18 payers are exiting the Medicare Advantage market for 2027, according to CMS data.

Health News

October 20, 2026

18 payers are exiting the Medicare Advantage market for 2027, according to CMS data.

Ten of the eighteen are owned entirely or in part by health systems. Several other payers will stay in MA next year only through special needs plans, including Molina Healthcare, Horizon BCBS New Jersey, New York City-based MJHS Health System’s Elderplan, and Albuquerque-based Presbyterian Health Plan.

Here are the 18 payers exiting MA in 2027, listed by the number of counties they served in 2026:

1. BCBS Texas offered plans in 227 Texas counties. Parent company HCSC will continue to offer HealthSpring MA plans in 47 Texas counties.
2. BCBS Oklahoma offered plans in 58 Oklahoma counties. Parent company HCSC will continue to offer HealthSpring MA plans in six Oklahoma counties.
3. BCBS Montana offered plans in 39 Montana counties.
4. Braven Health, a New Jersey joint venture between Horizon BCBS, Edison-based Hackensack Meridian Health and West Orange-based RWJBarnabas Health, offered plans in all 21 New Jersey counties.
5. Wellmark BCBS offered plans in 98 Iowa counties and 43 South Dakota counties.
6. BCBS Mississippi offered plans in 26 Mississippi counties through Patrius Health, its joint venture with BCBS Alabama. BCBS Alabama will continue to offer MA plans in its home state.
7. BCBS North Dakota offered plans in all 53 of the state’s counties. In January, the insurer affiliated with Cambia Health Solutions.
8. Irving, Texas-based Christus Health Plan offered plans in 36 Texas counties and eight New Mexico counties.
9. Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health Plan offered plans in 21 Wisconsin counties.  In February, CMS suspended new MA enrollment into the health plan after its claims processor, UCare, was taken over by Minnesota regulators.
10. Saint Alphonsus Health Plan, part of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, offered plans in 10 Idaho counties.
11. ConnectiCare, owned by Molina Healthcare, offered plans in all eight Connecticut counties.
12. CarePartners of Connecticut, a joint venture between Point32Health and Hartford HealthCare, offered plans in seven Connecticut counties.
13. Webster, N.Y.-based iCircle, an affiliate of CDS Life Transitions, offered a D-SNP in 14 New York counties.
14. Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health Plan offered plans across six Oregon counties, six Washington counties and Orange County, Calif. The MA exit is part of the wider shutdown of the health plan.
15. WellSense Health Plan, part of Boston Medical Center, offered plans in all 10 New Hampshire counties.
16. Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health Plan offered plans in six Texas counties. In July, the plan confirmed it would also shut down its commercial business.
17. Mass Advantage, part of Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health, offered plans in Worcester County. As a result of the market exit, the plan will shut down.
18. San Diego-based Sharp Health Plan offered plans in San Diego County. It will continue to offer employer group MA plans.