Key Takeaways
- • UnitedHealth Group confirmed to Healthcare Brew that about 390,000 members will be affected by Medicare Advantage plan closures for 2027, while Humana expects about 600,000 people in a plan ending in 2027, roughly 8% of its nearly 7.2 million MA members, according to CFO Celeste Mellet's July earnings call remarks.
- • Payers are pursuing a margin-over-growth strategy for 2027, with Oliver Wyman's Brooks Conway noting that plan closures typically aim either to shed members or migrate them to pared-down, more profitable plans.
- • An October 1 Leerink Partners analysis of Medicare Plan Finder data found many major carriers cut dental benefits and raised cost-sharing for 2027, with Clover Health's maximum out-of-pocket cost rising $1,144 for sampled members, the largest increase among represented payers.
- • Standalone Part D plans lost $0 premiums for about 4 million enrollees who had them last year, and MA plans with $0 premiums have also declined, per KFF and Conway.
- • UHC is concentrating 2027 cuts on PPOs while expanding HMOs and special needs plans, particularly chronic SNPs, which experts describe as the MA market's growth engine.
Summary
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) and Humana are ending Medicare Advantage (MA) plans affecting a combined total of nearly 1 million people for 2027. UnitedHealth Group spokesperson Eric Hausman confirmed to Healthcare Brew that about 390,000 members will be impacted by plan closures. UnitedHealth has shrunk its MA membership since high utilization and costs surprised the company and weighed on its stock in 2025, and it reported 7.6 million MA members at the end of the third quarter. Humana CFO Celeste Mellet said during the company's July earnings call that about 600,000 people are in a Humana MA plan ending in 2027, roughly 8% of the payer's nearly 7.2 million MA members. Mellet said Humana hopes to recapture a significant portion of those members and took a targeted approach, ending low-return plans while retaining high-return ones.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has described 2027 MA plan options as stable, with lower average premiums. Industry experts, however, told Healthcare Brew that payers are raising cost-sharing, narrowing networks, and cutting supplemental benefits following a spike in utilization and medical costs. Brooks Conway, a principal at Oliver Wyman, said that when payers end a plan they either aim to lose those customers or move them into a typically pared-down, more profitable plan. Alexis Levy of HealthScape Advisors cautioned that seniors who keep their plan may not retain the same benefits. CMS did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
An October 1 analysis of the Medicare Plan Finder by healthcare investment bank Leerink Partners found that many major carriers cut dental benefits and raised enrollee cost-sharing for 2027, though they generally held primary care costs steady. Clover Health, UHC, Humana, and Centene showed the strongest prioritization of margin over growth, according to the report. Humana was the only one of those four that did not reduce dental allowances. Clover's maximum out-of-pocket cost rose $1,144 for all sampled members. Clover CEO of Medicare Advantage Jamie Reynoso argued that benefit changes must be compared with other available plans, noting that many of Clover's PPO prescription drug deductibles are lower than leading competitors.
Zero-premium offerings are also shrinking. KFF analysis indicates that about 4 million standalone Part D drug plan enrollees who had $0 premiums last year no longer have them, though low-income subsidy recipients may still qualify. Conway said that MA plans with $0 premiums have also dropped in 2026 and are continuing to decline into 2027, with leaner benefits where they remain.
Plan mix is shifting toward HMOs and special needs plans. According to a 2026 HealthScape report, payers generally reduced PPO offerings in 2025 and 2026 while maintaining or adding HMOs and SNPs. Forrester principal analyst Arielle Trzcinski said HMOs allow tighter utilization control through narrower networks and higher cost sharing, while SNPs carry higher margins and support more active care management. UHC President Bobby Hunter said on the company's October 13 Q3 2026 earnings call that the 2027 cuts focus on PPOs, continuing a multiyear strategy favoring HMOs and SNPs. Levy said chronic condition SNPs (C-SNPs) continue to ramp up, partly due to new requirements for dual-eligible SNPs.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has described 2027 MA plan options as stable, with lower average premiums. Industry experts, however, told Healthcare Brew that payers are raising cost-sharing, narrowing networks, and cutting supplemental benefits following a spike in utilization and medical costs. Brooks Conway, a principal at Oliver Wyman, said that when payers end a plan they either aim to lose those customers or move them into a typically pared-down, more profitable plan. Alexis Levy of HealthScape Advisors cautioned that seniors who keep their plan may not retain the same benefits. CMS did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
An October 1 analysis of the Medicare Plan Finder by healthcare investment bank Leerink Partners found that many major carriers cut dental benefits and raised enrollee cost-sharing for 2027, though they generally held primary care costs steady. Clover Health, UHC, Humana, and Centene showed the strongest prioritization of margin over growth, according to the report. Humana was the only one of those four that did not reduce dental allowances. Clover's maximum out-of-pocket cost rose $1,144 for all sampled members. Clover CEO of Medicare Advantage Jamie Reynoso argued that benefit changes must be compared with other available plans, noting that many of Clover's PPO prescription drug deductibles are lower than leading competitors.
Zero-premium offerings are also shrinking. KFF analysis indicates that about 4 million standalone Part D drug plan enrollees who had $0 premiums last year no longer have them, though low-income subsidy recipients may still qualify. Conway said that MA plans with $0 premiums have also dropped in 2026 and are continuing to decline into 2027, with leaner benefits where they remain.
Plan mix is shifting toward HMOs and special needs plans. According to a 2026 HealthScape report, payers generally reduced PPO offerings in 2025 and 2026 while maintaining or adding HMOs and SNPs. Forrester principal analyst Arielle Trzcinski said HMOs allow tighter utilization control through narrower networks and higher cost sharing, while SNPs carry higher margins and support more active care management. UHC President Bobby Hunter said on the company's October 13 Q3 2026 earnings call that the 2027 cuts focus on PPOs, continuing a multiyear strategy favoring HMOs and SNPs. Levy said chronic condition SNPs (C-SNPs) continue to ramp up, partly due to new requirements for dual-eligible SNPs.
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