Isophoric News · Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Medicare Advantage plans are ending in many areas for 2027, with 193 counties having none, according to NPR and KFF
NPR reported that a number of Medicare Advantage plans will not be offered for 2027, that 193 counties will have none, and that the Medicare open enrollment period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. KFF, a health policy research group, said in an Oct. 9 analysis of federal plan data that 193 counties will have no Medicare Advantage prescription drug plan available for general enrollment, up from 123 in 2026, with about 638,000 beneficiaries living there, or about 1% of people with Medicare, up from 399,000. KFF said the analysis does not look at changes in costs or benefits. NPR said last year's figure was about 120 counties, and that the counties are mostly rural. The numbers for people whose plans are ending vary by source, and NPR printed several: 2.9 million seniors last year, according to research published in JAMA; at least 2 million this year, according to an analysis of insurer announcements by the podcast An Arm and a Leg; and other preliminary estimates of 3.2 million to 5 million, out of about 35 million people in Medicare Advantage. NPR said people whose plan is ending have a special enrollment period until Feb. 28, 2027, and that if they choose nothing, their insurer may assign another Medicare Advantage plan or the government may enrol them in traditional Medicare without a drug or supplemental plan. NPR pointed readers to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs, listed at shiphelp.org.