Coverage with more choice is available as corporate health plans drop enrollees
ST. PAUL, Minn. — More than 3.16 million Americans will lose their current Medicare Advantage health plans in 2027, according to an October 8 analysis by Medicare Market Insights. The affected enrollees represent nearly 11 percent of Americans in individual Medicare Advantage plans.
“Health plans are corporations whose focus is on their bottom line, not on maintaining coverage or caring for the sick,” said Twila Brase, RN, PHN, CCHF President and Co-Founder. “Corporations make business decisions based on how those decisions impact their bottom line, not how they impact human lives.“
The findings come as UnitedHealth Group reported a 53.5 percent year-over-year increase in third-quarter earnings from operations, rising from $4.3 billion to $6.6 billion.
Americans losing their Medicare Advantage plans can enroll in Original Medicare, which generally allows patients to receive care from any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare. Unlike most Medicare Advantage plans, Original Medicare does not restrict patients to corporate networks, nor does it typically require prior authorization for medical care.
“Medicare Advantage was set up to ration medical care in ways Congress could not, due to political ramifications,” said Brase. “These millions of Americans now have an opportunity to make a better choice. Original Medicare, combined with Medigap, would give enrollees greater freedom to choose their doctors without the potential of facing an exhaustive and time-consuming appeals process when the care they need is denied.”
Medigap is supplemental insurance that pays medical expenses that Original Medicare does not cover, in full. Americans whose Medicare Advantage plans are terminated may qualify for special enrollment protections allowing them to purchase certain Medigap policies without the fear of being rejected because of their health, nor be subjected to eligibility requirements and deadlines.
The coverage changes come as Medicare faces increasing financial pressure. The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report projected that Medicare Part A, which pays primarily for hospital care, will become insolvent in 2033, when incoming revenues are expected to cover only 89 percent of available benefits.
CCHF is working to give Americans a way to opt out of Medicare and purchase real health insurance — affordable major medical indemnity policies that pay patients directly for covered catastrophic medical expenses. The Retirement Freedom Act, re-introduced in Congress in 2025, would help advance this effort by allowing Americans to opt out of Medicare Part A without forfeiting Social Security retirement benefits.
CCHF’s free Medicare How-To Guide explains the differences between Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and the enrollment decisions facing Americans during Medicare’s open enrollment period, which began October 15 and continues through December 7, 2026.
For more information or to schedule an interview with Twila Brase, contact Alexandra de Scheel at media@cchfreedom.org.
