CMS Landscape Data Shows More Medicare Advantage Plans Disappearing for 2027

Insurers are once again shrinking the number of Medicare Advantage plans available to seniors, this time for the 2027 plan year. According to a September 29, 2026 report from Healthcare Dive, newly released data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers Medicare, shows insurers continuing to cull plan offerings even as a CMS press release described the 2027 market as "stable."

Medicare Advantage (MA) is the privately run alternative to traditional Medicare. Under this model, the federal government pays insurance companies a set amount per enrollee to manage their care, and insurers often use that funding to bundle in extra benefits such as dental, vision, hearing, or fitness perks that traditional Medicare does not cover. Each year, insurers submit plan proposals to CMS, and those decisions, including which plans to keep, merge, or drop, show up in the CMS "landscape file," the annual public dataset listing every MA and Part D plan available by county for the coming year.

Healthcare Dive's reporting on the newly released landscape data points to a continuation of a multi-year pattern: insurers trimming their MA plan catalogs rather than expanding them, even as CMS's own messaging emphasized consistency in the program. The specific number of plans being discontinued for 2027 was not broken out in the available summary of the report, but the direction, continued contraction in plan choices, tracks with what insurers have done in recent enrollment cycles as margins in the program have tightened.

Key Takeaway

If your Medicare Advantage plan is being discontinued for 2027, CMS requires your insurer to notify you, typically through an Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) mailed by September 30, 2026. Don't assume your current plan will still exist next year. Open any plan mail you receive this fall and confirm your plan's status before the Annual Election Period ends on December 7, 2026.

Why Insurers Keep Scaling Back Medicare Advantage Plans

The pullback reflects pressure insurers have been absorbing across several fronts in recent years. Analysts covering the MA market have pointed to a few recurring factors: a multi-year phase-in of a revised CMS risk-adjustment model that changed how insurers are paid based on enrollees' health conditions, reduced bonus payments tied to CMS Star Ratings for plans that lost ground on quality scores, higher medical utilization and costs industry-wide, and new Medicare drug price negotiation requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act that affect how Part D benefits are priced and structured. None of these factors were detailed as the specific cause in the available Healthcare Dive summary, but they represent the broader financial backdrop analysts have cited for why insurers have narrowed MA plan catalogs in recent enrollment seasons rather than growing them.

It's worth noting the gap between CMS's framing and what the data shows. A CMS press release stressing "stability" is not the same claim as "no plans are being cut." Stability language from CMS typically refers to average premiums or overall plan availability by county staying roughly consistent system-wide, which can be true even while individual insurers discontinue specific plans in specific markets. Readers should treat the two claims, aggregate market stability and individual plan continuity, as separate questions.

What to Do Before the December 7, 2026 Enrollment Deadline

The Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP) runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026, for coverage that takes effect January 1, 2027. Whether or not your specific plan is affected by this year's cuts, this is the window to act. Here's what Senior Plan Path recommends checking:

1. Read your ANOC letter. Insurers must send Annual Notice of Change documents by September 30 each year, outlining changes to premiums, benefits, provider networks, and drug coverage for the upcoming plan year, including whether the plan is being discontinued entirely.

2. Confirm your plan is still offered in your county. The CMS landscape file lists every MA and Part D plan available where you live for 2027. If your plan isn't listed, it's not being renewed, and you will need to select a new plan or you may be defaulted into original Medicare.

3. Ask about a Special Enrollment Period. Enrollees whose Medicare Advantage plan is leaving the market generally qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, which can provide more flexibility than the standard AEP window to pick a replacement plan.

4. Compare networks and formularies, not just premiums. A plan cut often pushes enrollees into a new plan with a different provider network or drug formulary. Confirm your doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions are covered before you enroll.

5. Talk to a licensed agent or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Given the number of moving pieces, especially for anyone whose current plan is on the list of cuts, a licensed Medicare agent or a free SHIP counselor can help you compare the specific plans available in your ZIP code for 2027 rather than relying on marketing materials alone.

For the full Healthcare Dive report on the CMS data, see the original article here.