July 29, 2026 earnings call that 2027 plan exits will affect "approximately 600,000 members" and that "the majority of the plan exits were in plans with three and a half or lower ratings." CFO Celeste Mellet described the strategy as cutting off "the lower tail of profitability."

UnitedHealth Group ( NYSE:UNH ) told analysts on July 16, 2026 it expects "full-year Medicare Advantage enrollment to decline by approximately 1.1 million" and previewed "selective changes in market participation" for 2027. Press reporting has named 109 counties UnitedHealthcare is exiting.

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