400,000 Minnesotans lose their Medicare Advantage plan

Nearly 400,000 Minnesotans will lose their Medicare Advantage plan for 2027, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said in an alert on Nov. 2. That is nearly one third of the 1.2 million people on Medicare in the state.

Only a small fraction will be moved to another plan automatically, the alert says. Everyone else has to pick new coverage.

The estimate comes from Minnesota Aging Pathways, the state’s free Medicare counseling service, formerly called the Senior LinkAge Line. The alert does not name the insurers pulling back.

18 counties lose Medicare Advantage

In 15 Minnesota counties, no Medicare Advantage plan will be offered in 2027: Aitkin, Carlton, Chippewa, Cook, Goodhue, Koochiching, Lake, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Pine, Rice, Sibley, Stevens and Yellow Medicine. People there can still choose a Medicare Cost plan or Original Medicare.

In 3 more counties, Crow Wing, Lake of the Woods and Wadena, neither Medicare Advantage nor Cost plans will be sold. Original Medicare is the only option. People in those counties must also buy a stand alone Part D drug plan. If they don’t act, they will have no drug coverage, the alert says.

Most of the losses fall in Greater Minnesota, outside the Twin Cities, where choices were already thin.

Our data

Our count of CMS files puts 344,313 Minnesota Medicare Advantage members in plans that end Dec. 31 with no 2027 plan to roll into. That is 62.4% of the state’s 551,833 individual Medicare Advantage members, the highest share of any state. Nationally the share is 10.6%, or 3,159,876 people, according to our 2027 plan exits tracker. The two counts use different methods.

Minnesota is the sharpest case of a national pullback. KFF counted 4.3 million people whose Medicare Advantage or stand alone drug plan ends this year.

Phone lines are swamped

Minnesota Aging Pathways is seeing very high call volume, and wait times may run longer than normal, the alert says. Attorney General Keith Ellison said he supports more state funding to staff its call center.

“If you receive health insurance through Medicare, please spend some time reviewing your options now, well before December 7,” Ellison said.

Maureen Schneider, chair of the Minnesota Board on Aging, said this year’s review is “critical” because insurers have scaled back or eliminated plans in some counties.

What it means for you

If your Medicare Advantage plan is ending, pick a new plan by Dec. 7, the last day of open enrollment.

Start with the Medicare Plan Finder at medicare.gov. Enter your prescriptions and your pharmacy, then check each plan’s provider list for your doctors. If you choose Original Medicare, add a Part D drug plan.

During open enrollment, some people who lose a plan have guaranteed issue rights to buy a Medigap policy without a health screening, the alert says.

For help, call 1-800-MEDICARE, open 24 hours a day, or Minnesota Aging Pathways at 800-333-2433, weekdays 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.