Thousands of older San Diego County residents will need to find new, and possibly more expensive, coverage.  Sharp Health Plan has begun notifying its patients that it will stop offering its own Medicare Advantage coverage in 2027, a change that will force thousands...

Medicare’s annual Fall Open Enrollment (FOE) period runs October 15–December 7. During this time, people with Medicare can make certain changes to their coverage, like switching from Original Medicare (OM) to Medicare Advantage (MA) and vice versa, picking a new...

A Leerink Partners analysis of Medicare Plan Finder shows how the largest MA carriers are cutting dental allowances and premium givebacks next year as they continue to prioritize margin recovery.  Insurers published a flurry of press releases Thursday morning...

The article highlights a significant shift in the Medicare Advantage (MA) market: major carriers, including UnitedHealthcare and CVS Health's Aetna, are moving toward plans with narrower provider networks and reducing their exposure to broader-access products such as...

Newly released CMS data gives the market its first comprehensive look at how insurers are adapting to continued pressure in the privatized Medicare program. It’s going to be another turbulent sign-up period for Medicare. Seniors in Medicare Advantage will have fewer...

Plans are expecting Medicare Advantage enrollment of 34 million     beneficiaries in 2027, or about 47.4% of all Medicare enrollees, according to a Sept. 28 CMS news release. This would be flat compared with the 2026 projection, but actual MA enrollment was 36.1...

Medicare Advantage plan choice will fall in more than half of states in 2027, even as CMS projects lower average premiums and a nearly unchanged number of available plans nationwide. The decline follows widespread disruption in 2026, when as many as 2.9 million MA...

UnitedHealthcare is still working on strategies to ensure its MA markets remain as profitable as possible, but it’s confident in its posture heading into 2027 open enrollment. UnitedHealthcare is still drilling down on actions it can take to make its Medicare...

The Justice Department’s scrutiny of Medicare Advantage risk adjustment is intensifying, with two recent settlements totaling nearly $1.1 billion highlighting federal concerns about diagnosis coding practices that can increase payments to health plans. The latest came...

According to the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Medicare Advantage Study released Tuesday, overall member satisfaction fell 12 points this year to 611 on a 1,000-point scale; the second consecutive annual decline and a 41-point drop since 2024. Behind that slide is retirees...

Older adults could be scrambling for new health coverage next year, especially in rural markets that have fewer insurance choices. Humana has been the first big insurer to spell out its Medicare Advantage plans for 2027, saying it will exit markets and plans covering...

Four more Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans have received five-star ratings thanks to CMS’ recalculation. CMS initially unveiled 2026 MA star ratings in October, with 18 MA-PD contracts scoring five stars overall.  On July 22, CMS released updated 2026...

The Medicare Advantage (MA) program has long occupied a unique space as a true public-private partnership in federal healthcare. Recent headlines have put MA back in the spotlight, with reports of plans reducing supplemental benefits, exiting certain markets, focusing...

People with Medicare have the option of receiving their Medicare benefits through the traditional Medicare program administered by the federal government or through a private Medicare Advantage plan, such as an HMO or PPO. In Medicare Advantage, the federal government...

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, has increased steadily over the past two decades, with more than half of eligible beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage since 2023. The growth in enrollment has implications...

Two million. That's how many older Americans were displaced from Medicare Advantage plans in 2025, according to agents fielding the calls. Hospital systems pulled out of networks. Carriers dropped unprofitable plans during the annual enrollment period. And the agents...

CMS recently finalized policies as part of the 2027 Medicare Advantage final rule that both enhance consumer protections and roll back changes to the Medicare Advantage program that were intended to protect consumers. These changes have gotten less attention than...